(AllHipHop News) As New York’s Mayor Bill DeBlasio dismantles the controversial stop and frisk policy in New York, Newark, NJ now has became the centerpiece of the racially biased practice, according to new reports.
The American Civil Liberties Union of NJ has dropped the bomb, claiming that Newark uses stop and frisk over 10 times more often than NYC.
This statistic means about 91 of 1,000 residents are shaken down and checked by authorities based solely on their race. Newark, NJ is about 75% African American.
Of those stopped and frisked, about 25% receive a summons or some other legal notice.
Udi Ofer, ACLU-NJ’s executive director, released a statement that outlined the the civic organization’s stance on the matter.
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“Several disturbing patterns have emerged that raise constitutional red flags about the Newark Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practices. Specifically, our report raises concerns about the high volume of stops, racial disparities in who is getting stopped and the fact that the vast majority of stops appear to be of innocent people,” said Ofer.
Critics of the report state that Newark’s crime rate is considerably higher than New York, making the comparisons unfair.
Still, the ACLU holds firm that these findings are unjust.
“The U.S. Supreme Court made clear decades ago that under our Constitution, police are permitted to stop people only if they have individualized and reasonable suspicion of a crime,” said ACLU-NJ’s Ari Rosmarin. “When 75% of those stopped in Newark are innocent of any wrongdoing, it raises significant questions about what criteria officers are using when deciding to make a stop.”
