NYCLU: Pot Arrests Up Tenfold

According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, arrests for the possession of small amounts of marijuana have increased tenfold in NYC over the last decade. Via Gothamist:

That isn't all, the reports are also showing that the NYPD are weeding out Blacks and Latinos, with more than half those arrested being black, and 31% being Hispanic.

A NYPD spokesperson said the system the NYCLU used to cull its numbers is flawed, but many are still taking note, especially since the NYPD itself is criticized for pressuring people into searches and stop-and-frisks (police commish Kelly denies using racial profiling). The NYPD spokesperson denies the report all-together, calling the NYCLU's numbers "absurdly inflated".

The NYPD claims there were only 8,770 marijuana violations during the years 1997 to 2006. But the NYCLU is standing firm by their report, saying that in those years "205,000 blacks, 122,000 Latinos and 59,000 whites for possessing small amounts of marijuana."

Tenfold? TENFOLD? I know violent crime has dropped a zillion percent or something, but are the cops really that fucking bored? And doesn't a stop-and-frisk policy violate the Fourth Amendment? You have to wonder how many of these busts are mere harassment and don't even go to trial.