Public Perception of Law Enforcement and the Current State of Stop-and-Frisk
When asked about how the residents of the South Bronx feel about the NYPD, Jefri responded, “I don’t think they like them. Um, but, my personal view of it is that they do keep us safe. It’s just… and I think it’s gotten better over the years. At least, in my experience, um, not everywhere else, I would say, but frisking has stopped. I’m sure people still get frisked sometimes but it’s not really allowed now.”
Luckily, in 2013, “an element of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practice was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge… because officers were routinely stopping people outside of buildings, enrolled in the Trespass Affidavit Program, without reasonable suspicion that they were trespassing” [15]. According to The New York Times, "this program largely affected low-income Black and Latino tenants and was especially widespread in some Bronx neighborhoods” [16]. In February of 2017, the NYPD “agreed to curtail stop-and-frisk tactics in thousands of private apartment buildings under a settlement” [17]. The settlement states that “‘a person’s mere presence in or near, entry into, or exit out of a TAP Building does not constitute an objective credible reason to approach’” [18]. Even though this is a breakthrough for communities that have been targeted by the police, more work needs to be done by the NYPD to try to repair relationships with residents.
In one study conducted in the 1999, several young women living in the South Bronx “reported they occasionally chose not to report criminal activity to the police for the fear that the police would respond disproportionately, since the police did not respect ‘Black and Latino kids in the South Bronx’” [19]. Furthermore, the participants stated that cops were “often helpful to ‘old folks and little kids’ but not to teenagers” [20]. Although this particular study was conducted almost two decades ago, inner city relations with law enforcement has not improved. Sustained efforts must be created in order to alleviate the low approval ratings of police officers because the violence they inflict on community members is extremely harmful. In efforts to create a less hostile atmosphere, police must aim to build meaningful relations with young residents in the specific communities they patrol instead of constantly harassing them.