Justice
Where Chicagoans Are Being Stopped and Frisked
A new data visualization allows for a detailed look at who’s being policed, where, and by whom.
In just a four-month period in 2014, Chicagoans were stopped and frisked at four times the rate at which New Yorkers were in 2011, when the practice was at its peak in New York City.
That shocking contrast came out in a report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois three years ago. Following its release, the city agreed to keep better records of all their street stops and searches, even those that didn’t end up in arrests, and submit these records to independent oversight by a judge. The result: Two reports have since been issued by the judge confirming that Chicagoans of color are disproportionately affected by the practice.