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 An Analysis of Offenders’ Race and Gender and Stop and Frisk Procedure in NYC

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 An Analysis of Offenders’ Race and Gender and Stop and Frisk Procedure in NYC

Different scholars have established theories to explain phenomena that require qualitative

research design. The minority groups are more affected by police arrests, murders, and stops

from the literature review. Moreover, the male gender is more susceptible to police arrests

(Gelman et al., 2007). These patterns are also recorded in the New York Police Department

database. For the explanation of these patterns, the researcher used a deductive approach.

Variables such as the felony and non-felony crimes committed in New York, the suspect in terms

of the age, sex, gender, the stop duration during the stop and frisk procedure, and the number of

arrests made were used to come up with an appropriate qualitative design.

Procedural Justice Theory

Procedural justice reviews the way police and other legal authorities interact with the

public and how these interactions impact people's expectations of the police, their readiness to

comply with the law, and the actual rate of crime. Stop and search have been argued for harming

police confidence and compliance. Procedural Justice Theory attempts to explain this

relationship by looking at unfair/fair acts that lead to (il) legitimization and (dis)obedience. Four

values, sometimes referred to as the four foundations, form the basis of procedural justice: 1) fair

proceedings, 2) open conduct, 3) right to speak out, 4) unbiased decision-making (Organizational

Change through Decision Making and Policy, n.d.). Internal procedural justice relates to officers'

belief that their subordinates' activities are reasonable and understandable, showing a high degree

of respect. External procedural justice focuses on the interaction between law enforcement and

other judicial bodies with the public. In the context of disciplinary practices in the criminal

justice system, both dimensions are essential. Hackman (2015) argued from the literature review

that when an analysis of New York Police Department (NYPD) structure of people detained and
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policed, most tended to be Black and Latino. The study studied new online surveillance practices

for non-white populations as illegal conduct was predicted to be more frequent.

The 1968 ruling by the Supreme Court on the Terry v. Ohio case stated that the stop-and-

frisk practice was only lawful per the Fourth Amendment, and where the "reasonable

presumption" exists that the fellow is associated with the illegal activity. On the contrary,

Casimir et al. (1999) conducted a study on 1000 young black and Hispanic men from New York

City. Eighty-one of the men had been stopped and frisked by the police at least once, without any

reason. Also, there was not even a single case of arrests from the carried-out frisks, which

explains that there was no reason for the frisks in the first place (Casimir et al., 1999). More than

20 years later after this report, Simmons (2021) says that there is still evidence of unfairness by

the police based on someone's race. These are pieces of evidence of procedural injustices in the

police department.
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Procedural justice based diagrammatic presentation

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Conflict Theory

The theory of conflict may be the most popular theory to explain race, gender, and crime.

The idea originates from Germany. In particular, Karl Marx, George Simmel, and Max Weber,

German scholars, were acknowledged as theory roots. Lilly et al. (2006) says that "theories that

focus on power and an unfair struggle between people and groups fall into the whole category of

conflict theory." Briefly, if the principle of conflict were extended to race and crime, one would

consider whether the law and punishment distribution were unequal. Although social class and

gender are also relevant to investigate, the White Power System's administration of justice is

vital to conflict theory. Conflict theory states that dominant social groups use the law and its

enforcement mechanisms to remove the threats that threaten them, particularly minorities and the

poor, pose to their interests.

According to Fagan et al. (2016), Boston Police Department officers' study found that

their operations were based on two areas which were; suspected gang members and actual ones.

Instead of justice in arrests, however, minority people experience higher levels of surveillance

and questioning. Black suspects are more likely to be observed, surveyed, interrogated, or

checked for gang membership and a history of previous convictions concerning white suspects.

Also, white police officers perform large numbers of field inquiries compared to their Black

counterparts and are more likely to frisk or search subjects of all races. (Fagan et al., 2016). The

reason why the police stop and frisk the Black suspects more is to protect the White suspects.

