Reform “stop and frisk” but don’t throw it out!
U.S. District
Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled this past Monday that the NYPD violated the
civil rights of thousands of New Yorkers, mostly minorities, with its “stop and
frisk” policy. Mayor Bloomberg countered the judge's decision at a press conference saying it is a tactic police use to search anyone regardless of whether a crime has been committed. The mayor went on to say that the policy has been instrumental in drivig down crime rates to record lows and that other courts have deemed it to be constitutional in keeping city streets safe.
Here's a quote from Bobby Kennedy when he was the U.S. attorney general back in 1964.
''Every society gets
the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community
gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.''
Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968), U.S. attorney general, Democratic
politician. The Pursuit of Justice, pt. 3, "Eradicating Free Enterprise in
Organized Crime," (1964).
I think it's still relevant today. What do you think?
Feel free to post your comments.
