Mental Health Implications of Stop, Question, and Frisk: The Role of Stigma

• In Event: Proactive Policing in New York: Social and Legal Impacts of Two Decades of Stop and Frisk

Abstract

The New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Stop, Question, and Frisk (SQF) regime has made police officers a ubiquitous presence in many neighborhoods. Residents are frequently and often aggressively stopped by the police at low levels of suspicion, despite the low “hit rate” at which stops detect illegal activity. The physically and psychologically invasive nature of many stops raises concerns about their potential health consequences. Aggressive police contact has been associated with anxiety and trauma symptoms among those stopped, suggesting a need to identify how police conduct impacts the individuals stopped. One important mechanism through which police contact might undermine health is that of internalized stigma, which has been associated with significant social and mental health deficits. We test this association with a survey of a stratified random sample of more than 1,200 young men in New York City. Preliminary analyses suggest that respondents reporting more aggressive police contact also report more experienced stigma than those stopped fewer times; however, respondents stopped by the police anticipate less structural stigma than those never stopped. Multilevel models nesting respondents within their neighborhoods help identify interactions between individuals’ experiences and the experiences of others in their neighborhoods.

Authors

• Amanda Geller, Columbia University

• Jeffrey Fagan, Columbia Law School

• Tom Tyler, Yale University

• Bruce Link, Columbia University