Stop And Frisks Down In Chicago, But Minorities Still Targeted Disproportionately

FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2013 file photo, Chicago Police patrol the neighborhood in Chicago. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois says that Chicago police officers are employing the controversial “stop and frisk” practice more than officers in New York City, where a judge ruled the widespread practice discriminated against minorities. In a study released Monday, March 23, 2015 the ACLU says that Chicago officers last summer conducted more than 250,000 stops of people who weren’t arrested.
Chicago Police patrol the neighborhood in Chicago. In 2015 study, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois found that Chicago officers conducted more than 250,000 stops of people who weren't arrested. M. Spencer Green / AP Photos
FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2013 file photo, Chicago Police patrol the neighborhood in Chicago. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois says that Chicago police officers are employing the controversial “stop and frisk” practice more than officers in New York City, where a judge ruled the widespread practice discriminated against minorities. In a study released Monday, March 23, 2015 the ACLU says that Chicago officers last summer conducted more than 250,000 stops of people who weren’t arrested.
Chicago Police patrol the neighborhood in Chicago. In 2015 study, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois found that Chicago officers conducted more than 250,000 stops of people who weren't arrested. M. Spencer Green / AP Photos

Stop And Frisks Down In Chicago, But Minorities Still Targeted Disproportionately

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

A new report shows that Chicago police are stopping and frisking far fewer people overall since a 2015 agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union to reform the practice, but the report also reveals that African-Americans are still being stopped at a much higher rate than Latinos and whites. Seventy-one percent of the stops in the first half of 2016 were of African-Americans despite the fact that they make up about a third of the city’s population. 

Morning Shift talks with Karen Sheley, director of the Police Practices Project with the ACLU of Illinois.