Univision Highlights That The Stop And Frisk Policy Pushed By Trump Is Ineffective And Targets Minorities

Vivian Ávila: Trump’s Stop And Frisk Proposal For Chicago “Was Repudiated … In New York For Targeting Minorities”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Univision correspondent Vivian Ávila reported on the reaction in Chicago to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's proposal to implement a stop-and-frisk policy, noting that New York’s stop and frisk program “was declared unconstitutional … in 2013 for targeting minorities.”  Ávila also explained “that less than one percent of those stopped [in New York] were carrying firearms.” While right-wing media have been quick to defend Trump’s proposal, the Univision report joined other media reports in highlighting why New York’s program was ineffective and unconstitutional. From the September 28 edition of Univision's Noticiero Univision: Edición Nocturna:

Translated transcript:

ILIA CALDERÓN (CO-HOST): Today, Donald Trump visited the state of Illinois to insist on his plan to combat violence in Chicago, a plan that was repudiated a while back by the community in New York for targeting minorities. It's called “stop and frisk.” In Spanish, “parar y registrar.” From Chicago, Vivian Avila has reactions to Donald Trump's proposal.

VIVIAN ÁVILA (CORRESPONDENT): Donald Trump returned to Chicago two days after saying in his first presidential debate that in order to reduce violence, Chicago should turn to the practice of “detener y registrar,” known in English as “stop and frisk,” which consists in randomly stopping people in the street under suspicion of criminal activity.

[BEGIN VIDEO]

DONALD TRUMP: Now, whether or not in a place like Chicago you do stop and frisk, which worked very well -- Mayor Giuliani is here -- it worked very well in New York. It brought the crime rate way down. But you take the gun away from criminals that shouldn't be having it.

[END VIDEO]

ÁVILA: His proposal to return to this practice was not welcomed by some Latino councilmembers in Chicago. 

[BEGIN VIDEO]

RICARDO MUÑOZ (CHICAGO COUNCILMAN): This stop and frisk program is what they call in English “racial profiling.” It's profiling young people just because they are African Americans, they are Latinos. “Oh, they look like gang members, let's stop them and check them.”

[END VIDEO]

ÁVILA: During the application of stop and frisk in New York, the level of violence lowered to equal to that of other cities in the country, but statistics from authorities in New York also indicated that less than one percent of those stopped were carrying firearms. The practice was declared unconstitutional in the Big Apple in 2013 for targeting minorities.

[BEGIN VIDEO]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because how are you going to stop people just to review them. Right? Better measures are needed to control firearms. 

[END VIDEO]

ÁVILA: For their part, the Association of Civil Liberties in Illinois indicated that the policy of stop and frisk has already been implemented in Chicago and that it has not been able to reduce the violence that has been documented in the streets of the city. And pro-immigrant groups insist that the violence in Chicago, which has registered more than 500 dead throughout the year, will not decrease simply by applying this method.

[BEGIN VIDEO]

ARTEMIO ARREOLA (POLITICAL DIRECTOR AT ILLINOIS COALITION FOR IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS): The only way to have safety in our communities is for the police and the community to collaborate in order to denounce crimes and also guarantee that only and exclusively the bad people are in jail and not average victims.

 

[END VIDEO]