As Stop-and-Frisks Have Gone Down in NYC, So Have Shootings and Murders
The idea that New York City is in the throes of a historically or even notably dangerous and criminal era is a myth fabricated largely by the knuckleheads at the New York Post. More evidence to the contrary: In the years since stop-and-frisk began its great decline, murders and shootings in the city have gone down too, not up, according to new NYCLU analysis.
The gist of the data is this: between 2011 and 2014, the frequency of stop-and-frisks dropped by 93% in the city, thanks to public outcry, a federal lawsuit, and the election of reform-minded mayor Bill de Blasio. Over that same time period, murders and shootings dropped precipitously as well. As the NYCLU notes, that last part is especially important, because according to stop-and-frisk supporters, the seizure of guns and subsequent reduction in gun violence was the whole point of the program.
As any high-school statistics student can tell you, there’s a difference between correlation and causation. The city isn’t getting safer because of a reduction in stops, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be getting more dangerous because of it either.
