It has come to my horrific realization through of the Prison-Industrial complex my American Studies class had been discussing a few weeks ago, the american justice system isn't as just as it should. In summary, the PIC can be described in a quote by Salon: "Imagine living in a country where prisons are private corporations that profit from keeping their beds stocked at, or near, capacity and the governing officials scramble to meet contractual 'lockup quotas.' Imagine that taxpayers would have to pay for any empty beds should crime rates fall below that quota. Surprise! You already live there." To keep jails full, the NYPD has intervened the new "Stop and Frisk" program. This tactic allows officers to light pat down, or frisk, any individual they deem suspicious. Although it is supposed to make the city safer, all it seems to be doing is justifying racial profiling of police officers. The chart above illustrates the dominance of Black and Latino frisks compared to White or Asian New Yorkers. The NYPD continues to defend these numbers with claims that minorities are disproportionately involved in violent crime, giving justification to the overwhelming number of minorities stopped. Although, in only 10.5 percent of stops did police refer to violent crime as the reason of the stop and frisk. And only 1 out every 10 stops ended with an arrest (NY Mag). If we cherish our freedom so much in America, why is it that we lack the freedom to walk down a city sidewalk in peace? I would even make the argument that more laws are being broken because this practice was put into place. These stops are not just a hassle for minorities, they can also be abusive and criminal. A seventeen year old Harlem native, Alvin, has had his fair share of frisks. His story runs a little long, but it's worth watching. Please excuse the explicit language.
In my opinion, being a "f***king mutt" isn't isn't exactly suspicion. The entire practice is unjust and unconstitutional. When a police caption tells his officers to go out and "violate some rights," the program, as well as the entire NYPD, needs to be reconsidered. It's interesting that the ones upholding the law end up breaking more than most of the people their stopping.
