Durkheim's theory of collective consciousness is important because it allows the general public to see how laws are a reflection of their thoughts and opinions. Therefore, when laws become obsolete, they can be changed. This is important to note because laws are expected to change over time. Things like slavery, Jim Crow laws, and women's rights issues have all had drastic changes in how the law affects them because the collective consciousness on those issues has changed. So, although Stop and Frisk has only affected a small portion of the U.S. population, the idea that laws are changed when collective consciousness changes is an important