NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy, speaking outside the scope of his job managing the state’s funds, now is advocating[1] to bring back policing practices that have been deemed violations of the Constitution, and which are subject to the federal Consent Decree.
If Kennedy wants New Orleans police officers to detain anyone they think looks “suspicious,” he is asking them to violate the law and a federal court order. If he wants officers to use their trained judgment to stop anyone under “reasonable suspicion” – which must be objectively “reasonable” and involve true “suspicion” of an immediately prior or imminent crime – then he’s asking them to do what they already do.
Studies show that the link between “stop and frisk” practices and crime reduction is tenuous at best, and result in little positive effect on public safety.[2] [3] Louisiana does not need more people needlessly arrested and incarcerated, a practice which already costs the state millions each year. Treasurer Kennedy would better serve the state by turning his energy toward the job to which he was elected.
[1] WGNO. 2015. 'Treasurer Kennedy Calls For 'Stop-And-Frisk' Program In New Orleans'. WGNO. http://wgno.com/2015/09/16/treasurer-kennedy-calls-for-stop-and-frisk-program/.
[2] Washington Post,. 2015. '12 Years Of Data From New York City Suggest Stop-And-Frisk Wasn’t That Effective'. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/08/21/12-years-of-data-from-new-york-city-suggest-stop-and-frisk-wasnt-that-effective/.
[3] Manalo, Margaret. 2015. 'How Effective Is The “Stop And Frisk” Policy?'. Diversity Central. http://www.diversitycentral.com/tools_and_resources/02_2015_Stats_PoliceStopping.pdf.
