While I don't agree with the stop & frisk policy, let's all be honest: racial stereotypes exist for a reason, fair or not.
This is a treatment of a symptom, not of the cause.
This is a treatment of a symptom, not of the cause.
Assertion #1: common street and property crime, such as mugging, burglary, robbery, car theft, car jacking, and such is more likely to be committed by people who have limited money and limited advancement prospects than they are to be committed by people who have plenty of money and plenty of advancement opportunity.
Assertion #2: due to slavery followed by almost 100 years of legal and often state enforced discrimination against black people, black people have historically been significantly overrepresented among those with limited money and limited advancement prospects. Although this has been improving since the Civil Rights Act and other protections against discrimination, things have not leveled out yet and blacks are sill very overrepresented at the lower ends of the economic spectrum.
If you agree with both of these assertions, then why did you down vote deedubaya? If both those assertions are true, it necessarily follows that black people will be overrepresented among muggers, burglars, car jackers, and the like. When a group is overrepresented in some activity, good or bad, stereotypes tend to develop about that group and that activity. If we pretend there isn't some reason behind the stereotypes, it is harder to address those conditions that led to the stereotype.
Maybe you accidentally hit reply before elaborating on “racial stereotypes exist for a reason”.
Why does it persist? Because culture == behavior. Because profiling works, for better or for worse.
What would be the right thing to do? I think that everyone should be treated equally and all have the same rights as anyone else. Given the data I sympathize with a police force that resorts to profiling. There are likely larger social issues at play here, we are seeing symptoms of other problems.
[1] http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_plan...
You might note that the first thing my comment stated is that I didn't agree with the whole stop and frisk thing.