According to a recent poll a large majority of New Yorkers oppose The NYPDs' Stop And Frisk program, which disproportionately affects black and latino males. Stop And Frisk amounts to racial profiling and has been labelled unconstitutional. Most New Yorkers also support the idea of establishing an independent Inspector General to monitor The NYPD in light of the Lloyd Vs. The City Of New York trial and growing disapproval of police tactics. Call for more oversight of The NYPD has amplified in recent months.
66% (more than half) of New Yorkers are in favour of creating the position of Inspector General to monitor the activities of The NYPD. The numbers are as follows: 53% of white New Yorkers support the idea, 77% of Hispanics do also, and 78% of black New Yorkers are in favour as well. 92% of voters in New York City said they are less likely to vote for a Mayoral candidate that supports the continuation Stop And Frisk.
However, The NYPD and Mayor Michael Bloomberg are opposing the idea of having an Inspector General. Mayor Bloomberg said "The NYPD already has enough oversight". The Civilian Complaint Review Board is considered toothless by some New Yorkers who think more oversight is necessary. City Council Speaker and Mayoral candidate Christine Quinn announced that law makers had reached a deal to install an Inspector General to oversee The NYPD. The call is for an Inspector General who could investigate The NYPD and issue subpoenas. If the police are not accountable to an entity outside of themselves, that means they can get away with more misconduct. With an Inspector General in place The NYPD can no longer shoot and kill black men with impunity, nor could they continue the illegal practice of Stop And Frisk. An Inspector General would mean no more slap on the wrist for police murders and other misconduct. Mayoral candidate John Liu has advocated for an Inspector General and said if elected Mayor he would put an end to Stop And Frisk.
If New York had an Inspector General in place, cases like Sean Bell and Kimani Grey could have turned out differently.
The Stop And Frisk trial, Lloyd Vs. The City Of New York, is in it's sixth week. This landmark trail could very well bring an end to NYPDs' Stop and Frisk.