Community Responses to “Stop-and-Frisk” in New York City

• DOI: 10.1177/0887403414560013
• Date: 01 November 2016
• Published date: 01 November 2016
• Subject Matter: Articles

Criminal Justice Policy Review

2016, Vol. 27(7) 723 –746

© 2014 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/0887403414560013

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Article

Community Responses to

“Stop-and-Frisk” in New York

City: Conceptualizing Local

Conditions and Correlates

Andres F. Rengifo1 and Lee Ann Slocum2

Abstract

This study seeks to conceptualize individual and neighborhood conditions that affect

the ability of residents to enact collective responses to intense policing practices

such as “stop-and-frisk.” Drawing on prior research, we formulate four hypotheses

that could jointly or independently shape mobilization around issues of policing: (a)

neighborhood organizational infrastructure, (b) resident activism, (c) attitudes toward

neighborhood change, and (d) perceptions of police performance. We provide a

preliminary exploration of these arguments by combining administrative reports

with surveys and observations in the South Bronx. Our descriptive work suggests

that despite the lack of a robust local community response to high levels of police

stops, this section of the city has many community organizations, significant levels of

resident involvement, and general optimism regarding neighborhood change. There is

some indication that residents may be willing to put up with frequent “hassles” from

the police in exchange for less crime.

Keywords

police discretion, police strategy, community policing, complaints against police

The volume of documented stops made by the New York Police Department (NYPD)

surged from 160,000 in 2003, the first year for which the data are complete, to a peak

of 685,724 in 2011, before declining to 533,042 in 2012 (NYPD, 2014). This increase

1Rutgers University Newark, NJ, USA

2University of Missouri–St. Louis, USA

Corresponding Author:

Andres F. Rengifo, School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University Newark, 123 Washington Street,

Newark, NJ 07102, USA.

Email: arengifo@andromeda.rutgers.edu

560013CJPXXX10.1177/0887403414560013Criminal Justice Policy ReviewRengifo and Slocum

research-article2014

724 Criminal Justice Policy Review 27(7)

in stops, coupled with the fact that about 90% of these contacts do not result in arrests

or summons, has generated controversy regarding the social costs and benefits of this

strategy. The NYPD and their supporters assert that stops have contributed to the crime

decline, they are constitutionally sound, and most residents approve of them

(MacDonald, 2010; Ridgeway, 2007). Critics claim the “stop-and-frisk” policy trans-

lates into racial profiling and high volumes of stops increase the likelihood of police

abuse. Some academics, for example, argue there are no direct benefits of this policy

in terms of crime reduction, there are better uses for police resources, and intensive

policing may undermine the work of the police in the long term (Harcourt & Ludwig,

2007; Rosenfeld & Fornango, 2014).

Although much of the controversy surrounding the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy

is couched in terms of its social costs or benefits, few researchers have theorized about

the conditions that lead communities to mobilize collectively in response to the

increasing number of stops or similar practices (for a partial review, see Prenzler,

Porter, & Alpert, 2013). More specifically, we do not fully understand how local mobi-

lization efforts may be shaped by neighborhood resources and conditions as well as

residents’ perceptions of and experiences with law enforcement practices. For exam-

ple, we do not know whether general support for the police can be accompanied by

negative perceptions of specific tactics, or whether these attitudes are linked to varia-

tion in the intensity of local law enforcement activity. Furthermore, even if city dwell-

ers feel dissatisfied with police practices, mobilization efforts may be hampered by a

lack of access to or participation in local community organizations, which provide

resources and legitimacy to voice concerns and coordinate actions. These specifica-

tions matter for theory and policy. Local conditions, resources, and shared experiences

may shape the scope and nature of collective responses in connection to police

accountability vis-a-vis broader deficits in social services and conditions (Putnam,

2000). In the case of New York in particular this is a timely issue, as it remains unclear

to what extent ongoing action in the form of litigation on stop-and-frisk cases reflects

widespread mobilization efforts at the grassroots level.1

Drawing on these ideas, we develop a theoretically oriented perspective that seeks

to better specify characteristics of individuals and neighborhoods that could affect

their ability to collectively mobilize against intensive policing strategies. We anchor

these avenues for potential mobilization on a specific practice—police stops—and

formulate four hypotheses about the factors that could jointly or independently acti-

vate community responses triggered by these practices: (a) organizational infrastruc-

ture; (b) resident activism; (c) attitudes toward neighborhood change; and (d) general

perceptions of the police. Each of these hypotheses refers to conditions that may facili-

tate mobilization via access to advocacy resources or perceptions of shared

problems.

We use a case study of the South Bronx, a disadvantaged high-crime area of New

York City, to explore how these conditions may trigger or amplify collective responses

vis-à-vis practices such as stop-and-frisk. Rather than testing propositions empirically,

we collate various types of neighborhood-specific data to discuss how community

characteristics, police practices, and individual factors may play a role in the