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"In New York…that practice was implemented in a way that was not helpful to community trust," Attorney General Loretta Lynch says. | AP Photo After Trump remarks, Lynch airs concerns on stop-and-frisk

Attorney General Loretta Lynch publicly questioned the wisdom of broad-based stop-and-frisk policies as a crime-fighting tool Thursday, in the wake of comments from Donald Trump urging use of the technique to cut down on gun violence.

Asked about her views on the practice, Lynch said she would not be drawn into debate about comments made by political candidates, but she clearly disagreed with the GOP presidential nominee by insisting that the use of the tactic had been counterproductive in New York City.

"In New York … that practice was implemented in a way that was not helpful to community trust and to, frankly, public safety and enhancing the relationship between law enforcement and community members," Lynch said in response to question from POLITICO at a press conference about a crackdown on mail-fraud schemes.

"The issue with stop-and-frisk in the New York area was the widespread indiscriminate use of that practice, particularly when it was not generating success from a law enforcement perspective, in either leads or tips or firearms, and the resulting lack of trust that it generated," the attorney general said.

In an interview Wednesday, Trump called for broader use of stop-and-frisk and specifically praised its success in combating crime in New York.

"I see what's going on here, I see what's going on in Chicago," Trump said in Cleveland during a taping of Fox News' "Hannity " "I think stop-and-frisk, in New York City, it was so incredible the way it worked. And, we had a very good mayor. But New York City was incredible the way that worked. So, I think that would be one step you could do."

Use of the proactive technique, promoted by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has long angered many civil rights activists. In 2013, a judge in New York ruled that it had been carried out in an unconstitutional, racially discriminatory manner. An appeals court halted that ruling, but while the appeal was pending, the city — under new Mayor Bill de Blasio —wound up settling the case.

In comments Thursday, Trump revised his earlier remarks, insisting he was only advocating the practice in murder-plagued Chicago.

“I was really referring to Chicago with stop-and-frisk,” he told “Fox and Friends” during a phone interview Thursday morning. “They asked me about Chicago and I was talking about stop-and-frisk for Chicago.”

Chicago has seen a spike in murders and shootings, with over 500 killings in 2016 and three months still to go in the year.

"I think Chicago needs stop-and-frisk,” Trump said. “Now, people can criticize me for that or people can say whatever they want, but they asked me about Chicago, and I think stop-and-frisk, with good, strong, you know, good, strong law and order. But you have to do something. It can’t continue the way it’s going.”

Lynch, who spent two stints as chief federal prosecutor in Brooklyn before being nominated as attorney general, said she wasn't opposed to stop-and-frisk techniques under certain circumstances.

"As with every police procedure we want to empower law enforcement to be responsive to community needs. We want to empower them to protect the community. We want to give them the training they need in order to do it in a way that is constitutional, safe and effective and promotes trust," Lynch said. "It’s not really a yes or no answer."

UPDATE (Thursday, 4:09 p.m.): This post has been updated to clarify the outcome of the New York City stop-and-frisk litigation.