The New York Police Department deliberately violated the civil rights of tens of thousands of New Yorkers with its stop-and-frisk policy, and an independent monitor is needed to oversee major changes, a federal judge ruled Monday, according to The Associated Press.

U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin says she was not putting an end to the policy – which the mayor and police commissioner defend as a life-saving, crime-fighting tool – but rather reforming it. The independent monitor would develop reforms to policies, training, supervisions, monitoring and discipline, AP reports.