Cops Should Know the Communities they Police: A Grounded Theory Study of Minority Youths’ Experiences with Stop and Frisk, and their Engagement in Police Reform.

• In Event: Policing Diverse Societies: Using Macro to Micro Perspectives to Examine Issues in Policing

Abstract

In a 2013 remedies opinion written by Federal Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, the NYPD was required to reform their practices and policies related to stop and frisk. Modeling after the Collaborative Agreement approved in 2002 as a settlement against Cincinnati Police Department, Judge Scheindlin included a community engagement component also known as the Joint Remedial Process. This community engagement process was intended to obtain input for proposed reforms from those most affected by stop and frisk practices. This qualitative study uses focus group data gathered during the Joint Remedial Process over a four month period to understand the experience of being stopped and frisked, and how this shapes participants’ suggestions for reforms.

Author

• Jeanene Barrett, John Jay College of Criminal Justice / CUNY Graduate Center