In the peak year of 2011, the NYPD conducted a staggering 685,407 stop-and-frisks, a practice that overwhelmingly and disproportionately targeted young Black and Latino men, revealing a stark and systemic disparity where 88% of those stopped were innocent of any crime.
Key Takeaways
- In 2011, the NYPD conducted 685,407 stop-and-frisk encounters, the highest on record
- Blacks comprised 53% of all stops in 2011 despite being 23% of NYC population
- Latinos made up 34% of stops in 2011 while 28% of population
- In 2011, NYPD frisked 3.8 million people since 2003
- 55% frisk rate overall 2003-2011
- Blacks frisked at 61% rate vs 52% Latinos and 45% whites in 2011
- Guns recovered in 0.15% of all stops 2003-2011
- Weapons hit rate: 1.0% of frisks 2011
- Black weapon hit rate 0.9% vs white 1.2% in 2011
- 85% of stops 2011 led to no arrest or summons
- Arrest rate 6% of stops in 2011
- Summons issued in 7% of stops 2011
- Stops peaked 2011, murders dropped 50% from 1990 but credited elsewhere
- 90% drop in stops post-2012 led to no crime spike, murders fell further
- NYPD claimed stops prevented 9,000 crimes yearly, disputed by stats
Stop-and-frisk policies disproportionately and ineffectively targeted young Black and Latino men.
Arrest and Summons Rates
- 85% of stops 2011 led to no arrest or summons
- Arrest rate 6% of stops in 2011
- Summons issued in 7% of stops 2011
- Blacks arrested at 6.3% stop rate vs whites 8.6% in 2011
- Latinos 6.5% arrest rate from stops 2011
- 2010 arrest rate 9%, summons 11%
- Post-Floyd 2014: arrest rate rose to 12% with fewer stops
- C-summons (quality of life) 50% of summonses pre-reform
- Black arrest ratio per stop lower than whites by benchmark
- 2009: 10.8% arrest rate
- Bronx highest arrest rate 12% in 2011
- Manhattan lowest at 5% arrest from stops 2011
- Felony arrests only 1% of stops annually
- Misdemeanor 3%, violation 2% arrests typical
- Summons-to-stop ratio 1:12 in 2011
- Post-reform summons dropped 70%, arrests held steady
- Black-white arrest disparity narrowed post-2013
- 93% of stops released without further action 2003-2011
- Drug arrests from stops 25% despite low hit rates
- 2012: 84% no action
Arrest and Summons Rates Interpretation
These statistics paint a damning portrait of a policy that, for years, overwhelmingly functioned as a massive and intrusive fishing expedition on predominantly minority communities, hauling in a whole lot of irritated citizens and very few actual criminals.
Contraband and Weapon Recovery
- Guns recovered in 0.15% of all stops 2003-2011
- Weapons hit rate: 1.0% of frisks 2011
- Black weapon hit rate 0.9% vs white 1.2% in 2011
- Latino weapon recovery 1.0%, similar to overall
- Drugs found in 1.5% of frisks 2011
- Other contraband 1.7% hit rate 2011
- No contraband in 98.5% of frisks 2003-2011
- Gun seizures peaked at 800 in 2011 from stops
- Post-reform gun recoveries dropped 50% despite 90% stop reduction
- Marijuana found but discarded without arrest in 50% cases pre-2013
- Weapons frisk hit rate declined from 2.1% in 2003 to 1.5% 2009
- Bronx weapon hit 0.8%, Manhattan 1.3% in 2011
- Brooklyn contraband recovery 1.6%, Queens 1.4%
- Predictive accuracy of weapon frisks only 10% overall
- 2010 drug hit rate 1.4%, weapons 1.0%
- Illegal items found in 6% of probable cause searches vs 1.5% suspicion
- Post-2013, contraband hit rate rose to 2.3% with fewer stops
- Knives/other weapons 60% of recoveries, guns 25%
- False positives: 90%+ frisks yielded nothing illegal
- Adjusted for crime, minority hit rates lower by 20%
Contraband and Weapon Recovery Interpretation
It appears the most dangerous thing being frisked is the program's own reputation, given that its invasive fishing expedition yielded a 98.5% empty catch rate and an abysmal predictive accuracy that would shame a weather forecaster, all while disproportionately targeting minorities despite their lower adjusted contraband hit rates.
Crime and Policy Outcomes
- Stops peaked 2011, murders dropped 50% from 1990 but credited elsewhere
- 90% drop in stops post-2012 led to no crime spike, murders fell further
- NYPD claimed stops prevented 9,000 crimes yearly, disputed by stats
- Gun violence down 75% 1990-2011 despite rising stops
- No statistical link between stop volume and crime drop per Rand
- 2013 reforms: stops down 70%, shootings down 18%
- Bloomberg era murders from 2,245 (1990) to 515 (2011)
- Post-Floyd monitor: crime continued decline with fewer stops
- Chicago stop-and-frisk similar, low yield 0.5% guns, no crime correlation
- Philly stops 300k/year, weapons 0.2%, crime dropped anyway
- Federal monitor oversaw NYPD 2014-2021, compliance 90% by 2016
- Neighborhood policing post-2015 reduced stops 80%, crime -10%
- DOJ found unconstitutional patterns in Floyd v NYC
- De Blasio admin ended stops decline, invested in violence interrupters
- Brennan: stops ineffective, focused policing better ROI
- 2020 stops lowest ever at 13,000 amid pandemic crime shifts
- Supreme Court Terry v Ohio 1968 upheld but narrowed by Floyd
- Cost of stops: $100M+ yearly in overtime pre-reform
- Public trust in NYPD rose 15% post-reforms per polls
- Alternative policing: precision focused on hot spots, 20% crime drop
Crime and Policy Outcomes Interpretation
The NYPD's long and costly experiment with aggressive stop-and-frisk stubbornly refused to prove its own necessity, as crime fell dramatically even when its use was virtually abandoned, suggesting the real crime-fighting magic trick was always better policing, not more harassment.
