Stop-and-frisk attorneys say the How Many Stops Act is the answer

New York, October 7, 2024 – In response to the report just filed by the court-appointed monitor in the landmark case, Floyd v. City of New York, stop-and-frisk attorneys issued the following comments: 

“The monitor’s report makes clear that the NYPD is not in compliance with the court and substantial underreporting of stops remains an issue. The department is failing its requirement under the Floyd v. City of New York remedial order to properly document stops: according to this report, up to 40,000 stops a year may be going unreported,” said Samah Sisay, staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “The trend is moving in the wrong direction, which is why we need stronger reporting requirements. By requiring reporting on Level 1 and Level 2 stops, the How Many Stops Act could help solve this problem by providing a more accurate scope of all police encounters – the more detailed and accurate the data on police reporting, the more accountable they can be held.”

“Without meaningful accountability, the NYPD will never be in compliance with law or its own guidelines,” said co-counsel Jonathan Moore of Beldock Levin Hoffman LLP. “Accountability means that when officers and supervisors fail to document a stop, or engage in a bad stop, a bad frisk or a bad search, they should be disciplined. A 41 percent rate of failing to document enforcement activity of the department is simply unacceptable. Without meaningful accountability, the culture of the department will never change.”