It?s not the numbers ? nearly 100,000 arrests last year. It?s the policy ? or lack of it, according to criminologists.

They say the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against the city over alleged illegal arrests is a fight about policy, not just numbers. And while the city?s arrest rate is higher than those inWashington, New York City or Philadelphia, experts said the real question is: Does arresting 1 in 6 residents reduce crime and improve the quality of life in the city?