A federal judge on Monday ruled that the NYPD had violated the civil rights of thousands of New Yorkers with its stop-and-frisk policy. As the JDJournal reported last week in the article ‘NYPD Purges its Stop-n-Frisk Database‘ the controversial NYC policy has been shut down. At one point, the Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelley defended this legislation as a life saving crime-fighting tool.
U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin acted to reform the policy rather than end it. Though no specifics were given, independent oversight would be developed to assist transition the policy towards a tool that the police could use that would not violate civil rights. The judge wanted to “develop reforms to policies, training, supervision, monitoring and discipline. She also ordered that officers test out body-worn cameras in the police precinct where most stops occurred,” according to Findlaw.com.
No statement has been given by the city of New York, but a news conference is scheduled to take place. The law was changed as a class-action lawsuit was brought against the city. Critics of the policy say it discriminates blacks and hispanics, and the judge herself commented, “the NYPD implements its policies regarding stop and frisk in a manner than intentionally discriminates based on race.”
At this time, the stop and frisk policy will begin its process of reform, while adhering to its mission of making the city safer while validating its new reform corollary- to do so while keeping civil rights in mind in a non-discriminatory fashion.