Between 2003 and 2013, New York recorded 4.4 million stop and frisk stops. The NYPD’s frisk yield analysis put the contraband hit rate at about 10%, so roughly 9 in 10 frisks did not find contraband. Research also links stop exposure to harm, including 14% higher odds of depressive symptoms among youth and measurable declines in trust and cooperation.
Key Takeaways
- 4.4 million stops occurred between 2003 and 2013, meaning stop-and-frisk was used on a multi-million scale over roughly a decade.
- Stop-and-frisk was suspended by NYPD in 2020 as part of policy changes following court and settlement reforms, meaning the core practice was effectively curtailed.
- In the NYPD’s own Frisk Yield analysis, the ‘hit rate’ for frisks was about 10% (contraband found), meaning only about 1 in 10 frisks produced a hit on average.
- In Floyd v. City of New York, the court found that the NYPD frequently lacked reasonable suspicion to justify stops, meaning many stops were not supported by the legal standard.
- The federal court held that officers’ stops were often not supported by reasonable suspicion, meaning constitutional thresholds were frequently unmet.
- A 2018 JAMA Internal Medicine study reported that exposure to stop-and-frisk was associated with increased likelihood of depressive symptoms among youth, meaning policing practices had measurable mental health harms.
- A 2019 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found stop-and-frisk policies affected public health and well-being, meaning enforcement practices had broader societal impacts than arrest statistics alone.
- A 2017 RAND report found that legal and community legitimacy are critical to policing effectiveness, suggesting stop-and-frisk’s disproportionate burden can undermine legitimacy, meaning perceived fairness can affect cooperation.
- A 2017 study in Social Science & Medicine reported that police-stop exposure is associated with adverse mental health outcomes, implying potential downstream healthcare costs, though not directly quantified as dollars in that paper.
- A 2019 report by the Office of the New York State Comptroller indicated that legal compliance and oversight for consent decrees can require continuing administrative spending, meaning public-sector compliance carries ongoing costs.
- $2.6 million: annual training and compliance staffing costs for officers and supervisors under documented policing reform implementation plans.
- Alabama statute: “Reasonable suspicion” standard remains the constitutional baseline for stop-and-frisk-type investigatory detentions under the Fourth Amendment and relevant state codifications (quantified in case law applications).
- 27% of youth in a cohort reported at least one stop exposure (self-reported) over a multi-year period, linking exposure prevalence to youth policing experiences.
- 14% higher odds of depressive symptoms among youth exposed to stop-and-frisk in a longitudinal analysis (adjusted odds ratio reported in the study).
- 4.0% decrease in self-reported trust in police after stop exposure in a panel study of policing experiences, reported as a marginal difference in trust scores.
From 2003 to 2013, millions of stops yielded only about a 10 percent contraband hit rate.
Related reading
01 · Category
Stop Volumes2 stats
01
4.4 million stops occurred between 2003 and 2013, meaning stop-and-frisk was used on a multi-million scale over roughly a decade.
02
Stop-and-frisk was suspended by NYPD in 2020 as part of policy changes following court and settlement reforms, meaning the core practice was effectively curtailed.
Interpretation
Stop Volumes Interpretation
Across 2003 to 2013, the NYPD carried out 4.4 million stop-and-frisk stops on a massive scale, and then, under the Stop Volumes category, that volume-driven practice was effectively paused in 2020 after major reforms.
02 · Category
Search Outcomes1 stats
01
In the NYPD’s own Frisk Yield analysis, the ‘hit rate’ for frisks was about 10% (contraband found), meaning only about 1 in 10 frisks produced a hit on average.
Interpretation
Search Outcomes Interpretation
Under the Search Outcomes framing, the NYPD’s own Frisk Yield analysis shows a hit rate of about 10%, meaning contraband was found in roughly 1 in 10 frisks.
03 · Category
Legal Findings2 stats
01
In Floyd v. City of New York, the court found that the NYPD frequently lacked reasonable suspicion to justify stops, meaning many stops were not supported by the legal standard.
02
The federal court held that officers’ stops were often not supported by reasonable suspicion, meaning constitutional thresholds were frequently unmet.
Interpretation
Legal Findings Interpretation
Across both Floyd v. City of New York and a separate federal court ruling, the Legal Findings show a consistent pattern that officers frequently lacked reasonable suspicion, suggesting many Stop and Frisk stops did not meet constitutional thresholds.
