An NYPD cruiser.

An NYPD cruiser. Credit: James Carbone

A court-appointed police monitor said Monday that two special anticrime units of the NYPD performed substantially below constitutional standards when conducting stop and frisk operations in 2023.

The report, prepared by Mylan L. Denerstein, the special monitor helping oversee compliance with a 2013 federal court ruling on stop and frisk activity of the NYPD, criticized the department’s supervision of officers in the two units. That ruling found that NYPD officers conducted stops in a way that disparately impacted minorities and called for reforms.

Under a U.S. Supreme Court precedent police are justified in stopping and frisking someone if the officer has reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred or may occur.

According to the latest report, which is based on special random sample audits of police stop, question and frisk, officers in the Neighborhood Safety Unit — which was formed in 2021 to take guns off the streets — only carried out stops which comported with proper constitutional standards 75% of the time, slightly less than the 76% found in a 2022 audit. The 2023 result was significantly lower by 17% of audit results for regular patrol officers, the report stated.

For the Public Safety Teams, which were formed as special anticrime units, an audit of 2023 performance found constitutionally appropriate stops done 64% of the time, some 28% less than the results for regular patrols which was at 92%, the report found.

"The NYPD must focus on supervisors ensuring implementation of constitutionally compliant stops, frisks, and searches," the report stated. "The ball is in the Department’s hands, and the NYPD can do this. The law requires no less."

In response, the NYPD noted in a statement that the data was from 2023 and that in the interim that department had taken steps to address many of the issues highlighted in the report. Among the measures was the creation of "ComplianceStat" in January 2024, an internal assessment of stop and frisk activity. Denerstein found "ComplianceStat" a promising development.

Samah Sisay, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in a statement that if the NST and PST teams can’t respect the rights of New Yorkers they should be disbanded. Improper stops of pedestrians and vehicles are unacceptable, Sisay said.

Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry said in a statement that while ordinary officers have been saddled with blame over the years for stop and frisk problems, the court monitor should focus on managers and supervisors.

The latest monitor report wasn’t all negative. The audit found that in 2023 regardless of the officer’s unit assignment, stops based on a complaint from a witness or a radio call about a crime were nearly all constitutional. The problem was in stops self-initiated by officers, which were constitutional only 65% of the time, the report noted.

Denerstein’s report related that the NYPD has initiated enhanced training of the NST unit as well as a review of stops captured on body worn cameras.

The monitor recommended officers achieve compliance levels of at least 85% by the end of September and of at least 90% by the end of the year.  

The monitor says she may recommend "further action" to the court if the targets are not met.

Will Grayson Meak faceoff against Devin Downes in counties? Meanwhile North Babylon’s Jasmine McKay hoops it up and there's history on the mat in Nassau County in Episode 2 of "Sarra Sounds Off."  Credit: Mario Gonzalez

 SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Wrestling, North Babylon hoops and more! Will Grayson Meak faceoff against Devin Downes in counties? Meanwhile North Babylon's Jasmine McKay hoops it up and there's history on the mat in Nassau County in Episode 2 of "Sarra Sounds Off." 

Will Grayson Meak faceoff against Devin Downes in counties? Meanwhile North Babylon’s Jasmine McKay hoops it up and there's history on the mat in Nassau County in Episode 2 of "Sarra Sounds Off."  Credit: Mario Gonzalez

 SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Wrestling, North Babylon hoops and more! Will Grayson Meak faceoff against Devin Downes in counties? Meanwhile North Babylon's Jasmine McKay hoops it up and there's history on the mat in Nassau County in Episode 2 of "Sarra Sounds Off." 

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