NYPD 'Reasonable Suspicion Stops' Report May Reveal Racial Bias

More than half of the 685,724 "reasonable suspicion stops" conducted citywide in 2011 by The New York Police Department involved black individuals, according to a report released Monday by the NYPD.

The "Reasonable Suspicion Stops: Precinct Based Comparison by Stop and Suspect Description" report for 2011 noted that in all of New York City, 3.6 percent of those stopped were Asian or Pacific Islander, 9.4 percent were white, 33.9 percent were hispanic and 53.1 percent were black. 

The top crime suspected in stops was weapons possession, accounting for 25.6 percent of all stops, the report continued. All stops conducted equated to less than one stop per police officer per week among the 19,600 on patrol during that period. 

In the 76th Precinct, 4,659 reasonable suspicion stops were conducted, with the suspicion of grand larceny auto accounting for 18.6 percent of all stops. 

Of those stopped in the 76th, which includes Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Red Hook, 2.8 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander, 19.6 percent were white, 33.4 percent were hispanic and 44.2 percent were black. 

In the 84th Precinct, 5,213 reasonable suspicion stops were conducted, with the suspicion of robbery accounting for 16.3 percent of all stops. 

Of those stopped in the 84th, which includes Boerum Hill, 5.0 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander, 12.2 percent were white, 18.8 percent were hispanic and 64.1 percent were black.