>But that's just the thing I'm saying! You're talking about Rizzo in
>2007!
Rizzo was police commissioner for 14 years and nobody since has held the post for that long. He's like Parker in Los Angeles, who held the post for 16 years. Guys like that put a stamp on police politics and procedure that stays around long after they're gone.
>I -also- think stop and frisk will entail a ton of profiling. But I
>don't even know how to formulate an opinion or perspective on it,
>because my ideological milleu is still reminiscing about the 70s.
I'd recommmend reading Christian Parenti's Lockown America. It's a great book on developments in policing and criminal justice in the U.S. since the '60s. Parenti knows what you're talking about when you say residents of high crime areas want more police presence and he doesn't disregard the danger and insecurity people have to live with. But he also shows how giving the police an inch results in their taking a mile in the direction of selective protecting and serving.