There is already prejudice in society members' minds in that Black people are more likely to

commit crimes. Also, the Black community is prejudiced to be competing for resources with the

white society members. As a result, any unfairness in the administration of justice is seen to
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reduce competition for resources. Conflicts, therefore, arise in society, and this is the

applicability of conflict theory. Hence, there is negativity in the relationship and form of

interaction between the people and the police.

Factors leading to Conflict theory

Racial Threat Theory

Racial threat theory was developed to explain better how demographics influence

discriminatory social control policies. It has since become one of the most commonly known

frameworks for analyzing racial differences in criminal justice outcomes. Stolzenberg et al.

(2004) examined Blalock's racial threat theory and concluded that race influenced the types and

nature of state-sanctioned surveillance practices and continues to do so. The effect of racial

hazard on arrest rates has produced mixed results in research. According to Liska and Chamlin's

analysis of US cities, the size of the non-White population increases overall arrest rates but has

no impact on non-White arrest patterns. Recent studies into the economic and political risks to
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Black arrests yielded no definitive results as well. Stolzenberg et al. (2004) found that neither the

number of Blacks in a group nor the presence of rivalry is associated with an increased

probability of Black arrests.

Ulmer & Johnson (2004) discovered a connection between the size of the minority

population and the amount of time spent in jail for Black and Hispanic defendants. The scale of

the minority population, on the other hand, had no impact on decisions about in-out

incarceration. Investigations into the sentencing practices of Hispanic inmates in federal courts

add to the challenge of racial threat claims. Feldmeyer and Ulmer claim that while Hispanic

offenders account for a small percentage of the population, they receive stricter sentences. In

contrast, when they account for a more significant percentage of the population, they receive

lenient sentences. This inequitable treatment is evidence that the racial threat theory accurately

reflects inequity in the justice system.

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Racial Threat Theory

Description of the Study

The Present Study

The research is an explanatory type of research. It is explanatory because it is conducted

to clarify phenomena that were not clearly explained in the previous studies. Despite having

several previous literature reviews explaining this topic, there has been no definite conclusion.
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The primary purpose of this research is to investigate how the race and gender of an offender

correlate with the suspected crime. Other objectives for the study are;

 To explain the relationship between the race of an individual and the arrests made.

 Revealing relationship between the gender and race of an offender with the type

of the crime (felony and non-felony).

 To reveal whether the gender and the race of an offender affect the stop duration.

 The connection between the officer's decision to apply physical force during the

arrest and the offenders.

The secondary source of data used in this research are reports from the New York Police

Department databases. The data from these records was collected in 2019 and contained a

collection of all the crimes during that year.

Research Design

This explanatory type of research employed a cross-sectional research design. This

design is best suited for this research in that data collection was being done in New York City. A

cross-sectional design is best suited for data collected from different individuals in the same area.

The design played an important role in making statistical inferences from the stop and frisk

records. Also, while using this design, the researcher has little chance of influencing the

variables appropriate for this study. The cross-sectional design is also cheap and fast. In addition

to the research design, a quantitative method was employed.

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Hypothesis

The race and gender of offenders influence the stop and frisk procedure in New York

City (Ha). To test this hypothesis, the researcher did an in-depth analysis of the document from

the department. An analysis of the stops and frisks involving different genders and races helped

draw a logical conclusion. Racial encounters with the police above 50% were indicated as p>50.

The results showed that the stops that involved a minority group person were more with over 5

minutes and were indicated as S>10. The other hypothesis is that the gender of an individual

determined the application of force by the police officer during the stop and frisk procedure.

Variables

The quantitative aim of this research is to investigate the concentration-performance

relationship and interactions between various control variables. Similarly, analysis of

quantitative numerical data from the 2019 New York Police Department database was done. This

study analysis will give a more comprehensive understanding of the patterns to establish whether

there is any biasness as far as stops and frisks by the police are concerned. There are

independent, independent, and moderator variables in this study. The stop and frisk protocol is

the independent variable. The race and gender of the offender are the dependent variables. Time,

age, and the type of crime, which are moderator variables, are also included in the study. These

variables are comparable to and compatible with those found in previous research.
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Methodology

