Community members gather in South Philly to discuss policing, stop-and-frisk debate | Local news

A small crowd gathered Wednesday night at St. Gabriel’s Auditorium to discuss possible solutions to the rising gun violence problem plaguing Philadelphia. One suggestion is to reintroduce the police’s stop-and-frisk policy.

Philly police have been moving away from the controversial and historically racist tactic for years, but after a series of gun violence this summer, some members of the City Council are debating it.

Reuben Jones works with Frontline Dads, a nonprofit organization that focuses on empowering black youth.

He says he understands why people are calling for the return of stop-and-frisk, but worries it could backfire.

“Technically, they’re supposed to stop people looking for guns if they have a reasonable suspicion that a gun is there,” Jones said. “They didn’t do a very good job of finding the weapons during those stops and searches. What they found were black men on probation or parole who end up being violated and sent back to prison with little to no crime.”

Black Philadelphians make up about 44% of the city’s population, but in the second half of 2019 they accounted for 71% of all stops and were 50% more likely to be stopped illegally, especially for minor quality-of-life offenses such as loitering or carrying an open container.

The 2020 report found that around 16% of stops were still illegal, as were 32% of police checks.

Deputy Inspector General Adam Geer says it is unconstitutional for an officer to enforce the measure without reasonable suspicion.

He says he would like to hear about any illegal procedures.

“That’s not how this country works,” Geer said. “This is not what the Police Department should do. And we would like to know about this practice and get to the bottom of it, right?”

Philadelphia police must have “reasonable suspicion of criminal behavior” to make a stop, and searches must be conducted “only when there is reasonable suspicion that the person stopped is armed and dangerous.”

In 2010, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and a private law firm sued the city in federal court on behalf of a group of black and Hispanic men who were stopped by police solely because of their race or ethnicity. The parties settled the case the following year when the city agreed to a consent decree.

In 2009, before the lawsuit, Philadelphia had more traffic stops per capita than any other major city. Almost 90% of the people stopped were black or Hispanic.