5 Reasons That <em>New York Post</em> Editorial on Stop And Frisk Is Bullshit

The New York Post on Friday published a terrible stop-and-frisk editorial, one day after publishing an equally terrible stop-and-frisk article.

The gist of both pieces of this shitty, anonymously-sourced "journalism" is this: that a federal judge's ruling last month -- which said that the NYPD's use of stop and frisk is unconstitutional -- might be responsible for an uptick in gun violence over the last month.

Cops, the Post says, are scared to make the "necessary stops" because of the judge's ruling, which in turn emboldens criminals to carry guns.

It's no coincidence that the NYPD fed the Post (long the department's parrot) this article one day after that same federal judge denied the city's plea to delay the implementation of her ruling, pending an appeal.

Here are five reasons why the Post's and the NYPD's argument is absolute bullshit.

Please, New York, don't let them get away with this shameless, awful, good-for-nothing fear-mongering.

1. WAY, WAY TOO SMALL OF A SAMPLING SIZE

Long before Judge Shira Scheindlin's ruling in August, shootings spiked over month-long periods multiple times. Like, every year. That's, like, just how crime happens. Some months are worse than others. To even speculate that this past month's jump in shootings is due to a federal court ruling is laughable.

2. THERE IS NO PROVEN CORRELATION BETWEEN STOP AND FRISK AND A DECREASE IN SHOOTINGS

Example: The number of police stops have continued to decline this year, and are on pace to dip to a 10-year low. And yet, New York City hasn't descended into chaos.

In fact, New York City this year is on pace to have a record low number of murders and shootings, even lower than 2012's record lows. From a press release from the mayor's office, via Gothamist:

Through Sunday, September 8th, New York City has seen 84 fewer murders than at this point last year: 228 murders in 2013 compared to 312 murders in 2012 -- a decrease of 26.9 percent... Through Sunday, September 8th, the number of murders committed with firearms is down by 57 from last year: 131 in 2013 compared to 188 in 2012 -- a decrease of 30.3 percent.

Through Sunday, September 8th, New York City has seen 255 fewer total shootings than at this point last year: 774 shootings in 2013 compared to 1,029 shootings in 2012 -- a decrease of 24.8 percent.

3. THE CONSTITUTION

In the Post editorial, there are these two awful paragraphs:

Moreover, things likely will get worse with the reforms she's imposed, including a monitor for the cops -- and even an advisory board of professors, none of whom have on-the-street policing experience.

As Heather Mac Donald notes on the preceding page, the profs are mainly hard-left advocates for whom everything revolves around race and racism. They have no clue about how cops must actually do their work, making vital, split-second decisions.

I'm pretty sure cops, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly don't know as much about constitutional law as Judge Scheindlin. Like, for example, that the NYPD's stop-and-frisk regimen really just might amount to institutionalized racial profiling.

4. THE RULING HASN'T CHANGED ANYTHING YET

As Daily Intel highlights in this AP report, none of the judge's recommendations have even been implemented yet. In other words, the ruling has changed nothing about policing in New York City. From the AP:

[Scheindlin] said the vast majority of the overhaul won't be implemented until the monitor and the facilitator meet with the community, the police department and other stakeholders to create sensible solutions.

"In short, the only activity at this stage is discussion between the monitor, the facilitator and the parties to develop the remedies," she said. "No other specific relief is imminent, much less ordered."

5. TOO MUCH STOP AND FRISK ACTUALLY MAKES COPS' JOBS HARDER

Both yesterday's Post article and today's Post editorial failed to mention this actual study, with actual data and actual research, that was released Thursday. That report, by the non-partisan Vera Institute, showed that those young people stopped repeatedly by cops over the years (some over 20 times) are likely to not report violent crimes, even when they are the victims. Basically, stop and frisk has caused them not to trust the NYPD, and is making them refuse to cooperate with cops.