Rice backs police records ban, defends 'stop and frisk'

Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Tuesday she supports a new state law that bans officials from keeping electronic files on people who are not arrested after police detain them - but that she also defends the so-called "stop and frisk" practice.

Speaking at a Manhattan debate in which all five Democratic attorney general candidates participated, Rice criticized an internal NYPD memo that states police can still keep such records in paper files, saying it "violates the spirit of the law."

But she also said the actual practice of "stop and frisk" can be a "very effective" law enforcement tool.

The quick question-and-answer format of the debate gave candidates little opportunity to attack each other.

Another attorney general candidate, Assemb. Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), has demanded that Rice release documents about the past practice of using scanning devices to record the license plates of people driving through certain neighborhoods in Nassau.

The practice was used in the Terrace Avenue neighborhood of Hempstead during an effort to rid the area of the scourge of drug dealers. Letters were sent to owners of the vehicles advising them that police were aware they had driven through the neighborhood. Brodsky has called the practice a form of "stop and frisk."

Rice said she has advised Brodsky that the Hempstead village police department is the agency that should respond to his questions.

Brodsky also was asked about a controversial request by a group seeking permission to place a mosque near the site of the World Trade Center attacks. He said he would defend the group's request if it is found to be legal, but that there must be an awareness of "community sensitivities."

All five Democrats seeking the party's attorney general's nomination in a Sept. 14 primary participated in the debate, sponsored by Crain's New York Business at the Grand Hyatt hotel.

Rice also reiterated her comments about Saturday's Newsday report, which revealed that she cast a ballot for the first time in her life in 2002 - 18 years after registering to vote.

"It was a mistake and I admit that," Rice said under questioning from moderator Erik Engquist, a reporter for Crain's.