This book focuses on the controversial aggressive police practices employed to control crime by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the harm that has resulted and may further be produced if not checked. Informed by the author’s personal experience with the department as a retired NYPD Captain, as well as by his research in the field, this book explains and reviews the broad influence of stop and frisk as well as other aggressive policies.

Many policies agencies across the United States – and even throughout the world – take heed of NYPD tactics due to the organization's status as a flagship police department. In the mid-1990s, with the election of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a new era of aggressive policing began. While apparently helping lead to a decline in crime, the side effects of tactics such as stop and frisk also led to powerful repercussions. A new Inspector General was installed, the department was placed under review by a federal monitor examining its racist and unconstitutional stops, and officers were compelled by City Council to record nearly every interaction with citizens. Names of individuals affected by these aggressive tactics, including Amadou Diallo, Eric Garner, and Abner Louima, among others, remain in the public consciousness. These tactics adopted by the NYPD, at least in part, fueled social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter. The many years of stop and frisk erodes public trust in the police with many activists and policymakers calling for increased scrutiny of police power, reduced police budgets, and even for the abolishment of police.

Designed both for students in criminal justice programs as well as recruits in police training, this book explains and critiques the state of stop and frisk and related tactics and recommends paths to a better future.