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Are Pedestrian Stops by the Police Effective?

Research shows that the use of street stops has increased dramatically in major cities across the United States in the past decade.¹⁴ The popularity of the strategy has raised questions about their effectiveness as a crime control strategy and whether these stops are made in a fair manner. Studies have shown that pedestrian stops have had some success at preventing crime,¹⁵ but their success at discovering or interrupting crime has been limited: From 2004 to 2010 in the New York City Police Department, 9.4% of stops resulted in an arrest, 2.9% resulted in the confiscation of drugs, and .25% of stops resulted in the discovery of an illegal gun.¹⁶

As for fairness of pedestrian stops, research has shown that stops have been disproportionately directed toward citizens of color.¹⁷ A recent study also showed that black and Hispanic citizens who were stopped were also more likely than white citizens to have force used upon them by the police.¹⁸ These research findings have been used to support civil lawsuits against the police to stop the widespread use of the strategy. Indeed, largely as a result of such lawsuits, the use of the strategy has declined in the last few years.

Yet other research has shown that stops may lead to a deterioration in positive views of the police and make residents less likely to report crime and cooperate with the police. The outcome is a long-term negative impact on public safety.¹⁹ As a result, there are good reasons to believe that the widespread use of pedestrian stops may cause more harm than good. The use of pedestrian and traffic stops as a police strategy is discussed in more detail in Chapter 6.