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.<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
Scheindlin did not halt the program but named a federal court monitor to implement reforms.<\/p>\n
Immediately after the ruling, the city appealed Scheindlin�™s ruling, saying it could make NYPD officers �œpassive and scared” to stop and search suspects.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Scheindlin has now asked for a hearing before the appeals court, �œquestioning the procedural fairness and the substantive adequacy of the removal order.”<\/p>\n
Many in New York are hoping that the city�™s appeal will be withdrawn when Bill de Blasio, who was elected mayor of New York on Tuesday with a sweeping majority, takes office in January.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
ISH\/ISH<\/p>\n