The NOW with Alex Wagner panel discussed New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk policy Monday after New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended it in a Washington Post Op-Ed, saying that “when it comes to policing, political correctness is deadly.”
Bloomberg’s opinion piece came after the policy was hotly debated on the Sunday shows.
“It’s interesting how Michael Bloomberg play defense, which looks distinctly like offense,” Alex Wagner said, noting that in response to all the criticism this week, the mayor had actually gone one further on Friday, saying fingerprinting technology should be installed in all New York City public housing.
His rationale: while only 5% of New Yorkers live in public housing, 20% of all city crimes are committed on public housing property.
“Statistically it appears race-driven and relatively ineffective,” said the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein, who pointed out that only 6% of stops lead to an arrest, while almost nine in ten stops lead to no further law enforcement action. MSNBC Executive Editor Richard Wolffe noted that Bloomberg’s priority was always to reduce crime, not heal racial wounds. “The kind of politics he’s laid out has not exactly been about bringing the city together,” Wolffe said. “It’s been effective. They can point to declining crime numbers as a real achievement. The question is: does this policy lead to it? He wasn’t trying to be a racial healer in the city. He didn’t feel like he had to and as crime comes down that is a kind of healing anyway.”
Matthew Alexander Recommended
