Neighbor’s App Records and Reports Stop and Frisk

Our neighborhood is partially represented by Jumaane Williams, a Democratic Councilman on the political front lines of the battle over stop-and-frisk. It should be of little surprise then that one of our neighbors, Jason Van Anden, developed a smartphone app called Stop & Frisk Watch (SFW) to aid residents who wish to document stop-and-frisk encounters.

One recently viral YouTube video documented a teenager in Harlem being stopped, threatened with violence and arrested because, the police said, he was a “mutt.” The incident was not recorded by SFW but has spurred interest in recording the incidents. Van Anden’s app has been around since earlier this year but has seen a spike in downloads in recent days, likely attributable to the very public debates over the issue going on in the City Council and media everywhere.

The app was featured in an article on the Huffington Post where the NYPD noted that giving stopped kids a reason to quickly reach into their pockets around police would not be a good thing. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said it was “surprising that the NYCLU wants to create a database of police stops, including arrests, without privacy guarantees.” It should be noted that it is legal to record the police in these situations.

The issue of stop-and-frisk remains a contentious one in our community and across the city as a whole. At least one victim’s family has said publicly and loudly that they’re in favor of the practice. We’ve seen statistics on where they’re happening and how many have resulted in guns being found. In our very own comment sections, a number of differing opinions have been put forward about all aspects of stop-and-frisk.

What do you think of the app?