ABSTRACT

One of the most controversial areas of modern police activity concerns aggressive police tactics for order maintenance and criminal investigative purposes. Since the 1990s aggressive policing styles have become the norm in many large urban areas, including cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and New York City. These aggressive policing strategies have recently come under

3.1 Introduction 21 3.2 New York City: Social, Ecological, Political, and Historical

Environment 22 3.3 Basic Legal Principles and the NYPD: Origins of Supreme

Court’s Supervision of Local Law Enforcement 26 3.4 Street Encounters: Fourth Amendment Probable Cause,

Reasonable Suspicion, and Stop, Question, and Frisk 28 3.4.1 Terry v. Ohio (1968) 30 3.4.2 People v. DeBour 32 3.4.3 Floyd v. NY and the Reasonable Suspicion Standard 34 3.4.4 Exclusionary Rule: Its Limitations and Alternatives 35

3.5 Fourteenth Amendment and Equal Protection 36 3.5.1 Floyd v. New York (2013) 38 3.5.2 New York after Floyd v. New York 40

3.6 Alternatives to Police Administration and Policy Making 40 3.7 Conclusion 43 References 44 Endnote 45

fire from a concerned public and have been subjected to critical scrutiny by criminal justice scholars. A classic example of aggressive policing strategy is the widespread use of the stop, question, and frisk tactic in high crime areas of New York City. Modern police tactics have evolved over the last few decades from a reactive approach to a proactive approach, and stop and frisk, considered a proactive tactic, is one of the ways in which police attempt to prevent crime and reduce violence. However, application of aggressive policing tactics comes at a price. Proactive policing in the form of stop and frisk stakes claim to short-term gains in terms of crime reduction but arguably has also had the effect of promoting police community tension, increasing police officer disillusionment, and ultimately reducing police legitimacy. The danger lies in the delicate balance between short-term gain and long-term negative consequence.