On Thursday, Donald Trump clarified his statement regarding his expanded “stop-and-frisk” proposal by claiming it was mostly meant for Chicago. The topic came up during a townhall meeting with Fox News’ Sean Hannity when the Republican presidential nominee was asked how he would reduce crime in black communities. Trump said he thought police should stop and frisk any individuals that were deemed suspicious.
Trump’s policy was met with criticism, especially from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio who said Trump is a little naive to think this will work as he has “no experience with policing.” But on Thursday, Trump issued his clarification to Fox and Friends:
“Chicago is out of control … I was really referring to Chicago with stop-and-frisk. They asked me about Chicago and I was talking about stop-and-frisk for Chicago.”
Trump merely meant to say it had worked in New York City, so why couldn’t it work in Chicago? The leaked excerpt seemed to refer to how Trump would generally help stop violence in black communities. Trump said stop-and-frisk had worked in NYC and sort of said it could be used in Chicago, with his exact quote being, “I see what’s going on here, I see what’s going on in Chicago, I think stop-and-frisk [would work].” But it’s hard to determine what he truly meant.
Trump went on to say the policy has worked tremendously in New York City, saying crime is significantly down. But in fact, stop-and-frisks in New York City have decreased the past five years dramatically. He said stop-and-frisk would work well in Chicago as he put it, the city is “out of control.”
“I think Chicago needs stop-and-frisk. Now, people can criticize me for that or people can say whatever they want, but they asked me about Chicago, and I think stop-and-frisk, with good, strong, you know, good, strong law and order. But you have to do something. It can’t continue the way it’s going.”
Stop-and-frisk may be the last thing Chicago needs at this time. Homicides have surpassed their 2015 totals, and officer and community relations seem to be at a boiling point. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has been adamant the city didn’t need to add more officers, just announced the city plans to hire 1,000 officers, detectives, and supervisors to combat violence in the city.
The new hirings, which are set to begin in January, will be expensive, to say the least. Chicago Tribune put the added dollar amount at $135 million a year once fully implemented. In the cash-strapped, violence-plagued city, widespread frisking doesn’t sound like a solution. Trump may want to talk with Second City officials before pushing his proposal further.
(Via Politico & Chicago Tribune)
