Stop and Frisk

925 Words2 Pages

Law Enforcement policy is designed to help law enforcement agencies cut down on the amount of crime in communities and give structure to the agency. It also helps lessen the number of certain cases in certain areas, as well as from a certain group of people. There are several policies that I disagree with, but there is one policy I will be discussing. Law enforcement officers sometimes stop and frisk people based on gender, race, financial status, and social ranking. It is a very controversial issue because anything dealing with race and ethnicity can cause a lot of disagreement and discord. According to a New York judge on dealing with the stop and frisk laws, "If you got proof of inappropriate racial profiling in a good constitutional case, why don't you bring a lawsuit? You can certainly mark it as related . . . . I am sure I am going to get in trouble for saying it, for $65 you can bring that lawsuit" (Carter, 2013, pp.4). The stop and frisk law is one reason I do not believe in law enforcement profiling. Even though some law enforcement officers allow personal feelings and power to allow them to not follow policy, some policies are not followed morally because I do not feel that officers should be allowed to frisk someone who is innocent and has not committed a crime because it takes the focus off real criminals and onto innocent people; it causes emotional stress. I know because I have been through this several times.
The stop and frisk policy is a policy in which law enforcement officers stop and asks questions and frisk people they feel are suspect, and I feel that it is wrong because it targets too many innocent people and takes the focus off real criminals. They do this even if the person has done nothing wrong....

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... mistaken for someone else. I have seen innocent people go to jail for a crime they did not commit because of wrongful accusations. I am a criminal justice major, so this really gives me mixed emotions or a conflict of interest. I do feel like right is right and wrong is wrong. I feel like people should take a stand and not be afraid to stand up for what they believe in.

Works Cited

eferences
Are We Born Racist? Psychology Today. Retrieved November 9, 2013 from: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojp/186189.pdf
Police Behavior during Traffic and Street Stops. 2011 . Retrieved November 18, 2013 from: http://www.bjs.gov/index.
Justice in New York: Stop Frisks. 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013 from: www.cnn.com
Does Racism Cause Psychological and Emotional Injury? 2007. Retrieved November 18, 2013 from: http://roberttcarterassociates.com/pres7.html

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