Stats Don't Tell The Whole Story

The fact that blacks are more susceptiable to stop & frisk by NY cops is one side of the story. The other side are stats showing crimes committed by ethnicity. These stats seem to indicate that the stop & frisk is justified.

NYPD frisked blacks at 5 times rate of whites

BY ALISON GENDAR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The NYPD conducted more than 500,000 stop-and-frisks last year, with blacks five times more likely to be searched than whites, according to statistics released yesterday.

Blacks accounted for 52% of the 508,540 individuals stopped and checked last year, according to data released by the City Council's Public Safety Committee.

That percentage has changed little in nearly a decade - it was 50% in 2000 and 52% in 1998.

But the total number of frisks soared from the 97,296 conducted in 2002.

Among the top reasons cops gave for stopping an individual were that the suspect was in a high crime area or had made "furtive movements," according to the statistics.

Hispanics accounted for 29% of the searches last year and whites 10%, the data showed.

Asians, American Indians and individuals whose race was not indicated made up the rest.

The half-million searches resulted in 21,269 arrests. Black suspects accounted for 51% of those charged, Hispanics 30% and whites 12%.

Critics long have argued the NYPD engages in racial profiling by concentrating on blacks and Hispanics for stop-and-frisks.

Police brass have countered that cops stop suspects based on crime victims' descriptions.

The City Council requires the NYPD to provide regular reports on the stop-and-frisks. The NYPD released last year's records to the Council yesterday but still has to provide part of 2003's as well as those for 2004 and 2005.