The More things Change, the More they Stay the Same? Estimating the Effect of the Floyd v. NYC on Stop-and-Frisk Patterns

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

Abstract

In 2013, a federal court found the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practices unconstitutional. The court concluded that the NYPD violated Fourth Amendment rights from unreasonable searches and seizures and that the city-wide patterns suggested racial discrimination. In an unprecedented move, Mayor de Blasio withdrew the city’s appeal and agreed to take steps to reforming the infamous stop-and-frisk program. A year has passed from this historic moment and reduced levels of police stops have been observed throughout the city. However, does this mark a qualitative shift in the way NYPD implements its stop-and-frisk program? Or are these reduced levels of police stops “window dressing” hiding the same dynamic of racial discrimination? The goal of this study is to answer these important questions using Random Effects Growth Curve modeling. This study uses the 2013 court ruling as the treatment and a 12 month period before and after as the pretest-and post-test, respectively.

Authors

• Joel A. Capellan, Rowan University

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

• Jeremy Porter, Brooklyn College