Stop, Question, and Assess: Comments on Rosenfeld and Fornango

Abstract

We develop three points in this commentary on Rosenfeld and Fornango’s empirical assessment of the NYPD policy of stop, question, and frisk (SQF). First, we draw attention to some of the key patterns uncovered in the analysis, posing questions that we think warrant additional thought. Second, we highlight some potential ambiguities between the underlying logic model of SQF and the empirical models assumed in existing research evaluations that have important implications for the conclusions that one might draw from the available evidence. Finally, we suggest some ways in which the empirical basis for evaluating the efficacy of SQF might be strengthened.

Keywords:

• Policing
• crime
• NYPD
• stop question frisk

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Steven F. Messner

Steven F. Messner is a distinguished teaching professor of Sociology at the University at Albany, SUNY. His research focuses on social institutions and crime, understanding spatial and temporal patterns of crime, and crime and social control in China. In addition to his publications in professional journals, he is coauthor of Crime and the American Dream, Perspectives on Crime and Deviance, Criminology: An Introduction Using ExplorIt, and coeditor of Theoretical Integration in the Study of Deviance and Crime, Crime and Social Control in a Changing China, The Sage Handbook of Criminological Research Methods, and The Emergence of a New Urban China: Insiders' Perspectives.

Eric P. Baumer

Eric P. Baumer is the Allen E. Liska professor of criminology at Florida State University. His research focuses on temporal and spatial dimensions of crime and justice, and especially how structural and cultural features of communities affect crime, social control, and other aspects of human behavior. Recent publications have appeared in Criminology, American Sociological Review, and the American Journal of Sociology.