Racial Profiling & Aggressive Policing in the South Bronx
While Jefri discussed an interaction he had with the police as a teenager, it was clear that racial profiling was at play in this particular situation. He states, “I remember one time, my brother and I were driving through [an area they were told not to go to] and [Yedy] got stopped. And it was for no reason at all. Just his car. And probably what he looked like. And it was right next to the precinct. And they were like, 'oh, what’s going on?' And we were like 'nothing...' It was weird. Very strange. I think it might have had like a bad history with gangs in that area. Um… I’m not too sure about like the facts. But, it is what it is.” This interaction illustrates how the policing of Black and Brown individuals infringes upon their human rights. The social construction of an area being dangerous by the media, politicians, and cops is also to blame for the use of racial profiling.
The number of “documented stops made by the New York Police Department (NYPD) surged from 160,000 in 2003, the first year for which the data are complete, to 601,000 in 2010” [4]. Undoubtedly, there is a history of aggressive policing in the Melrose section of the South Bronx, which is a predominantly Black and Afro-Caribbean community. A report released by the NYPD, regarding rates of stop-and-frisk during 2011, revealed “58,000 South Bronx residents were stopped by police… with nearly 18,000 of those stops in Mott Haven and Melrose’s 40th precinct – the fourth highest total of any precinct in the city” [5]. The report also showed that “citywide, 53 percent of people stopped in 2011 were Black New Yorkers, though they account for just 23 percent of the population… about 34 percent of people stopped were Hispanic, while they make up about 29 percent of the population” [6].
Critics argue that the high rates of stops oftentimes increase the likelihood of police abuse [7]. Due to racial stereotypes about Black and Brown bodies being capable of superhuman powers, and having high thresholds for pain, police officers often use excessive force. Luckily, Jefri revealed that he never had a violent encounter with the police that involved such use of force.