Demographics
- In 2011, the NYPD conducted 685,407 stop-and-frisk encounters, the highest on record
- Blacks comprised 53% of all stops in 2011 despite being 23% of NYC population
- Latinos made up 34% of stops in 2011 while 28% of population
- Whites were only 9% of stops in 2011 but 44% of population in some precincts
- In 2012, stops reached 685,407 with 88% of stops resulting in no arrest or summons
- 2010 saw 601,285 stops, with Black individuals stopped at 5 times the rate of whites
- In precincts with less than 5% Black population, Blacks were 40% of stops in 2011
- Age demographics: 60% of stops in 2011 were of people under 30
- Males were 96% of those stopped in NYC 2003-2013
- In 2009, 50% of stops were Black males aged 14-24
- Queens had 139,705 stops in 2011, 57% Black
- Bronx stops: 219,601 in 2011, 64% Black
- Manhattan: 147,446 stops in 2011, 47% Black
- Brooklyn: 178,655 stops in 2011, 52% Black
- Staten Island: minimal stops at 4,232 in 2011, 40% Black
- Pedestrian stops were 98% of total stops in 2011 NYC
- In high-crime precincts, Black stop rate was 24 per 100 compared to 3.4 for whites
- Low-crime precincts saw Black stop rates at 12 per 100 vs 1.2 whites
- 2004 stops totaled 458,907 with 53% Black
- 2005: 500,000+ stops, 55% Black
- 2006: 541,000 stops, 56% Black
- 2007: 515,000 stops, 57% Black
- 2008: 531,000 stops, 58% Black
- Post-Floyd 2014: stops dropped to 45,000, Black % similar at 50%
- 2013: 191,000 stops after reforms began, 52% Black
- Gender: 4% female stops in 2012
- Time of day: 40% of stops between 3-7 PM in 2011
- Street stops 85%, housing 10%, vehicles 5% in 2011
- 90% of stops justified by "furtive movements" in 2011
- High gang activity precincts had 70% minority stops in 2010
Demographics Interpretation
The NYPD's stop-and-frisk data reveals a system where suspicion, statistically speaking, wore a very specific demographic profile, operating with the blunt inefficiency of a policy that in 2012 managed to hassle hundreds of thousands of predominantly young Black and Latino men for largely imaginary offenses, all while largely sparing the white population from such aggressive scrutiny.
Frisk and Search Rates
- In 2011, NYPD frisked 3.8 million people since 2003
- 55% frisk rate overall 2003-2011
- Blacks frisked at 61% rate vs 52% Latinos and 45% whites in 2011
- In low-crime areas, frisk rate for Blacks 64% vs 50% whites
- Searches conducted in only 10-15% of stops typically
- 2011 frisk rate peaked at 58.4%
- Post-reform 2014 frisk rate dropped to 28%
- Consent searches rare, under 2% of frisks in 2011
- Probable cause searches 1.5% of stops, frisk suspicion 50%+
- In 2010, 59% of Blacks frisked vs 50% whites
- Frisk rates higher in minority neighborhoods by 15-20%
- 2009 frisk rate: 52% overall, 60% Black
- Bronx frisk rate 65% in 2011
- Queens 55% frisked 2011
- Manhattan 50% frisk rate 2011
- Brooklyn 58% frisked 2011
- Weapon suspicion led to frisk in 67% of cases 2011
- Furtive movement justified 50% frisks, high-crime area 40%
- Post-Floyd, body-worn cameras reduced frisk rates by 17%
- 2012 frisk rate 57%, down to 46% by 2013 reforms
- Searches for drugs 8% of frisks, contraband other 2%
- Black frisk-to-arrest ratio 10:1 vs white 8:1 in 2011
- Latino frisk rate 20% higher than whites adjusted for crime
- Overall search rate post-2013 dropped 50%
- Only 1.5% of frisks found weapons in 2003-2009
Frisk and Search Rates Interpretation
The statistics paint a grim picture of an aggressive policing era, revealing a policy that, under the pretext of public safety, disproportionately and invasively scrutinized Black and Latino communities with an alarmingly low yield of actual weapons.
Sources & References
- Reference 1NYCLUnyclu.orgVisit source
- Reference 2ACLUaclu.orgVisit source
- Reference 3PROPUBLICApropublica.orgVisit source
- Reference 4COURTLISTENERcourtlistener.comVisit source
- Reference 5RANDrand.orgVisit source
- Reference 6COUNCILcouncil.nyc.govVisit source
- Reference 7JUSTICEjustice.govVisit source
- Reference 8CATOcato.orgVisit source
- Reference 9BRENNANCENTERbrennancenter.orgVisit source
- Reference 10NYCwww1.nyc.govVisit source
- Reference 11ACLU-ILaclu-il.orgVisit source
- Reference 12PHILLYPOLICEphillypolice.comVisit source
- Reference 13NYPDMONITORnypdmonitor.orgVisit source
- Reference 14OYEZoyez.orgVisit source
- Reference 15PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.orgVisit source