Statistics show that stop-and-frisk policies used by the New York City Police Department help reduce crime and save lives, NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Tuesday.
"It's important to emphasize the fact that what's going on in New York is saving lives — significant number of lives," Kelly, who is almost certain to be leaving his job, told "Fox & Friends."
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Kelly pointed to a drop of more than 50 percent in the murder rate in New York City since Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office nearly 12 years ago. In addition, numbers show shooting incidents down nearly 22 percent, and robbery has dropped 5.4 percent.
"If you look at the 11 years and nine months that Mayor Bloomberg served . . . compared to 11 years and nine months before the mayor took office, [there are] 9,172 fewer murders. That is a remarkable number, well over a 50 percent reduction," he said.
New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, has committed to getting rid of the stop-and-frisk tactic, which he says unfairly discriminates against minorities. He has indicated he
will not keep Kelly as commissioner.
A U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in October
temporarily blocked an August order from U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin that would have limited the controversial policy.
Kelly said stop-and-frisk policies are a widely used tactic by law enforcement across the country.
"It's important to emphasize that this stop, question, and, sometimes, frisk, or do a limited pat-down, is a practice across law enforcement. It happens in every jurisdiction," he said. "That's what you pay your police officers to do."
Kelly said he did not know whether de Blasio would actually end stop-and-frisk. "We'll have to see," he said. "It's one thing to say things during a campaign. It's another when you're actually at the helm."
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