Traffic Stop Data Analysis in North Carolina

THE LAW

The 1999 North Carolina statute that requires collection of demographic information at roadside traffic stops can be found here.

TASK FORCE REPORT, DR. FRANK BAUMGARTNER

The Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Criminal Justice System was dissolved when the Commission began its work. The Task Force completed several important analyses on publicly available data, the most extensive of which was Dr. Frank Baumgartner's study on ten year's worth of roadside traffic stop data. Access the report here.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE

Dr. Baumgartner found that in Durham County, for example, a black motorist is more than twice as likely as a white motorist to be searched after being stopped for speeding. Strong community advocacy in conjunction with the Baumgartner statistics prompted Durham County's Human Relations Commission to recommend reforms designed to alleviate racial disparities in policing outcomes. See press and reports about the controversy:

September, 2013: Traffic-Stop Numbers Show Racial Bias Across North Carolina

January, 2014: Human Relations Commission Hears Profiling Complaints

February, 2014: Durham Police Department Responds to Allegations of Racial Profiling

April, 2014: Durham Human Relations Commission Submits Recommendations to Durham City Council to End Racial Profiling

August, 2014: City Manager Issues Report

September, 2014: Changes to Policing Policies

ACLU SUGGESTS WAYS OF IMPROVING NC STATUTE ON TRAFFIC STOP DATA

There are specific ways in which the North Carolina law could be improved to benefit both the public and law enforcement.  The "Road Work Ahead: Data Collection to Ameliorate Racially Biased Policing" report focuses on recommending three ways in which policy-makers at the legislative or administrative level could strengthen the data collection law to improve transparency and community engagement.  The three recommendations are:

1. Require law enforcement to record and provide with specificity the location of each traffic stop.
2. Develop a standardized system so that every officer in North Carolina has a unique and anonymous individual officer identification number.
3. Train officers on the importance and benefits of data collection, as well as how to fill out the required forms, as part of the standard law enforcement training programs.

Covering the benefit of data collection for the community and police professionals, this is a very informative report that contributes greatly to the ongoing discussion around roadside traffic stop data analysis.

NC ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE ISSUE A REPORT RESPONDING TO BAUMGARTNER'S REPORT

The North Carolina Association of Chief of Police (NCACP) had Dr. Deborah Weisel analyze traffic stop data collected in NC since 2000, review existing studies of traffic data in NC, and discuss best practices in traffic studies across the USA. Her work was compiled into an 115 page report, which can be found here.