The New York Police Department is continuing with its stop-and-frisk program while a federal court ruled in August that the policy violates New Yorkers�™ constitutional rights.
In August, US District Judge Shira Scheindlin found the NYPD�™s stop-and-frisk tactics unconstitutional and based on a �œpolicy of indirect racial profiling” that led the New York City police to routinely stop �œblacks and Hispanics who would not have been stopped if they were white.”
Scheindlin did not halt the program but named a federal court monitor to implement reforms.
Immediately after the ruling, the city appealed Scheindlin�™s ruling, saying it could make NYPD officers �œpassive and scared” to stop and search suspects.
Last week, a federal appeals court halted Scheindlin�™s order which called for changes to the NYPD�™s stop-and-frisk tactics and removed her from the case.
The appeals court ruling was a temporary victory for outgoing New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the NYPD officials, who have claimed the program has led to a marked declined in crime rates.
Scheindlin has now asked for a hearing before the appeals court, �œquestioning the procedural fairness and the substantive adequacy of the removal order.”
Many in New York are hoping that the city�™s appeal will be withdrawn when Bill de Blasio, who was elected mayor of New York on Tuesday with a sweeping majority, takes office in January.
The New York Civil Liberties Union demonstrated in a 2012 report that there had been a sharp increase in the number of police stops over the period of Bloomberg�™s three terms in office.
The number of searches rose from 160,851 stops in 2003 to 685,724 in 2011, while half of the 2011 searches included physical searches.
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Source: Press TV