The city of Newark recently released data on its stop-and-frisk program. ACLU-NJ Executive Director Udi Ofer told NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams and Correspondent David Cruz that the data reveals several patterns.
“The latest data out of Newark reveals several disturbing patterns that raise constitutional red flags,” said Ofer. “Specifically, the ACLU of New Jersey is concerned about the high volumes of stops, the racial disparities in who is getting stopped, and the fact that the vast majority of stops appear to be innocent people.”
According to Ofer, about 78 percent of stops made in Newark’s stop-and-frisk program have been of innocent people since they did not include a ticket or an arrest.
“When the police department gets it wrong 78 percent of the time, it makes you wonder what is the legal standard that they are using,” Ofer said.
Ofer said that Newark residents want two things — safety and to be able to trust the police. Ofer said that the data on stop-and-frisk reveals that it is being used against communities of color and that it is used primarily against innocent people.
New York City has also been using stop-and-frisk to help reduce crime. Although both Newark and New York City both use stop-and-frisk, Ofer said that New York City is the poster child of the stop-and-frisk program. He also said that he hopes Newark does not follow the New York model but that in some ways Newark has been worse. According to Ofer, Newark has been making 75 stops per 1,000 residents compared to eight stops per 1,000 residents in New York City.
In comparison to New York, Ofer said that Newark has been more successful because 22 percent of stops have resulted in an arrest or summons compared to New York City’s 12 percent.
Since the stop-and-frisk program began during Cory Booker’s mayoral term a year ago, Ofer said that data has revealed that the city is still not fully complying with an order regarding its oversight.
A federal monitor may oversee Newark and the police department. Ofer said that he welcomes the appointment of a federal monitor and that Newark residents have been asking for federal oversight since 1967.
“A federal monitor is very much welcomed,” Ofer said. “We’re also very pleased that Mayor Ras Baraka has said that he welcomes and will work with a federal monitor which we believe is the right step, but to be clear a federal monitor is just the first step and it is certainly not the last step. We need to make sure that civilian oversight over the Newark Police Department outlasts any one federal monitor and specifically we are calling for an independent and strong civilian oversight over the police department that is permanent in the form of the civilian complaint review board.”
Related: Stop-and-Frisk Targets Black Males, Which Is Not News to Many Newarkers