Philly mayor might consider these lessons from NYC before expanding stop-and-frisk

New York City’s use of stop-and-frisk was found to be unconstitutional in 2013. Spencer Platt/Getty Images by Megan Kurlychek, Penn State The police killing of 28-year-old Alexander Spencer in a North Philadelphia corner store in January 2024 reignited debate about whether expanding stop-and-frisk in Philly can reduce violence in the city. As part of her promise to reduce crime, Philadelphia’s newly elected mayor, Cherelle Parker, has indicated her support for the expansion of stop-and-frisk policies. Parker’s approach is not surprising. Historically, when crime increases, American society assumes that lax or lenient crime-control strategies are to blame. Yet, since the mid-1990s, data repeatedly shows that tough-on-crime approaches – such as zero-tolerance policies, mandatory sentencing and mass incarceration – cost taxpayers large sums of money, are inefficient and can even make crime worse, specifically among youth. As a professor of sociology, criminology and public policy, I believe that Mayor Parker and the Philadelphia Police Department should heed the lessons learned from other jurisdictions regarding the dangers of stop-and-frisk – most notably New York City. The greater use of stop-and-frisk in Philadelphia could lead to a myriad of unwanted consequences, such as lawsuits against the city, greater racial disparities in the criminal justice...