Our Mission & Focus
The Monitor Team works to ensure that the NYPD engages in constitutional stops, frisks, and searches.
The Monitor Team’s focus is on the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices, as well as its trespass enforcement. The Monitor Team regularly assesses the NYPD’s compliance and publicly files reports with the court detailing their findings.
Know Your Rights
When you are stopped, frisked, and/or searched by a New York City police officer, you have certain rights.
Latest Report
On March 3, 2023, the Monitor Team filed the Eighteenth Report of the Independent Monitor with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
- TAP was an NYPD program in which police officers conducted self-initiated patrols inside certain private apartment buildings. It was discontinued in 2020. The Monitor has audited NYPD activity to see whether TAP has actually ended in practice.
- Most precincts have not continued TAP-like patrols after the program ended. However, two precincts in Brooklyn appeared to continue TAP-like patrols until ending in 2021.
- In addition, the Monitor team’s review of NYPD stops in and around former TAP buildings found officers had reasonable suspicion for only 61.8% of the 76 stop reports reviewed. This is well below the 86% average compliance rate the Monitor found in its audit of NYPD stops.
- The NYPD must improve stop-and-frisk compliance and ensure officers do not continue self-initiated interior patrols in private buildings without a legally justifiable reason for entry.
Featured Story
Real-Time Audits of Recently-Announced Neighborhood Safety Teams
This year, Mayor Adams announced the creation of Neighborhood Safety Teams (NSTs) within the NYPD. The NYPD assigned over 200 members of service to the NSTs and deployed them in 34 commands with high volumes of shootings and other violent crime. The Monitor Team has begun real-time audits of the NSTs. More specifically, the Monitor Team is reviewing BWC videos and stop reports of NST members to assess the lawfulness of their encounters with civilians.
