Today's NY Times does an uncharacteristically good and unbiased job of describing the great rise of "stop and frisks" all over the City. If you live in the micro-hood of the Q at Parkside, you've probably seen plenty of this action yourself. And perhaps you've been the target of a frisk or two yourself. Here's the full 'ticle: Frisk Times. And why they didn't use the adorable pic above w/the pit bull trained for the frisk, I'll never understand.
I'm really curious to hear what y'alls reaction is to this. God knows it's not new. But when summer heats up the police seem to step up their presence and the friskiness seems to get more intense and more indiscriminate. A recent event right in front of our house got us thinking that maybe there's a better way to deal with unwanted knuckleheads on our blocks.
Most neighbors I talk to are glad for the police presence. We've all watched certain buildings and corners become hangouts for ne're-do-wells (a contraction of never do well i just realized, which should therefore be spelled ne'r-do-wells). But do the actual seemingly random "frisks" really make a difference? I find that just having cops pace up and down the blocks is a huge help. Maybe a kind word to local young black men would go a lot farther. Get to know your constituents. Shoot the proverbial sh&t. Find out who are the good guys dressed bad and the bad guys dressed good. It can't be that hard, can it?
Thoughts?
2 comments:
I am not at all glad for the police presence. The police have come around 3 am a few times to make a very loud ruckus in the lobby of my building (and I'm on the first floor). And surprise, surprise, they've yet to find what they're looking for. The woman upstairs had her apartment searched and she still doesn't know why. They give the guys on the stoop a lot of trouble, but from what I've seen, they just sit out there and play dominoes. Sometimes they drink some beers. Of course, we can never know the whole story but personally, the police presence anywhere in the neighborhood doesn't make me feel much safer.
I second that. I get leered at by the foot patrols, and the one time I had to report something (that happened in Manhattan and not in the 70th pct, where I live), the cop handled it poorly, harassed me, and basically told me I was "asking for it." I'm sure they do lots of good as well, and I just don't see it, but I'm not convinced, at the least, that the cops we have are the ones we need.
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