Bratton To Push For Swift Stop-And-Frisk Reforms
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Reforming the controversial stop-and-frisk policy is critical to New York City's economic health, police commissioner William Bratton said Monday.
Speaking to a room full of crime reporters from around the country, Bratton stressed revising the controversial practice quickly.
"I think that we finally see a light at the end of the tunnel," commissioner Bill Bratton told crime reporters from around the nation. "There are very distinct lanes in the road and guard rails in terms of how we must operate."
Bratton To Push For Swift Stop-And-Frisk Reforms
Bratton said the reforms will help improve community-police relations but also put the business community at ease. He noted that stop-and-frisk is seen as divisive and unconstitutional by some.
"It has contributed to concerns about the stability of the economy, concerns about going back to the bad old days," said Bratton. "So that the concerns and the fears, whether it's the business community or any of the communities in the city can be very quickly addressed because it cannot move forward economically if it is seen as a city going into decline, if it is seen as a city that is increasingly becoming unsafe."
Bratton said there has been an overuse of stop-and-frisk and noted that it hasn't directly correlated to safer streets.
"Even though stops are down considerably this year, overall crime so far is also down," said the commissioner.
Late last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city was dropping its appeal of a stop-and-frisk ruling handed down last year.
Bratton said in the next two weeks, his new deputy commissioner of training will start a top to bottom review of how officers are taught about stop-and-frisk.
The new police commissioner delivered the keynote address at a symposium held at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice on crime nationwide.
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