Ray Kelly: Minority Lives Saved by NYPD 'Stop-and-Question' Policy

Lost in the debate over New York City's "stop-and-question" policy is the fact that much of the drop in murders has been among minorities, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Wednesday.

"Lives saved are largely young men of color. That seems to be lost in the debate," Kelly said on "Fox & Friends.

"And 96 percent of the shooting victims are black and Hispanic,” he said. “That is the reality. That's the harsh reality on the streets of this city and other major cities"

Writing in Monday's Wall Street Journal, Kelly credited the "stop and question" policy for helping reduce New York’s murder rate. He wrote that there were "7,383 lives saved — and if history is a guide, they are largely the lives of young men of color."

Kelly criticized efforts by some on the City Council to change the policy because of complaints that it has led to the profiling of blacks and innocent people who have committed no crime.

He called it a fundamental part of public-safety efforts, saying the charges of racial profiling by the NYPD were "disingenuous" and "incendiary . . . in the wake of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin."

"Clearly public safety is the foundation to everything positive that's happened in this city," Kelly said on “Fox & Friends.” "The rents are skyrocketing and not great news for everybody, but the economy here . . . is booming, and the mayor has said, and I certainly agree, that the foundation, so much of this is rock solid public safety."