Critics Call It Whitewash:
Report: Profiling By NYPD is Infrequent

By REUVEN BLAU

A report funded by a group connected to the NYPD concluded that whites and minorities are being stopped by the department equally, but also found that a total of 15 officers in Queens and Staten Island stopped blacks and Hispanics more than their colleagues patrolling the same regions.

DONNA LIEBERMAN: Findings not convincing.

The 59-page review was conducted by the Rand Corp., a private nonprofit group which was retained by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly in March with funds from the Police Foundation.

Minorities, NYCLU Upset

The report was slammed by fraternal organizations representing minority officers in the NYPD and by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which charged that it twisted data and often attempted to justify negative outcomes based on hypothesis and conjecture.

"It's clear by their own language that the report's authors are trying to explain away the racial disparities that arise over and over again," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU. "This has all the trappings of a whitewash."

The Rand review found that whites have just about an equal chance of being stopped on the street and queried by police, but noted that minorities are frisked, given summonses and arrested at a higher rate.

Blacks and other minorities have long complained that the police employ racial profiling tactics. The Rand report, however, concluded that blacks last year actually were "understopped" by approximately 20 percent when considering the number of times victims described an African-American as a suspect.

'Frisk' Breakdowns

DIVIDE STILL EXISTS: Police Commissioner Ray Kelly (left) praised the findings of a think-tank that cases of racial profiling by city cops were not widespread but there was a disparity in how often they employed force against minorities whom they stopped. Two ex-cops who are advocates for minority organizations disagreed, with Anthony Miranda saying the report justified profiling and State Sen. Eric Adams contending that improper searches were what made many of his constituents mistrustful of the police.

The study revealed that the police stopped and questioned 508,540 last year. According to the study, a little more than half of those stops were made by 2,756 officers.

According to the report, in 2006, 53 percent of individuals stopped were black, 29 percent were Hispanic, and 11 percent were white.

The report also cited 15 officers, 10 from precincts in southern Queens, who stopped blacks and other minorities at a higher pace than their colleagues.

While the review did not make recommend any specific policy changes, Rand suggested that the department examine stop-and-frisk actions in south Brooklyn and Staten Island. Rand also suggested that new officers should be better instructed in the rules for such procedures and that all officers be trained to record why they stop each individual, noting that 90 percent last year did not result in an arrest.

Commissioner Kelly hailed the report and told reporters at a Nov. 20 press conference that its recommendations would be reviewed.

'No Basis in Reality'

Two days after the report was released, the chairman of the National Latino Officers Association of America joined the chorus of critics blasting the report's findings. "The report draws conclusions that have no basis in reality," retired NYPD Sgt. Anthony Miranda told reporters. "If left unchallenged, it is the justification for racial profiling, abuse and discrimination."

The NYCLU has repeatedly asked for the stop-and-frisk data from the NYPD, to no avail. At a result, the civil liberties group has filed suit, arguing that the figures should be made public under the state Freedom of Information Law.

State Sen. Eric Adams, a retired NYPD Captain, suggested that the data used by the Rand Corp. should be reviewed by independent scholars.

"I think that Rand's methodology, research, and outcome should be researched," he remarked during a Nov. 23 phone interview. "This information is important. We are talking about 500,000 New Yorkers who are stopped and searched."

'Good and Bad Searches'

He stressed that he supported the police policy of stopping individuals who match specific descriptions of suspects. "Those are great searches," Senator Adams remarked. "Then there are searches when no type of crime is committed. He's merely going out and searching a predetermined number of people - those are bad searches."

The Rand study, he added, did not a make a distinction between those two types of searches, which "handicapped" the review.

The NYCLU noted that the report found that force was more likely to be used against black suspects than against other racial groups. The report then attempted to muddy that conclusion by questioning whether black suspects are more likely to attempt to resist or flee without using data to support that argument, the NYCLU argued.

"This report is scandalous," said NYCLU Associate Legal Director Christopher Dunn. "The black community continues to bear the brunt of police stops, blacks continue to be singled out for stops that don't ever result in an arrest and the Police Department continues its efforts to justify these practices."

Anger of Experience

Senator Adams, who represents the 20th Senate District in central Brooklyn which includes Crown Heights, Flatbush, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Prospect Heights, said that his constituents are constantly upset about being searched by officers for no apparent reason.

"They are complaining about the constant negative reaction by being searched," he said, noting that they are far less vocal about specific incidents such as the fatal police shooting of Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo. "The irony of this is that police officers are saying they don't want to stop innocent New Yorkers for not committing crimes just to fill out numbers."

The NYCLU and others said the report exemplified the need for a truly independent review. "For the Police Department just to believe that the issue is going to go away with this report - that's probably the oldest trick in the book," Senator Adams asserted.