Stop And Frisk Research Paper

Words: 1305
Pages: 6

Police officer’s role is to enforce the law and deter crimes from occurring. In a sense, enforcing the law can mean arresting many individuals, as it shows the power of police officers. However, this power can cause many individuals to become fearful of police. For instance, in New York City, police officers use their power to stop people and inquire about their conduct regarding a crime. This can cause someone’s basic human rights to be violated when they have no ties with criminal activity. After the Terry vs Ohio Supreme Court Case, which granted police officers the ability to pat down anyone who seemed as criminal, many police officers took advantage of this ruling. Stop and frisk or the detaining of a person by law enforcement for the purpose of an investigation, became a controversial issue. …show more content…
The notion that someone may be armed and dangerous allows cops to stop random people even more, even though they may be walking down the street innocently. At first, stop and frisk was mainly seen in high crime areas where many weapons were found, however, many police officers used the power to their advantaged. Now, many African Americans and Hispanics are the main ethnic groups that are stopped and frisked by police officers. Police officers automatically assume that they are a threat to society, so stopping them is a way to “prevent crime from occurring.” During a stop and frisk , were citizens able to present their side of their story ? Did the officer treat the individual with respect? Questions as such are brought up as people are constantly being stopped by the police. Throughout this paper, I will be discussing how stop and frisk impacts minorities and many of the ways in which police officers can improve their