Driving While Black: New data shows how police target African Americans on highways across America

[Cali_Democrat]

January/ February 2014 Driving While Black
“Stop and frisk” isn’t just a reality in New York City. New data shows how police target African Americans on highways across America.
By Charles Epp and Steven Maynard-Moody

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The key influence on who is stopped in traffic safety stops is how you drive; in investigatory stops it is who you are, and being black is the leading influence. In traffic safety stops, being black has no influence: African Americans are not significantly more likely than whites to be stopped for clear traffic safety law violations. But in investigatory stops, a black man age twenty-five or younger has a 28 percent chance of being stopped for an investigatory reason over the course of a year; a similar young white man has a 12.5 percent chance, and a similar young white woman has only a 7 percent chance. And this is after taking into account other possible influences on being stopped, like how you drive.

Police focus investigatory stops on younger people, and so as people grow older they are less likely to be stopped in this way. But a black man must reach fifty—well into the graying years—before his risk of an investigatory stop drops below that of a white man under age twenty-five. Overall, black drivers are nearly three times more likely than whites to be subjected to investigatory stops.

Being black is also the leading influence on how far police officers pursue their inquisition in investigatory stops. In these stops, full-blown vehicle searches are relatively common. After taking into account other possible influences, black drivers in our survey were five times more likely than whites to be subjected to searches in investigatory stops. Searches are remarkably rare in traffic safety stops, and the driver’s race has no influence on whether the driver is searched in these stops.

Read the whole piece: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/january_february_2014/ten_miles_square/driving_while_black048283.php?page=all#

[Th1onein]

1. Did you know that African Americans are some of the most politically astute?

I wonder if this is one reason why they are being targeted?

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. This means (more pointedly) ...

But in investigatory stops, a black man age twenty-five or younger has a 28 percent chance of being stopped for an investigatory reason over the course of a year; a similar young white man has a 12.5 percent chance ...

A Black male (aged 25 or younger) can expect to be stopped about once every 4 times they get behind the wheel; whereas, a similar white male can expect to be stopped once every 10 times they get behind the wheel.

[indepat]

3. Surely should put an end to the "justice is blind" meme