Unequal Enforcement?

[MJS]

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-traffic-stops-0226-20120223,0,4922037.story

Black and Hispanic drivers stopped by police across Connecticut are significantly more likely to leave the encounter with a ticket or a court date than are white motorists pulled over for the same offense, a first-ever analysis of state data shows.
From running stop signs to busted taillights, an analysis by the Courant of more than 100,000 traffic stops by dozens of local departments in 2011 found widespread disparity in how racial and ethnic minorities are treated.
Blacks and Hispanics fared especially poorly when stopped for equipment-related violations. Among nearly 4,000 stops related to the display or use of license plates, for example, 13 percent of white motorists left with a citation, compared with 27 percent of black drivers and 36 percent of Hispanics.
For more than 2,600 stops involving improper taillights, black motorists were twice as likely and Hispanics nearly four times as likely to be ticketed, compared to white drivers.

I think this is a huge factor:

Anthony Salvatore, chief of police in Cromwell and legislative co-chairman of the Connecticut Chiefs of Police Association, said he had no clear explanation for the disparity, but said it was possible that in some cases, a minor motor-vehicle stop may have revealed a more-serious violation. The reports list only the initial reason for a stop, even if the motorist ultimately was cited for a different offense.
"They may have initially put down that it was for a stop sign, and it could have led to something else," he said.
Salvatore said officers have discretion in enforcement actions, but are expected to base their decisions on relevant factors, such as the seriousness of the incident

Thoughts?

 

[jks9199]

I'll hit this more later, but I suspect that the driver's response and history may also be a factor. I admit, it's kind of circular thing, but a guy who has a -12 point driving record is a lot less likely to get a break from me than the guy with a +5. And the guy who argues with me or denies the charge absolutely with zero credibility (and we're not talking a "I slowed down, not stopped" but a went through a stop sign at 30 in a 25... or was speeding and passing cars type situation) isn't likely to get a break either. The goal of traffic enforcement is to get voluntary compliance; an "Yeah, I screwed up" seems more likely to voluntarily comply in the future than the guy who has 10 other tickets and is full of excuses...

 

[Cougar]

The vast majority of the time I pull over vehicles is because they broke the traffic pattern and gained my attention to their doing something wrong or unsafe, not because I looked for a driver that was in one of the minority socio-economic groups. Heck, I am Native American, myself, and I do not usaully worry about the ethnicity of the driver or the vehicle inhabitants as much as watch their body language, keep their hands in view and try to do my job. Profiling? Never worry about it, really. As previously stated in other posts, some individuals that identify with one socio-economic group or another tend to get defensive when stopped. If I stop you and you are polite and forthcoming and you did nothurt anyone or do any property damage, you are likely to get a warning and be let go if your check comes back clear.

 

[punisher73]

Too many factors to say one way or another. You could really only make an individual statement for an officer. If you have one officer who only cites minorities and lets everyone else go, then you could conclude something is wrong.
But, to try and conclude something from the data, again, there are WAY too many factors to take into account. For example, in our area, usually the new guys are assigned to the higher crime areas and are more gung-ho and write lots more tickets and have lots more arrests. As in many cities, this may be an area that has higher percentages of minorities. Now, you go over to the higher seniority guys who will pick areas that don't get alot of crime and don't want paperwork so they just give lots of warnings. Now you compile the two VERY different groups and what are you going to get? More minorities written tickets and more warnings given to others, and the data means nothing.