Metro

NYPD issues department-wide memo regarding racial profiling during ‘stop-and-frisks’

The NYPD issued a department-wide memo reminding members not to racially-profile when conducting “stop-and-frisks” yesterday — the same day a federal judge ruled that thousands of potential lawsuits by offended individual can be merged into a class-action suit.

All stops must “be based on the on the standards of the required by the Fourth Amendment” the memo reads, referring to the Constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizures.

Individuals can only be stopped if the officer believes a crime has taken place or is about to take place — and race can never be a factor, the memo warns.

“Members must be able to articulate the factors which led them to take law enforcement action, in particular those factors leading to reasonable suspicion for a stop and question and any subsequent frisk,” the memo states.

The NYPD has also said cops will be required to watch a “series of training videos regarding street enounters” — where officers will learn how to conduct such stops.

The first day of filming for the videos began today, according to the NYPD.

The memo was issued the same day that Manhattan federal judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that as many as 100,000 people could join a class-action suit if they feel they were stopped based on their race alone since Jan. 31, 2005.

So far, there are four people in a civil rights lawsuit filed in 2008 in Manhattan federal court.

The stop-and-frisk policy has been under fire by vocal opponents, including many 2013 mayoral contenders, because the vast majority of people stopped are black or Hispanic.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly yesterday also sent City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a critic of the policy and a mayoral hopeful, a letter outlining the steps the department has taken to ensure no one is racially-profiled.

In addition, to issuing the memo, Kelly said the NYPD has:

• Stepped up internal audits of stop-and-frisk records

• Agreed to work more closely with the Civilian Complaint Review Board

• Revise training for how to conduct stop-and-frisks

• Stepped up community outreach programs for at-risk youth.

Mayor Bloomberg, in the past, has said the stop-and-frisks take guns of the streets — or discourage people from carrying guns in the first place — which saves lives.

PBA President Patrick J. Lynch defended stop-and-frisks as “highly effectived law enforcement tools,” but did condemn performing them simply to fill quotas.

“When left to the sole discretion of a police officer, summonses and stop and frisks are highly effective law enforcement tools,” Lynch said.

“However, when the discretion is removed and a quota for those activities is applied they become ineffective in fighting crime and serve as a tremendous source of friction with the communities that our members are sworn to protect. Eliminating unnecessary and counterproductive quotas will allow police officers to keep New York City safe while winning back the support of its citizens.”

Some cops were skeptical of the memo.

“It would seem that the department wants to make sure that, since they’re being sued, their officers have solid reasons to engage in stop-and-frisk,” one said.

“For example, if there’s a description of two male blacks who robbed a liquor store, and you pull a black male over, you have a solid reason. But if there’s no description, and you’re just stopping all the black males you encounter, that’s a problem,” the source said.

Another griped, “When you read between the lines on the directive, it’s plain and simple: Don’t do anything that will get us into a civil rights problem.”

Additional reporting by Doug Auer