NYPD planning changes to stop-and-frisk policy

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Thursday announced changes to officer training and supervision amid a growing public outcry and a federal lawsuit claiming a stop, question and frisk policy at the nation’s largest department amounts to racial profiling.

Kelly sent a letter to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn detailing the changes. Quinn, a likely candidate for mayor, has been a vocal critic of the policy. Last year, more than 630,000 people were stopped, mostly black and Hispanic men. About half are frisked, and only about 10 percent are arrested.

Kelly said in the letter that the steps were meant to increase public confidence in the policy and that the department has reiterated its policy that prohibits racial profiling.

The department is also establishing an early warning system to identify officers who have received public complaints on the policy, and precinct commanders will be held accountable at weekly meetings.

Kelly also established a new course detailing how to conduct a lawful stop, following a review of training on the stop, question and frisk encounters. More than 1,500 officers who work in the highest-crime areas are receiving the training, and more will follow, Kelly said.

The news comes a day after a federal judge gave class-action status to a lawsuit by people who had been stopped. The lawsuit accused the police department of purposefully targeting black and Hispanic neighborhoods and said officers are pressured to meet quotas as part of the program and are punished if they don’t.

U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that there was “overwhelming evidence” that the practice has led to thousands of illegal stops.

Kelly said in his letter to Quinn that the department has expanded community outreach and started a pilot program aimed at “vulnerable youth” that teaches them computer skills.

“It is our hope that this course will build lasting relationships and provide an outlined that might help foster positive interactions between these teenagers and police officers,” Kelly wrote.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the policy, which the police have said is a life-saving, crime-fighting tool and has helped lead the city to historic lows. Quinn has been a more vocal opponent.

She said the changes are a good start but more must be done.

“The NYPD, the Mayor, and the City Council have more work to do to ensure that all stop and frisks are appropriate. I know that we can both keep crime at these historic lows and protect the civil rights of all New Yorkers. That must be our commitment to the people of New York City,” she wrote.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.