RT Article
T1 Stop, Question, and Frisk in New York City: A Study of Public Opinions:
JF Criminal justice policy review
VO 28
IS 7
SP 687
OP 709
A1 Evans, Douglas N.
A2 Williams, Cynthia-Lee
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1725661748
AB New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk program has been a contentious police practice for more than 40 years. There is extensive research that examines attitudes toward the police; however, empirical research has yet to analyze citizens’ perceptions of stop-and-frisk. This study uses data from pedestrians to uncover their opinions of stop-and-frisk. Results demonstrate that several demographic characteristics predicted attitudes toward stop-and-frisk; minorities and younger citizens had less positive views, and unfavorable opinions were linked to living in New York City; having less education; being unemployed; having lower income; not married; no children; having been previously frisked by police; and vicarious experiences of others with stop-and-frisk. The results provide insights into demographic and experiential factors that influence attitudes toward stop-and-frisk. As perceived unfairness often undermines police authority, identifying factors that predict unfavorable attitudes toward police practices can aide in allocating resources to further efforts to improve police-community relations.
K1 Criminal justice policy
K1 Police practices
K1 Attitudes
K1 Stop-and-frisk
K1 New York City
DO 10.1177/0887403415610166