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Stop And Frisk Has Been A Very Controversial Topic For

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Stop and Frisk has been a very controversial topic for quite some time, especially throughout the last election cycle. It is defined as the circumstance where a police officer will temporarily detain an individual, who they have reasonable suspicion that the individual could be armed and/or dangerous, and pat down their clothing. This issue has been of grand concern for a multitude of individuals due to the increased fear in the minority communities, who have been declared more likely to be stopped and frisked, or ‘suspect worthy,’ which points in the direction of the unconstitutional use of racial profiling. In addition, the data — as explained in class — implies that the increase in stops and frisks during the time stop and frisks were …show more content…

When thinking about stop and frisks, their goal may be to lower fear and ensure quality of life, while also trying to combat crime and maintain order, but the data surrounding its use tends to paint a different picture. The point of stop and frisk is to try to prevent crime before it can even occur, while trying to ensure the safety of the community members; however, with how the police tends to utilize the discretion of its use, it seems to me, as well as many people in communities across the nation, that the technique is flawed in too many ways. This technique is linked to racial profiling and the victimizing of minority communities, primarily African Americans and Latinos, which increases fear in communities. This issue coupled with their goal to try to focus on crime prevention minimizes its success. Furthermore, I grew up hearing this phrase very often: “great on paper but, when implemented, not so much.” This relates too well with the use of stop and frisk, as the technique may seem great in theory, where it tries to accomplish a broad group of goals, crime prevention, order, fear reduction and quality of life, but it does not accomplish it. It ends up being relatively narrow, where it can only be crime focused.
Discretion. The ability to use judgement. A very powerful tool for law enforcement that has helped paint a dangerous image for the ‘blue community.’ Within the use of stop and frisks, the police are known for using

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