{"id":1009342,"date":"2026-08-18T20:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1009342\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:33:14","slug":"new-federal-monitor-report-black-and-hispanic-new-yorkers-make-up-91-of-those-stopped-and-frisked-by-nypd-special-units-found-to-be-violating-the-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1009342\/","title":{"rendered":"New federal monitor report: Black and Hispanic New Yorkers make up 91% of those stopped and frisked by NYPD special units found to be violating the Constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Specialized units in the New York Police Department created under ex-Mayor Eric Adams are persisting in carrying out unconstitutional stops, frisks and searches that disproportionately target Black and Hispanic New Yorkers, the court-assigned federal monitor tasked with bringing the NYPD into compliance with the Constitution said Monday in her latest report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NYPD Federal Monitor Mylan Denerstein said that only 83.4% of the stops, 68.6% of the frisks and 61.7% of the searches made by the NYPD\u2019s specialized policing units in 2025 were constitutional. Her assessment comes in her 31st report on the department since she was appointed by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres as part of a landmark 2011 settlement that found the NYPD\u2019s stop and frisk policy was unconstitutional and involved racial profiling.<\/p>\n

The specialized policing units Denerstein\u2019s talking about include the controversial Neighborhood Safety Teams, Public Safety Teams and Community Response Teams developed under Adams. The units are largely made up of plainclothes officers who drive unmarked cars, are tasked with \u201cproactive policing\u201d in high-crime areas and make more self-initiated stops than other cops \u2013 meaning they decide to stop and search New Yorkers based on their own observations rather than in response to a 911 call or information from a witness or complainant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the exception of stops in the third quarter of 2025, the NYPD failed to meet the established 2025 compliance benchmarks,\u201d Denerstein wrote. \u201c<\/b>Specialized units had a particularly low compliance rate for the most intrusive encounters, frisks and searches, and no sustained improvement over the course of 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally concerning, Denerstein said, 91% of the people stopped by cops in these units are Black or Hispanic, meaning the units are disproportionately targeting people of color. And, the department hasn\u2019t been properly auditing the stops the Community Response Teams (CRTs) made since 2023 \u2013 which conduct a high volume of self-initiated stops \u2013 meaning that proper review of that group\u2019s compliance with the Constitution hasn\u2019t been happening until March of this year, when Denerstein caught the lapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is unacceptable because the NYPD has the ability to do better,\u201d Denerstein said. \u201cThe Department is well aware of the compliance issues it faces. It is time for the Department to take ownership of its issues and solve them.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked for comment on the report and if it had plans to bring its practices into compliance with court orders, the NYPD noted that it\u2019s been stopping significantly fewer people since Denerstein started reviewing its actions in 2011 and would be reviewing the new report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NYPD has gone from over 680,000 reported stops in 2011 to less than 30,000 in 2025. There is still more work to be done, and the NYPD continues those efforts in collaboration with the Federal Monitor and her team,\u201d the department\u2019s public information office said in a statement. \u201cWe thank the Monitor for her report and look forward to reviewing it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Denerstein said she was confident the NYPD\u2019s special units were able to meet the compliance benchmark she set for it \u2013 90% of all stops, frisks and searches to be constitutional \u2013 because these units occasionally meet that benchmark and the department\u2019s other, non-specalized officers were often closer to hitting it: Officers in other units had a lawful compliance rate in 2025 of 94% for stops, 83% for frisks, and 79% for searches, compared to specialized units\u2019 compliance rates of 83% for stops, 69% for frisks, and 62% for searches.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompliance rates for specialized units remain well below those of officers assigned to routine patrol functions or non-NST, PST or CRT units,\u201d Denerstein wrote. \u201cThe NYPD\u2019s specialized units continue to engage in unlawful Terry stops at rates nowhere near substantial compliance. The NYPD must implement effective strategies, or it will continue to be non-compliant.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible, the report says, that that\u2019s because the NYPD\u2019s other units are engaging in self-initiated stops less. Denerstein\u2019s report notes that self-initiated stops are less likely to be lawful than ones based on a credible tip: For self-initiated stops conducted by officers in the specialized units, only 80% of stops, 64% of frisks, and 55% of searches in 2025 were assessed as lawful.<\/p>\n

Notably, those numbers are below the lawful rates for self-initiated stops made by non-specialized units, meaning that, despite being highly trained, the specialized units fall out of compliance with the Constitution more than other cops.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in the NYPD\u2019s best interest to comply with Denerstein\u2019s recommendations and the court-ordered settlement, the report says \u2013 not only because not doing so is illegal \u2013 but because making lawful stops that are also backed up by a credible tip helps cops accomplish their goal of arresting people who might actually be crime suspects.<\/p>\n

\u201cStops, frisks, and searches grounded in the legal standards officers are trained to follow are not only constitutionally required but are also more likely to produce better public safety results. Encounters that lack the requisite legal foundation are more likely to come up empty,\u201d Denerstein writes. \u201cThe 2025 data from the specialized units reflects that when officers have genuine, articulable reasons for a stop, frisk, or search, they are more likely to find what they are looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Legal Aid Society attorney Karina Tefft said she had a bit less confidence in the NYPD coming into compliance with the Constitution without further intervention than Denerstein seems to. The reports say \u201ca lot of the same things\u201d year after year and the compliance numbers haven\u2019t moved very much, Tefft said, which is a \u201cmajor problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NYPD has never really moved the needle, and that\u2019s extremely disappointing,\u201d said Tefft. \u201cThe monitorship now has been going on for 13 years and the NYPD is still very far from being in compliance with the Constitution \u2026 The NYPD is not making these improvements. They shouldn\u2019t be allowed to do this. They need to change their practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey cannot continue in this way,\u201d the attorney added. \u201cWhat they\u2019re doing is unconstitutional, and it\u2019s deeply racist.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

What can be done to more forcefully push the NYPD to alter its policies? The court has broad authority to make additional orders \u2013 for example, it could order the specialized units disbanded if things continue without improvement. The parties bringing the lawsuit could also use certain mechanisms to petition the court, like asking for the NYPD to be held in contempt for not following orders. Policymakers or the NYPD itself could also implement more forceful action and rule-setting based on the reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s long overdue, and fundamentally, what they\u2019re doing, especially in these specialized teams, is causing lasting harm, and they\u2019re not doing anything to improve public safety,\u201d Tefft said, emphasizing that 91% of people stopped by these units are non-white. \u201cIt\u2019s not only a legal imperative, but a moral imperative that they stop what they\u2019re doing. It\u2019s deeply racist. It violates the Constitution, and subjecting people to unlawful stops is no small thing. These experiences can be deeply traumatizing and make people feel uncomfortable in their own neighborhoods or their own homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement that the mayor believed constitutional policy was important and would be reviewing the report and working to \u201censure\u201d the NYPD acts in line with the Constitution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mamdani administration believes that constitutional policing, justice and public safety must go hand in hand,\u201d said Mamdani spokesperson Sam Raskin. \u201cEvery New Yorker deserves to be treated fairly and lawfully by members of the NYPD. We are reviewing the report and will continue working to ensure that the Police Department fulfills its important mission while protecting the constitutional rights of all New Yorkers.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Specialized units in the New York Police Department created under ex-Mayor Eric Adams are persisting in carrying out…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1009343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,398726,32328,404197,3228,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,5257,24672,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-1009342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-civil-rights-violations","tag-constitution","tag-federal-monitor","tag-law","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nypd","tag-pm-newsletter","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117118423039735188","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1009342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1009343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1009342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1009342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1009342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}