Random full-out home raids would be another excellent way to prevent crime. They could roll some dice to choose the house, fire flash-bangs into the living room, kick down the door and spend a few hours doing a thorough search and seizure raid! Just think of all the criminals they would round up!
They wouldn't KILL anyone, at least not intentionally, so it should be OK right?
The point is that it's the act, no matter how small, that's wrong. It's prohibited by the Constitution.
Government abuses nearly always start small and grow slowly over time. Stop and frisk isn't as severe as other things they could do, but it is absolutely an abuse of power.
Are those who have been stopped to be frisked free to refuse and walk away? No. If a young mother who had nothing at all to hide, but was in a hurry to get home to a sick child, was stopped by LEOs like this, she would be arrested and thrown in jail for a few days just the same if she tried to refuse and keep running home.
Don't fall for the well-worn tool of incrementalism! Evil administered one teaspoon at a time is STILL EVIL.
It's pretty amazing how conservatives have internalized so much of the leftist pap from Hollywood movies and crime writers. Stop-and-frisk is actually a continuation of the policing practices of the time before Federal court rulings in the 1960's and beyond put a stop to them. Have a look at San Diego crime stats from before the 60's, and you'll see a pretty distinct trend.