Monday, July 12, 2010

Stop, Question & Frisk on Google Maps

The New York Times - Map of Police Stops

The New York Times has created another amazing Google Maps visualisation. This time the map has been created to help illustrate The New York Times' investigations into the city's 'Stop, Question and Frisk' policy.

The police's stop, question and frisk tactic has been criticised by some civil libertarians who have argued that it is targeted disproportionately at minorities. For example, the number of times the police have used stop, question and frisk in eight square blocks of Brownsville equals one stop a year for every one of the 14,000 residents.

The police argue that the policy has been an important tool in the reduction of crime in New York. Deputy Inspector Juanita Holmes says, "I don’t know what too many stops are. The stops conducted by us are to address the crime, or the quality-of-life issues."

The New York Times map shows the number of times stop, questions and frisk was used throughout the city in 2009. The map works as an effective heat map showing areas of the city where the tactic is used most often.

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