NYPD Failed to Document Thousands of 2025 Street Stops

A federal monitor found that officers frequently mislabeled Terry stops to avoid required paperwork.

Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Law Enforcement

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of an iron barricade on a gray surface, representing the lack of transparency in policing. — A federal monitor's report revealed that the NYPD failed to document nearly 10,000 street stops in 2025, bypassing required oversight protocols. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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In 2025, the NYPD failed to formally document 9,641 street stops, representing 27% of all Terry stops conducted during the year. A federal monitor revealed that officers frequently misclassified these encounters as lower-level interactions to bypass reporting mandates.

Why it matters

Proper documentation is essential for ensuring constitutional policing and oversight of officer conduct during street encounters. The mislabeling of stops undermines the integrity of internal data and federal monitorship requirements designed to protect civil liberties.

A federal monitor reported that 27% of all Terry stops in 2025 were undocumented. While the department recorded fewer than 30,000 stops overall in 2025, the audit identified that officers often masked these encounters as Level 1 or Level 2 interactions.

The players

NYPD

The New York City Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for public safety and the enforcement of local and state laws in the city.

Southern District of New York

This federal court oversees the monitorship and legal compliance of the NYPD regarding constitutional policing standards.

The details

The monitor identified the pattern of non-compliance after reviewing body-worn camera footage of officers in New York City. The investigation showed that while all Level 3 Terry stops properly classified in the audit had formal reports, only 17.9% of those mislabeled as Level 2 encounters included the necessary documentation.

In 2011, the NYPD recorded more than 680,000 total street stops.
During 2025, the NYPD failed to document 9,641 street stops.
The department's underreporting rate fell to 18.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Legal Context

This audit follows the pattern of increased federal oversight set by the Floyd v. City of New York litigation regarding police stop-and-frisk practices. The findings highlight persistent challenges in maintaining departmental compliance with court-mandated reporting protocols.

The failure to properly document stops limits the public's ability to hold the police department accountable for interactions in their local neighborhoods. Residents may see continued federal oversight as the court monitors how effectively the NYPD addresses these internal reporting failures.

The takeaway

The drastic reduction in stop volume from 2011 to 2025 suggests a major shift in tactical strategy that remains complicated by inconsistent reporting. Transparency relies on accurate data collection, which remains a key benchmark for evaluating police interactions with the public.