HOLYOKE -- Civil liberties advocate group Massachusetts Cop Block is questioning the thinking behind some U.S. police department street stops.

The ACLU and other groups have suggested racial profiling could be behind these stop-and-frisk incidents, noting that about 85 percent of New York street stop subjects are black or Hispanic.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1968 court case Terry V. Ohio that police officers only need "reasonable suspicion" to conduct street stops, lowering the standard that previously required police to have "probable cause" to perform such actions.

In western Massachusetts, Holyoke police in recent weeks and months have made numerous drug arrests following street stops.

The use of street stops has raised varying opinions across the country. Here is some of what MassLive's readers have said on the topic:

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Reader spu77 said:

I am a firm believer that if you are transporting drugs if a cop wants to pull you over so be it. The ACLU cries about three arrests over a weekend,? Don't worry I am sure there were plenty more who transported their goods through the streets of Holyoke....Leave it up to a liberal judge to bemoan that "you are wrong 88% of the time" I would take that 12% right everyday of the week.

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Reader joey1023 said:

This country is becoming a police run state. Cops shouldn't be allowed to pull anyone over. They are biased and have limited laws to those of certain neighborhoods. They are wrong 90% of the time. Which means most people are being harassed by the police for nothing. We are supposed to have freedom and liberty in America.

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Reader Diver Down said:

I think it's great. Keep stopping em. Its leading to arrests and that's fine by me. They can stop me anytime. I obey the law so no worries here. The only ones upset are the criminals and criminal loving libs