NYPD Releases Stop-and-Frisk Totals

By Luis Gronda

The NYPD released a detailed report last week on the number of stop-and-frisks made by police officers throughout the City, with the highest Queens incidents coming from the 115th Precinct.

The report is the most up-to-date numbers on stop-and-frisks, which has been a divisive issue in the City. Supporters of the measure say that it helps curb the crime rate, while people opposed to it say that it can lead to discrimination against minorities.

The numbers complied are from 2011 and are broken down by each police precinct and race. The NYPD started producing stop-and-frisk reports in 2002.

In 2011, police stopped and questioned 685,724 people, which is an increase of almost 1,400 from last year’s report.

Out of the 16 police precincts in Queens, the 115th Precinct, which covers Jackson Heights, North Corona, East Elmhurst and LaGuardia Airport, had the most stop-and-frisks last year with 18,156. Robbery was the leading reason for stopping people in that precinct with just over 37 percent. Broken down by race, nearly 84 percent of those people stopped within that precinct identified themselves as Hispanic and about 65 percent of those people resided in an area that is patrolled by the 115th.

Second on that list, according to the report, is the 103rd precinct, which patrols Jamaica, Hollis and Hollis Park Gardens, with 17,152. The chief reason for stops in that command was also robbery, with just under 35 percent, and African-Americans accounted for 73 and a half percent of the stops in that precinct.

Finishing third in the Borough is the 109th Precinct, which patrols parts of Flushing, Whitestone, College Point, Malba, Beechhurst and Bay Terrace, with 12,864. Robbery was the main reason for the stops in the 109th and African-Americans also made up the highest percentage of stops with just over 47 percent.

Citywide, Brooklyn’s 75th Precinct topped the list, with 31,100 incidents.

The three precincts with the lowest number of stop-and-frisks are the 112th, 111th and the 100th Precincts. The 112th Precinct, which covers Forest Hills and Rego Park, had 3,407 stops that year, the 111th, patrolling several neighborhoods, including Bayside and Douglaston, had almost 4,700 stops in total, and finally, the 100th Precinct, which is responsible for much of the Rockaway peninsula, including Belle Harbor and Breezy Point, had a little over 5,000 stop-and-frisks for the time period covered by the report.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, a non profit civil rights organization, has been one of the main opponents of stop-and-frisk, saying that it raises concerns over racial profiling and privacy rights. It also released a stop-and-frisk phone application, which allows people to video and voice record a search conducted by a police officer and send it in to the NYCLU. The NYPD has defended the measure in the past saying that it has been part of the reason for the City’s declining crime numbers in recent years.

Reach Reporter Luis Gronda at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 127 or at lgronda@queenstribune.com.