Guest Post: Stop-and-frisk can be an effective crime-fighting tool, at the right time and place
Two social scientists say the controversial tactic may have had a positive impact in the high-crime 1990s
The police practice of “stop, question and frisk,” or “stop-and-frisk” — randomly checking citizens for drugs or guns — was used heavily by New York City police starting in the 1990s to deter or stop crime from happening. A combination of court rulings and the end of the tenure of Mayor Mike Bloomberg saw the number of stops plummet from nearly 700,000 in 2011 to about 10,000 in 2017. Bloomberg is now being criticized by some for supporting the practice, which many feel was racially biased.
But two professors in public policy, Charles F. Manski of Northwestern University and Daniel S. Nagin of Carnegie Mellon University, argue here that the tactic may have been the right answer for crime in the 1990s, but less so in an era of greatly reduced crime.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/crim...fective-crime-fighting-tool-right-time-place/