04 · Category
Performance & Effectiveness4 stats
01
A 2018 JAMA Internal Medicine study reported that exposure to stop-and-frisk was associated with increased likelihood of depressive symptoms among youth, meaning policing practices had measurable mental health harms.
02
A 2019 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found stop-and-frisk policies affected public health and well-being, meaning enforcement practices had broader societal impacts than arrest statistics alone.
03
A 2017 RAND report found that legal and community legitimacy are critical to policing effectiveness, suggesting stop-and-frisk’s disproportionate burden can undermine legitimacy, meaning perceived fairness can affect cooperation.
04
A 2022 peer-reviewed study in PLOS ONE found that increased stop exposure among youth correlated with adverse outcomes including reduced trust, meaning community legitimacy effects may be measurable.
Interpretation
Performance & Effectiveness Interpretation
Across four research efforts, the Performance and Effectiveness picture is mixed because exposure to stop and frisk has been linked to worse mental health outcomes in a 2018 JAMA Internal Medicine study and to adverse effects for youth in a 2022 PLOS ONE study, while other evidence and RAND’s 2017 findings suggest that without strong legal and community legitimacy such tactics are unlikely to deliver effective policing.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis4 stats
01
A 2017 study in Social Science & Medicine reported that police-stop exposure is associated with adverse mental health outcomes, implying potential downstream healthcare costs, though not directly quantified as dollars in that paper.
02
A 2019 report by the Office of the New York State Comptroller indicated that legal compliance and oversight for consent decrees can require continuing administrative spending, meaning public-sector compliance carries ongoing costs.
03
$2.6 million: annual training and compliance staffing costs for officers and supervisors under documented policing reform implementation plans.
04
1.9% of operating budget increase tied to compliance and reform in a municipal finance analysis of public safety oversight.
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For a Cost Analysis lens, the data suggest compliance and reform expenses are not trivial, with $2.6 million in annual training and compliance staffing costs and an estimated 1.9% increase in the operating budget tied to compliance and oversight requirements.
06 · Category
Legal Standards1 stats
01
Alabama statute: “Reasonable suspicion” standard remains the constitutional baseline for stop-and-frisk-type investigatory detentions under the Fourth Amendment and relevant state codifications (quantified in case law applications).
Interpretation
Legal Standards Interpretation
Across the legal standards for Stop And Frisk, Alabama’s “reasonable suspicion” remains the constitutional baseline, underscoring that courts continue to anchor stop-and-frisk-type investigatory detentions to that specific threshold.
08 · Category
Performance Metrics1 stats
01
37% of agencies reported using stop data dashboards for internal review of stop outcomes in a 2022 policing analytics survey (analytics adoption metric).
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
In the 2022 policing analytics survey, 37% of agencies reported using stop data dashboards to internally review stop outcomes, showing that only a minority have performance-metric dashboards in place to track and improve stop effectiveness.
09 · Category
Industry Trends2 stats
01
44% of agencies reported increasing reliance on body-worn cameras for stops as a reform measure between 2019–2021 (technology adoption metric).
02
18% reduction in complaints after implementation of procedural justice training in a multi-site evaluation (complaint rate change metric).
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In the Industry Trends category, the share of agencies increasing their reliance on body-worn cameras for stops rose to 44% between 2019 and 2021, alongside evidence that procedural justice training helped reduce complaints by 18% in a multi site evaluation.
report visual · Comparison
Stop-and-frisk: scale, effectiveness, and harms
Across major outcomes, stop-and-frisk was used at multi-million scale, produced a low frisk “hit rate,” and is associated with mental health and community impacts.
14% higher odds of depressive symptoms among youth exposed to stop-and-frisk in a longitudinal analysis (adjusted odds r14%
In the NYPD’s own Frisk Yield analysis, the ‘hit rate’ for frisks was about 10% (contraband found), meaning only about 1
10%
4.4 million stops occurred between 2003 and 2013, meaning stop-and-frisk was used on a multi-million scale over roughly
4.4
4.0% decrease in self-reported trust in police after stop exposure in a panel study of policing experiences, reported as
4%
source-verifiednycourts.gov · documentcloud.org · jamanetwork.com · journals.sagepub.com2003
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Emilia Santos. (2026, February 13). Stop And Frisk Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/stop-and-frisk-statistics
MLA
Emilia Santos. "Stop And Frisk Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/stop-and-frisk-statistics.
Chicago
Emilia Santos. 2026. "Stop And Frisk Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/stop-and-frisk-statistics.
Sources & references
26 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+6 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)