Judge Rejects New York's Stop-and-Frisk Policy

A federal judge that recently discovered that the New York Police Department has been violating citizens constitutional rights. The Officers have a Policy called the Stop-and-Frisk which allows them to search citizens because of suspicious activity. The Police say that "this practice has saved many lives of young black and hispanic men by removing thousands of guns from the streets. The only problem was that the judge, Shira A. Scheindlin, found that the police resorted to a "policy of indirect racial profiling". The judge believed that the officers were only routinely stopping blacks and hispanics who would not have been stopped if they were white.

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Judge Scheindlin eventually decided that the stops that were being conducted by the police department, had complete disregard for the citizens fourth amendment rights. This amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The searches were also technically in violation of their fourteenth amendment rights to which is, equal protection clause. Since the police department violated constitutional law the Stop-and-Frisk Policy was rejected.

The New York Police Department was not off the hook yet. Judge Scheindlin was not convinced just yet so she ordered a number of remedies. She ordered that there would be a new pilot program launching. This pilot will consist of officers in at least five precincts who will wear cameras on their bodies to record street encounters. She also ordered a "joint remedial process", which means a "series of community meetings to solicit public comments on how to reform the department's tactics". I believe this to be a good policy because it gives people a real look into how the police do their job. It offers a checks and balances approach to making sure people's rights are no longer violated.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/nyregion/stop-and-frisk-practice-violated-rights-judge-rules.html?pagewanted=all