Columbia Police Department has posted its 2023 traffic stop data in incident-based format to the city website. Here is an initial look at the information.
Consent Search disproportions against Black drivers continue to decline, almost to equity. High disproportions for other situations in some Beats have declined, but stop rates for Black drivers continue to be unacceptably high. They are stopped at a rate per estimated driver 4.70 times the rate for White drivers. For the Black rate to equal the White rate, Black stops would have to reduced from about 1500 to 300. What is the reason for these extra 1200 stops? Are they necessary to protect public safety? Or are they alienating the good people whose help officers need to control crime?
In some situations, officers appear to be failing to record information as required by law for the Vehicle Stops Report. For every stop, officers are required to check off a reason: Moving Violation, Equipment Violation, License Violation or Investigative Reason. In 30% of their stops the reason is not recorded. This lapse can probably be corrected, but officers appear to be making other mistakes that are harder to correct. And if these mistakes are common, can the integrity of the data be trusted? For more information, read: Heads Up CPD IBD 5 3 24
I'll do a more complete analysis when I am sure CPD has provided the most accurate data possible. Complex statistical analysis is not necessary to identify situations in which groups are affected disproportionately by officer actions. Simple rates and comparisons of rates are all that are needed to flag possible discrimination. Even very high disproportions do not prove discrimination; officers could be acting on strong evidence of criminal activity. Even very low disproportions do not prove that no discrimination is occurring; they only document that there is no strong pattern of discrimination. The next step is always to take a close look at the facts officers knew when they acted to make sure the facts justify the actions and are clearly independent of racial stereotypes.
If you are interested in how I work with the data, take a look at the spreadsheets and pivot tables I use. Just basic skills are needed. You might have to download the file and have Excel software on your computer. 2023 CPD IBD DML Pivot Tables 5 5 24
Mid-Missouri Civil Liberties Association and the League of Women Voters hosted a discussion of 2022 CPD IBD on July 26, 2023. Excellent input provided by members of Race Matters, Friends contributed to this report, which is still relevant: Traffic Stop Data Policy Recommendations Based on Discussion at MOCLA Meeting, July 26, 2023
More than 20 years of VSR data document that Black drivers are disproportionately stopped by officers. Multiple factors are involved, economics for one and racial discrimination is another. The data also document that high disproportions in post-stop actions such as consent searches once existed but have declined to equity as officers became more careful to check their facts before asking for consent. Failure to act on convincing facts that are clearly independent of racial stereotypes is the essence of discrimination.
Statewide 2022 VSR data documented that a big part of the stop disproportion comes from Black drivers being stopped outside of their home jurisdictions. Stops made by a few jurisdictions near St. Louis and Kansas City account for much of the statewide disproportion. These agencies have a civic responsibility to document that the extra stops of Black drivers are necessary to protect public safety. If facts can't be documented, they must stop making the unnecessary stops which alienate the drivers whose help officers depend on to fight serious crime.
This process is the key to continued improvements:
Improve the use of data to flag possible discrimination.
Monitor the facts officers act on in situations that have high disproportions.
Establish clear criteria for facts that justify the actions.
Train officers in the criteria and hold them accountable for using them.
Questions? Comments?
Don Love