For a number of years prior to 2013, the stop-and-frisk practices of the New York Police Department (NYPD) raised serious concerns over racial profiling, illegal searches, and privacy rights in New York.

Until 2013, minorities in New York City were subject to “stop-and-frisk” procedures conducted by NYPD officers. Individuals were stopped, searched, questioned, and sometimes illegally detained and harassed by New York police officers who were purportedly investigating crimes.

What are the current rules for stop-and-frisk in New York? What steps should you take if you are arrested on the basis of a stop-and-frisk? Can a Long Island drug crimes lawyer help?

HOW DID STOP-AND-FRISK IN NEW YORK CHANGE IN 2013?

In Floyd v. City of New York (2013), a U.S. District Court ruled that stop-and-frisk was being used unconstitutionally in New York City. The judge ordered the NYPD to adopt a policy that spells out how a stop-and-frisk is to be conducted without violating anyone’s legal rights.

In 2011, over 685,000 people were stopped and frisked in New York. The practice was widely criticized because persons in racial minorities were stopped in far greater numbers than non-minority individuals. In 2015, only about 23,000 persons were stopped and frisked in New York.

Although a number of reforms have been put in place since 2013, concerns about stop-and-frisk remain. Stops still tend to target people of color, but the NYPD claims that most of the stops that are now being made are based on suspect descriptions provided by victims and other witnesses.

WHAT IS THE RIGHT TO KNOW ACT?

The Right to Know Act was passed by New York’s City Council in 2017 as a response to the NYPD’s previously aggressive use of stop-and-frisk. The law took effect in 2018. It spells out what police officers must do before searching individuals, their possessions, or their residences.

The Right to Know Act has two provisions. The first provision is that a New York police officer must provide his or her name, rank, command, and shield number to a civilian before any stop-and-frisk may be conducted.

Officers must carry business cards with this information. The cards also direct civilians who want to file a complaint or who want to request a body-cam recording of the encounter to the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board.

WHAT ELSE DOES THE RIGHT TO KNOW ACT REQUIRE?

The second provision of the Right to Know Act spells out precisely what steps police officers are to take when they seek to conduct a search, but they do not have any legal justification to conduct the search without the person’s consent.

In these cases, the law requires an officer to explain that a search will not be conducted if the person doesn’t consent to the search. The law requires officers to document these requests and, if necessary, to use language interpretation services pursuant to the NYPD’s language access plan.

Here is what New Yorkers need to know about the current stop-and-frisk rules. Let’s say that an officer thinks that someone on the street has a concealed weapon. The police officer can ask who the person is and where the person is going without having to provide any reason for asking.

However, if the police officer asks if the person has a weapon, or if the officer frisks the person, that officer must have an objective, reasonable cause to believe that the person has committed a crime, is committing a crime, or is about to commit a crime.

WHEN DOES THE NYPD NEED YOUR CONSENT TO FRISK YOU?

If the police officer does not have an objective, reasonable cause for frisking a person, the officer must ask for and obtain that person’s consent in order to frisk the person.

The Right to Know Act ensures that New York City police officers ask plainly for consent to conduct any searches that require consent. Police officers must inform people that they are not required to consent to a search and that a search will not be conducted without their consent.

The consent requirement does not apply to warranted searches or to searches conducted under standard exceptions to the Fourth Amendment’s protections. For example, consent is not needed if an officer sees evidence of a crime in plain view or if quick action is required to save lives.

If a New York City police officer does not ask for your consent to a search, or if you are not sure whether the situation requires the officer to ask you for consent, you may simply (and politely) say something like, “I’m sorry, officer, but I do not consent to being searched.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO IF THE POLICE VIOLATE YOUR RIGHTS?

If you believe that a New York City police officer has violated the law during a stop, a search, an interrogation, or any encounter with you, you may file a complaint with the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates charges of police misconduct and abuse.

However, if you are placed under arrest and charged with a crime on Long Island or in New York City as the result of a stop-and-frisk, it is imperative for you to contact and consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney as quickly as possible. Do not procrastinate.

You will need to have a sharp and savvy criminal defense lawyer advocating on your behalf.

WHAT WILL A CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAW FIRM IN NY DO FOR YOU?

Your defense attorney will examine the charge against you and the behavior of the police. If the police violated your rights in any way during an investigation, interrogation, search, or arrest, it is possible that your attorney may be able to have the charge against you dropped or dismissed.

New Yorkers and visitors to New York are sometimes wrongfully stopped, wrongfully searched, and wrongfully arrested. If that happens to you, you have legal rights and protections, and when it’s necessary, you can put the law to work on your behalf. A criminal defense lawyer can help.

If you believe that you are or have been the victim of a wrongful arrest or any other police abuse or brutality in New York City – or anywhere else in the state of New York – speak immediately with an experienced Long Island criminal defense attorney. A good lawyer’s help is your right.