Conservative Media Stoked Fears That Dialing Back Stop-And-Frisk Would Increase Murder Rate

Fox Hosts Claim: “The Unintended Consequence Of A Slowdown In Stop-And-Frisk Could Be Death.” Fox News personalities routinely warned that changes to the discriminatory stop-and-frisk policy would lead to an increase in violent crime in New York City:

[Media Matters, 8/23/13]

Fox's Bill O'Reilly: If You Take Stop-And-Frisk Away, “More Black Americans And Hispanic Americans Are Going To Die.” On the June 4, 2013 edition of his show, O'Reilly claimed that stop-and-frisk  has decreased violence in minority communities and “Stats aside, it's a fact that if you take stop-and-frisk away, more black Americans and more Hispanic Americans are going to die.” [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 6/4/13]

NY Daily News: With Decline In 'Stop-And-Frisk' Policy, “The Body Count Will Start Rising.” In 2012, a New York Daily News editorial titled “How to kill New York,” argued that, if the stop-and-frisk program is reformed, “the body count will start rising.” [Media Matters, 5/16/12]

NY Post: If They Weaken Stop-And-Frisk, New York Will “Again Become The Crime Capital Of The World.”  The New York Post has repeatedly claimed that stop-and-frisk policy was crucial to maintaining safety in New York and that weakening the program would lead to “mayhem,” and a return to days when “criminals ruled the street.” One editorial claimed that if opponents of stop-and-frisk policy are successful, “the blood of new crime victims will be on their hands” and New York City will “once again become the Crime Capital of the World.” Post columnist Andrea Peyser claimed “a war is being waged on the effective policy of stop-and-frisk, and it will end in buckets of blood on city streets.” [New York Post, 6/20/14; New York Post, 7/9/12; New York Post, 5/18/12; New York Post, 9/23/13]

After Being Ruled Unconstitutional, Aggressive Stop-And-Frisk Policing Has Declined

New York City's Stop-And-Frisk Approach Ruled Unconstitutional In 2013. In 2013, a federal judge ruled that New York City's policy of stopping, questioning, and patting down “suspicious” people on city streets was applied in an unconstitutionally discriminatory way because “at least 200,000 stops were made without reasonable suspicion,” which “resulted in the disproportionate and discriminatory stopping of blacks and Hispanics in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.” [Media Matters, 10/22/14]

Huffington Post: Stop-And-Frisk Stops On Track To Decline 75 Percent In 2014. On November 11, the Huffington Post reported that the New York Police Department (NYPD) is on track to conduct about 75 percent fewer stops in 2014 than it did the previous year. In 2013, the department stopped and questioned or frisked 190,000 people on the streets of New York City, but was ordered to implement reforms. So far in 2014, NYPD has conducted 45,000 stops. [The Huffington Post, 11/17/14]

NYPD Reports Violent Crime Drop After Stop-And Frisk Reforms

NY Daily News: “NYC Crime Rate Hits Lowest Mark Since 1994.” The New York Daily News highlighted new statistics that show overall crime rates in New York City have declined “7.9% in August, September, and October as compared to the same period last year” to the lowest level the city has seen since 1994.  According to the Daily News, “The city is also on a record-low pace for murders and burglaries,” and the shooting rate has slowed. [New York Daily News, 11/17/14]