NYPD Analyzing Consequences Of Decline In Stop-And-Frisk
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The NYPD is studying years of data to determine if the decline in stop-and-frisk is having an impact on crime in New York City.
Overall, crime in the city is down, but there has been an uptick in shootings in certain neighborhoods.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Wednesday that the department will have a better idea about any connection after the analysis is completed in several weeks.
"Stop, question, and frisk by our officers is down dramatically," Bratton said. "Our arrests number are staying as they have been so it's a bit of a contradiction."
He has previously said he didn't believe there was a link between the drop in stops and an increase in shootings. Overall, stop-and-frisk numbers dropped last year from 533,000 to 194,000.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Robert McCrie told CBS 2's Marcia Kramer there are many factors that could influence shootings.
"Conceptually, there is a lot of argument of the fact that if you reduce the controls, and one of the controls is stop, questioning and frisking, if you reduce that then there's greater opportunity for crime to occur," McCrie said.
The professor also said that the NYPD has to do a detailed analysis. A spike in shootings can also be related to specific neighborhoods or times of day. He said those factors should also be taken into consideration before the NYPD makes manpower decisions to redeploy officers.
A federal court judge found that the NYPD was unconstitutionally using the stop-and-frisk policy to target minorities. The court installed a monitor to oversee changes and the decision is pending approval.
Earlier this month, Bratton said extra cops were being placed on the street in high-crime areas to combat the rise in shootings.
According to CompStat figures, 129 people were shot last month -- a 43 percent increase over the same period last year.
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