Again, I have to differ.  A street check, as we call it in the West, does have a salutatory effect. If I check you and your crew hanging out in a park at 2 am, I know who you associate with.  Then, should I arrest you for a robbery (purse snatching), and the guy you were with matches the description of one of your friends I checked you with last week, I know the other suspect. 

 Now, I fully support your position that you and your friends don't have to identify yourselves, unless I can articulate a reason to detain you.  But, that does not mean I don't have the right to at least stop and speak with you.  And, that is what I think Desmond Cole would like to change; the ability of the police to stop, and speak in a civil manner, to any person/groups that they feel may be of interest.  

 Missing in Cole's analogy is the context of the neigbhourhoods, the crime patterns and the fact that street people are victimized by other street people.  Who looks after them, if not the police?