Community Responses to “Stop-and-Frisk” in New York City Conceptualizing Local Conditions and Correlates

This study seeks to conceptualize individual and neighborhood conditions that affect the ability of residents to enact collective responses to intense policing practices such as “stop-and-frisk.” Drawing on prior research, we formulate four hypotheses that could jointly or independently shape mobilization around issues of policing: (a) neighborhood organizational infrastructure, (b) resident activism, (c) attitudes toward neighborhood change, and (d) perceptions of police performance. We provide a preliminary exploration of these arguments by combining administrative reports with surveys and observations in the South Bronx. Our descriptive work suggests that despite the lack of a robust local community response to high levels of police stops, this section of the city has many community organizations, significant levels of resident involvement, and general optimism regarding neighborhood change. There is some indication that residents may be willing to put up with frequent “hassles” from the police in exchange for less crime.