And in other news, the New York City counsel just voted to decriminalize “minor” crimes like urinating in public because enforcing those laws is “racist” and “oppressive.” The Giuliani era of low crime in the city is finally over and the Dinkins era has returned.
Stop and frisk is an effective crime control method. If the police are not abusive, it’s only reasonable to stop people on a reasonable suspicion based on appearance.
I was stopped and questioned in Tucson once many years ago. I was stopping after work at the La Jolla bar to have a beer with a friend (not a good part of town). Unluckily I was wearing a lined Levi jacket and a black sock hat. Apparently a mugger had been described as wearing the same thing. The police were businesslike and let me go on my way after questioning for about fifteen minutes. Of course it was disconcerting and it worried me even though I had been at work 45 miles away. At the same time mugging wasn’t a big problem in those days.