Profiling Policing a Diverse Society

Which Man Looks Guilty?

If you picked the one on the right, youre wrong! If you picked the one on the left, youre wrong too! Look again. They are pictures of the same man. Police stop drivers based on their skin color rather than the way they are driving. In Florida, for example, 80% of those stopped and searched are Black or Hispanic although these racial groups comprise only 5% of the states population.

In a post 9/11 world, we see opportunities for other types of profiling…

Racial profiling... is one of the most ineffective strategies, and I call it nothing less than lazy, sloppy police work. It's basically saying you don't want to learn about your community, you don't want to learn about people's behavior, you don't want to do your job, and don't want to investigate, you just want to stop a lot of people and see if you can come up with some statistical number at the end of the evening... Testimony of Capt. Ron Davis, Oakland Police Department, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Oakland, CA, Sept. 9, 2003

Profiling – Racial or Otherwise One could argue that Reichs article is an early precursor of the current debate over racial profiling in law enforcement. Are minorities profiled? Evidence (anecdotal or systematic) suggests profiling related to neighborhood/geographic location/ context? Downtown, Five Points, Federal Heights, Airport, Boulder Who constitutes a minority? Black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, Middle Eastern, Poor, College students, … Are different groups treated differently by differently associated officers, e.g., do white and black police officers treat minorities the same way? What do you think about roadblocks for drunk drivers? That is, if Boulder sets up a Friday night roadblock and tests everyone who drives by, is this profiling? What if they test just students? Is this a form of profiling? Is it fair? Is it a reasonable or an unreasonable search in a democratic society? What do you think about profiling in airports? For general national security purposes?

The Police Services Study – Phase II Domestic Conflict White CitizenBlack Citizen White Officer Black Officer VICTIMS Satisfaction 26%17%29% Officer Actions: Comfort 19%20%29% Settle Argument 13%20%37% Lecture 24%19%25% Provide Info 34%23%29%

The Police Services Study – Phase II Domestic Conflict White CitizenBlack Citizen White Officer Black Officer SUSPECTS Officer Actions: Question ID 25%30%5% Search 7%10%15% Detain 10%8%10% Threaten 20%35%40% Arrest 13%14%20%

"The Role of Supervisors" Black Victim Satisfaction with Police Services Race of Patrol Supervisor WhiteBlack White 17% 44% Race of Officer Black 0% 22% The Police Services Study – Phase II

"Officer Actions w Supervisors Present (Black Victims) White OfficerBlack Officer w/ WhiteBlackWhiteBlack Super Comfort7%11%7%10% Lecture21%6%50%10% Provide Info17%11%7%16% Search14%17%0% Threaten25%0%36%10%

Protecting the Public: Racial Profiling Bans that Protect Motorists and Pedestrians

Denver PD (June 1, May 31, 2002) Census 2000 Traffic Stops Pedestrian Stops Equipment / Moving Warnings / All Sanctions White51.9%48.2%32.8%11%16% Black10.8%16.6%33.0%40%34% Hispanic31.7%31.3%28.9%25%20% Asian2.7%2.1%0.8%18%22% AmerInd0.7%0.3%3.9%29%26% Other2.2%0.9%0.2%19%27% Unknown 0.7%0.5%

Denver PD (June 1, May 31, 2002) Census 2000 Traffic Stops Pedestrian Stops Victim Identified Suspects * Non- discreti onary Arrests* * White51.9%48.2%32.8%25.1%30.9% Black10.8%16.6%33.0%30.4%28.4% Hispanic31.7%31.3%28.9%43.5%39.7% Asian2.7%2.1%0.8%1.0%0.9% AmerInd0.7%0.3%3.9% Other2.2%0.9%0.2% Unknown 0.7%0.5%

Denver PD (June 1, May 31, 2002) Stops Traffic Stops Pedestrian Stops ConsentFriskArrestConsentFriskArrest White1.4%2.7%3.3% 7.9%28.8%22.6% Black3.4%9.8%12.5% 9.8%38.0%26.7% Hispanic2.3%10.9%9.4% 5.9%39.1%24.1%