Story at a glance
- An oversight group analyzed traffic stops in Austin, Texas, over three years.
- Despite only making up 8 percent of the city population, African Americans make up 15 percent of traffic stops.
- The report notes that the disparity arises when comparing the number of stops to the voting age population.
An analysis of racial profiling in Austin, Texas, is showing that police officers stop black and Hispanic drivers at disproportionate levels compared to white drivers, a new study reports.
The data was collected between 2015 to 2018.
Commissioned by the Office of Police Oversight, the Office of Innovation and the Office of Equity, the report discovered “racial disparities in motor vehicle stops in 2018, with Black/African Americans as the most overrepresented of all racial/ethnic groups in Austin.” The report notes that the disparity arises when comparing the number of stops to the voting age population, meaning ages 18 and older.
Even though African Americans were 8 percent of the population in Austin in 2018 when the survey was conducted, they also represented 15 percent of motor vehicle stops and 25 percent of arrests.
Hispanic and Latino drovers are increasingly disproportionately involved in traffic stops, as well. A CNN analysis cites that this demographic made up 33 percent of motor vehicle stops and 43 percent of resulting arrests, despite making up 31 percent of Austin residents that are 18 and older.
White drivers, conversely, are less likely to be pulled over despite representing a larger share of Austin’s population. White drivers made up 47 percent of stops and 31 percent of arrests, but are at a higher population of 54 percent of all adults.
By 2015, this overrepresentation of African Americans in traffic stops and subsequent arrests rose from 4 percent to 7 percent, and the overrepresentation of Hispanic and Latino saw an increase as well, moving from 0 percent to 2 percent.
White drivers, conversely, saw a decrease in their representation in motor vehicle stops, dropping by 3 percent.
The authors of the report were quick to dispel the theory that the higher volume of stops involving black drivers was due to this demographic commuting more. On the contrary, white drivers were found to commute alone in vehicles 3 percent more than black drivers. Yet, black drivers are “proportionally overrepresented” compared to white drivers by 14 percent.
The report concluded by advising the Austin Police Department to “make every effort to address racial and ethnic disparities in this report and fulfill the recommendations within. This is just the first step to establish trust with the communities that have been negatively impacted by these practices.”
CNN reports that Police Chief Brian Manley stated that the department understands the racial disparities in police enforcement, outlining a framework to increase transparency on racial profiling and uses of police force.
“Despite all of these efforts, disparities have persisted,” he is quoted in CNN, but notes that the department is also “eager to achieve more progress by working with city leaders and the community.”
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