A sign of dark days to come? In the four-week period after Judge Shira Scheindlin declared stop-and-frisk unconstitutional, shootings in the city soared 13 percent, compared to the same period last year. Gun seizures plummeted 17 percent.
Now, data from a single month hardly signals a trend. But it’s enough to make one wonder if, in the wake of Scheindlin’s ruling, cops have grown afraid of being reprimanded or sued, and are now second-guessing themselves — hesitating and skipping necessary stop-and-frisks. That could well mean that, as a result, more guns are winding up on the streets. And being used.
As one NYPD source told The Post, criminals are no longer afraid of being searched. Instead, cops fear legal consequences that could endanger their careers. “Stop, question and frisk” is now derisively known as “stop, watch and wait.”
It’s a natural reaction, of course, by cops and criminals. And one that Judge Scheindlin doesn’t seem to care much about.
Moreover, things likely will get worse with the reforms she’s imposed, including a monitor for the cops — and even an advisory board of professors, none of whom have on-the-street policing experience.
As Heather Mac Donald notes on the preceding page, the profs are mainly hard-left advocates for whom everything revolves around race and racism. They have no clue about how cops must actually do their work, making vital, split-second decisions.
Meanwhile, a new mayor will take over in January. Let’s hope the 13 percent jump in shootings doesn’t soon seem a pittance.