Across the Hudson: Taking the Stop and Frisk Debate Beyond New York City

N.Y.U. Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, 2014, Forthcoming

U. of Pittsburgh Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2014-03

32 Pages Posted: 21 Jan 2014 Last revised: 6 Feb 2014

See all articles by David A. Harris

David A. Harris

University of Pittsburgh - School of Law

Date Written: January 20, 2014

Abstract

This article presents the results of a survey conducted by the author of 56 police departments across the country concerning the practice of data collection on stop and frisk practices of those police departments. These results are discussed against the backdrop of the debate on stop and frisk, examined in this article through a review of the legal basis for the practice and its use by police departments. The article then argues that greater data collection efforts in places other than New York City, where such efforts have been more robust than elsewhere, could broaden and deepen the debate on stop and frisk and better inform the larger debates over the impact of race on criminal justice, particularly with respect to the question of whether stop and frisk necessarily has a disparate impact on racial and ethnic minorities, as New York City data indicates.

Keywords: police reform, public integrity, police accountability, racial profiling, Fourth Amendment, Equal Protection Clause, stop and frisk, stop question and frisk, Floyd, Floyd v. New York, data collection, criminal justice policy, Major Cities Chiefs

JEL Classification: K14, K42

Suggested Citation

Harris, David A., Across the Hudson: Taking the Stop and Frisk Debate Beyond New York City (January 20, 2014). N.Y.U. Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, 2014, Forthcoming, U. of Pittsburgh Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2014-03, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2382053

David A. Harris (Contact Author)

University of Pittsburgh - School of Law ( email )

3900 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

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