Welcome to Upside-down land NY, where a policy that effectively harasses 106% of the Black and Latino population, according to Michael Bloomberg - this time topping his previous claim that "Stop and Frisk Opponents were The Racists" - now claims that this bigoted policy doesn't do so enough to victimize and stigmatize minorities.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
One newspaper and one news service, they just keep saying ‘oh it’s a disproportionate percentage of a particular ethnic group.’ That may be, but it’s not a disproportionate percentage of those who witnesses and victims describe as committing the [crime]. In that case, incidentally, I think we disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little. It’s exactly the reverse of what they’re saying. I don’t know where they went to school, but they certainly didn’t take a math course. Or a logic course.
So based on what "witnesses say" Bloomberg claims that his policy isn't bigoted or racist - I guess then apparently
the Witnesses Are Biased when they repeatedly claim that the perpetrators of most crimes in New York, are black and brown, but not white. And I wonder where they might have gotten that idea?
Or, if not that, Young Black Men are just more "Criminal" than anyone else.
BTW, how'd that Brilliant Master Plan (tm) work out for the White Guy who instigated the Shooting at the Empire State Building?
A disgruntled former apparel designer was killed Friday morning in a hail of police gunfire in front of the Empire State Building after he shot and killed a co-worker and engaged in a gunbattle with two officers, authorities said.
Police officers fired a total of 16 rounds; one officer shot nine while another one shot seven, the New York Police Department said.
I'm about 106% sure that
that guy would never have been
Stopped And Frisked, but if anyone needed to be - it was
him.
There are just so many ways that what Bloomberg is saying is wrong and false. Think progress has most of the gamut.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
The statistics are overwhelming. An independent study of the city’s stop-and-frisk program found that 87 percent of the 685,724 stops in 2011 — a record high — were of blacks and latinos. Young black men between the ages of 14 and 24 were stopped 106% of the time — as in, there were more stops of young black men than the entire population of young black men.
The evidence does not support Bloomberg’s claim that stopping more minorities will lower the city’s crime rate. Stop-and-frisk had a 90 percent failure rate in 2011, and in the first three months of 2013, when the number of stops fell by 51 percent from the same period last year, the crime rate dropped as well.
So let's get this straight,
90% of their Stops don't result in any weapons or violations discovered - and further - their own stats show that they would find
more weapons and violations if they stopped more white people than they currently do.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
• The likelihood a stop of an African American New Yorker yielded a weapon was half that of white New Yorkers stopped. The NYPD uncovered a weapon in one out every 49 stops of white New Yorkers. By contrast, it took the Department 71 stops of Latinos and 93 stops of African Americans to find a weapon.
• The likelihood a stop of an African American New Yorker yielded contraband was one-third less than that of white New Yorkers stopped. The NYPD uncovered contraband in one out every 43 stops of white New Yorkers. By contrast, it took the Department 57 stops of Latinos and 61 stops of African Americans to find contraband.
So they would find twice as many weapons, and
3 Times as much drugs per capita if they were to do what Bloomberg says they already do too much. And during the period that they actually did
fewer stops, they had less crime.
Instead he'd rather stop the same people, that have already been stopped and they DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING ON THEM over and over and over and over.
That's on top of the Whistle-blowing Officers who have revealed that these stops have nothing to do with halting crime, but jacking up the numbers of stops just to make the police "look productive".
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/...
"So what am I supposed to do? Is it stop every black and Hispanic?" Serrano says. "I'm not going to do that. You want to do that. I'm not going to do that."
"No, no, no, this is very important to understand," the inspector says. "Because it's the right people, the right time, the right location."
"Mott Haven is full of black people, so who are the right people?" Serrano asks.
MacCormack: "The problem was male blacks, 14 to 20, 21."
Serrano: "So what am I supposed to do? Male blacks 14 to 20 wearing dark clothing? What do you want me to do specifically?"
MacCormack: "Hold on, hold on, would you just do me a favor on take it down? Because this is becoming insubordination."
...
Serrano, an 8-year veteran, testified that he had no problems until McCormack was appointed commander. Suddenly Serrano found himself on the hot seat. At one point, Serrano says his bosses put cops on forced overtime, and ordered them to get five stops, issue five C summonses, and do five vertical patrols in one tour. He began receiving assignments usually reserved for rookie cops.
And then, his evaluations got worse. He was called on the carpet for his "productivity" by a captain, who told him that 50 percent of his "grade" was based on his summons, arrest and stop and frisk numbers. He alleges that all of this was retaliation.
"I said specifically that's a quota and that's illegal," he says. But the captain replied that she could do that, based on an order at the end of 2011 by Police Commissioner Kelly.
Apparent this Apple is Rotten from the Top on Down.
Don't you think that if you get stopped over and over and over again at least once you're likely to be found doing something "wrong"? And once that happens, the next time you're stopped they have the excuse that you are now a "known troublemaker", and they have even more reason to jam you up? Couldn't it be that the so-called "higher rates" of black and brown persons that Bloomberg sites as being "suspects" are actually the result of his own policies which tend to look at them as suspects first and citizens a distant second? It's not about reducing crime, it's about creating an atmosphere of Fear amongst a portion of the populace.
A Regime of Intimidation. Where if you're a black or brown male - you are presumed guilty until you show that you are innocent. Again, and again, and again.
Someone doesn't tout a 90% Failure Rate to find guns or drugs as helping to "reduce crime" unless you consider the fact that in the process you've effectively Scared the Bejeezus Out of So Many People most of them wouldn't be caught dead with any contraband or weapons on them. And if they were still going to take that risk, aren't they going to do it in a way that prevents them from getting caught?
Meanwhile there's another set of of people don't have to worry about that kind of scrutiny - hence when you actually look at the numbers, they have a higher "hit" rate for guns and drugs. Why should they worry about getting caught when no-one is paying any attention to them?
Logically people should usually go fishing, where the FISH are AT - but apparently not the NYPD.
Fortunately because of Kelly and Bloomberg's behavior on this the New York City Council has passed a set of "Veto Proof" Bills to install a New Inspector General and an Anti-Profiling Bill.
http://www.dnainfo.com/...
The so-called racial profiling bill, which passed 34-17, would allow people who believed they were stopped and frisked because of their race to sue.
The inspector general bill, which passed 40-11, would task the Department of Investigation with overseeing police practices.
As a result of the ongoing Federal Lawsuit there may be a Consent Decree with Federal Oversight of this issue as well soon.
I don't think these bills will end this fight, but at least it's a beginning.
Now, if we could just get someone to investigate Bloomberg & Kelly's ridiculous campaign of violence against Occupy Protestors & Journalists a well as their illegal and fruitless surveillance of Muslims outside their jurisdiction - we might be getting a little bit closer to.. what's that thing called again? Oh yeah, "Justice".
In the meanwhile, Can a Brutha Get a Big Gulp?
Vyan