Data

Papers, archival documents, and interviews, among other sources, may be used to collect

data for qualitative studies (Yin, 2003). This research incorporated secondary data by analyzing

documents such as the study on arrests and crimes committed in New York City in 2019. This

research grouped the variables alongside its recorded numerical data. The data showed the date

of the stop and frisk, why it happened, rank of the officer-involved, and the arrests made in the

whole year. The information is available on the New York Police Department website. The

quantitative results analysis was recorded, and several issues were conspicuous. First, between

the 1st and the 23rd of January, 13 of the 15 arrests were of minority groups, with Black origin

topping the list. This pattern was consistent for the whole year. The age gap varied between 13

years to 60 years, with a few cases appearing to be slightly above 60. In terms of gender, the

most stopped and frisked suspects were male. For instance, during January and February, only

four female suspects were stopped and frisked. The stop duration varied between the different

races but was not consistent. The police gave the reason "Criminal Trespass" for most of their

frisks on the minority group suspects. In all the cases, however, the officers explained the reason

for the stop. For all the races, the police made it aware to the suspects how to apply physical

force.
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Graphical representation of the rates of stops and frisks by police in Brooklyn, 2019.

Reported Stops and frisks, 2019

8%

15%

52%

25%

Blacks Whites Hispanic Whites Others

Ethical Issues

The researcher had obtained ethical approval from the IRB Ethics Committee before

beginning data collection. It also obtained informed consent from each of the interview

participants, indicating their agreement to participate in the analysis. The participants were told
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of the study's intent and the confidentiality of their responses during this phase through briefings

to ensure that individual identities are kept private and that they are free of any responsibility or

danger resulting from the study or response. The research only solicited feedback from those

involved, and participants were informed of their right to withdraw at any time if they found

participating to be inconvenient. All police records, including manuals, and other information,

were kept confidential and were not released to third parties in any way.

Data Management

Since the file includes several variables outside of the scope of the present research, the

researcher dissected details about alleged crime (felony and non-crime), the length of the

stoppage, existence or absence of the use of physical force during stop-and-arrest and arrest in

Brooklyn, NY in 2019. To do so, the researcher downloaded the file and then removed all

unnecessary data. He only left information about gender, ethnicity, suspected crime description,

stop length, suspected crime, whether the officer was in uniform and identified himself, whether

the suspect was frisked and checked, and whether he or she gave consent.
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Grading Rubric

Section and Quality Indicators Specific Comments Ratings

Cover page formatting

Theoretical framework

Description and theory analysis

Description of the study

Present study

Research design

Hypothesis

Methodology

Data

Ethical issues

Data management
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References

Casimir, L. (1999). Minority men: we are frisk targets. N.Y. Daily News.

Fagan, J., Braga, A. A., Brunson, R. K., & Pattavina, A. (2016). Stops and starts: street stops,

surveillance, and race in the new policing. Fordham Urban Law Journal.

Gelman, A., Fagan, J., & Kiss, A. (2007). An analysis of the New York City Police

Department’s “stop-and-frisk” policy in the context of claims of racial bias. Journal of

the American Statistical Association

Gershman, B. L. (2000). Use of race in ‘stop-and-frisk': stereotypical beliefs linger, but how far

can the police go? New York State Bar Journal.

Hackman, R. (2015). Is the online surveillance of black teenagers the new stop-and-frisk?

Lilly, J. D., Duffy, J. A., & Virick, M. (2006). A gender‐sensitive study of McClelland's needs,

stress, and turnover intent with work‐family conflict. Women in Management Review.

Rubin, D. B. (2005). Causal inference using potential outcomes: Design, modeling,

decisions. Journal of the American Statistical Association.

Simmons, R. (2021). Race and reasonable suspicion. Florida Law Review, Forthcoming.

Stolzenberg, L., D'ALESSIO, S. J., & Eitle, D. (2004). A multilevel test of racial threat

theory. Criminology.

Ulmer, J. T., & Johnson, B. (2004). Sentencing in context: A multilevel analysis. Criminology.

Yin, X., & Han, J. (2003, May). CPAR: Classification based on predictive association rules.

In Proceedings of the 2003 SIAM International Conference on Data Mining (pp. 331-

335). Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.