In past years the New York Daily News has supported the police department's use of "stop-and-frisks." Three years ago a federal judge ruled that they were unconstitutional. The number of stop-and-frisks fell 97%, from 685,700 in 2011 to 22,900 in 2015. Yet, crime did not rise as the paper and police department predicted. In fact, it fell to "record lows."
The murder count stood at 536 in 2010 and at 352 last year — and seems sure to drop further this year. There were 1,471 shooting incidents in 2010 (1,773 victims). By 2015, shootings had dropped to 1,130 (1, 339 victims).
The Daily News said, "We are delighted to say that we were wrong," adding " there can be little doubt that the NYPD's increasing reliance on so-called precision policing — knowing whom to target, when and where — has played a key role."
