The New York Police Department says its “stop-and-frisk” program — under which officers investigating crimes, or working to prevent crimes, briefly detain or pat down people on the streets — has played a pivotal role in driving down crime levels to record lows.
But civil rights groups and some criminologists are understandably troubled by new statistics showing that police officers stopped a record 575,000 people last year — nearly 90 percent black or Hispanic — and that the number of stops is growing as crime falls. Instead of dismissing such complaints, the Police Department should re-evaluate the program.
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