Experts differ on whether newly released data shows racial profiling during traffic stops by Anne Arundel County police.
The report released this week “shows African-American and Hispanic drivers are more likely to be searched, and that is some cause of concern,” said Meredith Curtis of the state American Civil Liberties Union chapter, which petitioned the county police for the report.
But Police Chief James Teare said, “Our [overall] reports do not indicate the police is engaged in racial profiling.”
Doug Ward, director of the John Hopkins University?s Division of Public Safety Leadership, agreed with Teare.
“If there were any one race being singled out, that would pop out in the data,” Ward said.
“I?m not seeing any glaring figures.”
However, “there is a residue of the old mindset in the numbers,” said Tyrone Powers, director of the Institute for Criminal Justice, Legal Studies and Public Service at Anne Arundel Community College.
Powers pointed to evidence of bias in the report?s disclaimer that the high numbers of black driver searches came in predominantly black areas where there are increased patrols at the request of the neighborhood.
His analysis backs up what groups such as the ACLU and officials such as County Councilman Daryl Jones, D-District 1, who are calling for an independent review of the data.
The experts and officials agree some aspects of traffic stop practices need to be examined.
Curtis said the ACLU will make its recommendations sometime in the near future.
Teare said his patrol chiefs are discussing proper practices for searches during stops. But he said he needs the public?s help to squash racial profiling.
“If they believe they are inappropriately stopped for some reason, we will investigate all allegations of misconduct,” Teare said.
AT A GLANCE
» AmongHispanic and black drivers stopped by county police, 5.2 percent and 4.2 percent were searched respectively, while only 2.6 percent of white drivers were searched, though nearly twice as many whites (2,379) were searched than blacks (1,211) and far more than Hispanics (223).
» Of the 127,487 traffic stops, 61 percent were white. White drivers were held longer than other races, but black and Hispanic drivers were more likely to be held longer.
» Twenty percent of white drivers are found to be with contraband during searches while blacks and Hispanics are found 14 percent and 4.5 percent of the time respectively.
Source: Anne Arundel County Police Department
Traffic Stop Data Supplement Report for 2002 to 2005
