Oakland Youth on

My name is Lashawnda Brantley. I work with PUEBLO. We had a workshop talking about the Stop & Frisk polices. Do you know what Stop & Frisk is? Stop & Frisk is a policy strategy where police officers stop and search “people they consider suspicious.” What I think about the Stop & Frisk polices is that our youth should not get stopped or messed with because of what they have on or their hair styles, like dreads. But, if the police really want to do something, they can start by helping the homeless by giving them food and by giving them somewhere to lay their heads.
Four Facts Everyone Should Know About New York City`s stop & Frisk policy. 1) In 2011, NYC officers made 685,724 stops as part of the Stop & Frisk policy, Of that group, 605,328 people were determined not to have engaged in any unlawful behavior. 2) Only 5.37% of stop in a recent five-year period resulted in an arrest. In short, many people stopped did nothing wrong. 3) Of those frisked in 2011, a weapon was found just 1.9% of the time. Frisks are supposed to be conducted “only when an officer reasonably suspects the person has a weapon.” 4) 85% of those stopped were Black or Hispanic even though those groups make up half of NYC’s population.
Do you know who William Bratton is? William J. Bratton, known for implementing Stop & Frisk in New York, served as Commissioner of the police for New York City from 1994 to 1996 and previously served as the chief executive of three large law enforcement agencies, including the Boston Police Department and the New York City Transit Police. Bratton has been employed by several public safety organization and now works in the private sector providing consulting services nationally and internationally.
Some Oakland residents are opposing the hiring of Bratton for a contract with the Oakland Police Department. Consultant Bill Bratton, a national expert who is identified with “stop & frisk” police practices, which critics say frequently leads to racial and the ongoing harassment of young Black and Latino men, Is being opposed by many people In Oakland If you ask me we don’t need police officers come out here to Oakland trying to stop & frisk any one, all that money they want to spend to bring somebody out here that we don’t need out here. We can use that money for the people in Oakland like the homeless or give our youth $10 minimum wage when they work at any job and help or young people get off the streets of Oakland and try to get them back in school.
But, that’s only one person’s opinion so that’s why I’m writing this so you can know my opinion about the stop & frisk strategy. If you want to know more feel free to come by the office, 3528 and Foothill the name is PUEBLO or give us a call at (510)-525-2525 and someone will be there to answer questions that you may have.

Created: 01-24-2013