Racial Profiling and the St.Cloud Police Department

Racial Profiling Minnesota Legislature defines racial profiling as, “Any action initiated by law enforcement that relies upon the race, ethnicity, or national origin of an individual rather than: (1) the behavior of that individual; or (2) information that leads law enforcement to a particular individual who has been identified as being engaged in or having been engaged in criminal activity. Racial Profiling includes use of racial or ethnic stereotypes as factors in selecting whom to stop and search. Racial profiling does not include law enforcement’s use of race or ethnicity to determine whether a person matches a specific description of a particular subject. Minnesota Legislature defines racial profiling as, “Any action initiated by law enforcement that relies upon the race, ethnicity, or national origin of an individual rather than: (1) the behavior of that individual; or (2) information that leads law enforcement to a particular individual who has been identified as being engaged in or having been engaged in criminal activity. Racial Profiling includes use of racial or ethnic stereotypes as factors in selecting whom to stop and search. Racial profiling does not include law enforcement’s use of race or ethnicity to determine whether a person matches a specific description of a particular subject.

Minnesota Statewide Racial Profiling Report St. Cloud volunteered to participate in report St. Cloud volunteered to participate in report Statistics taken from 2002 Statistics taken from 2002 There were 8,849 traffic stops in 2002 There were 8,849 traffic stops in 2002

Population Percentage vs. Traffic Stop Percentage St. Cloud Comparison of Stops to Driving Age Population St. Cloud Comparison of Stops to Driving Age Population WhiteBlackAmer.IndianAsianLatino PopulationPercentage93.3%1.7%0.7%3.4%1.0% Traffic Stop Percentage88.3%6.6%0.4%3.3%1.4%

Who are They Pulling Over? Driving Age Population on Left Household Vehicle Availability Rates on Right BlackWhite ExpectedStops ActualStops RelativeDifference 292.6%-5.4%BlackWhiteExpectedStops ActualStops RelativeDifference596.4%-7.2%

Disposition of Stop whiteblackarrest3.6%5.7% citation37.1%45.3% No Action 1.6%3.4% warning57.7%45.5% Total Stops

“Do you mind if I look around the car a little bit?” Statistically significant? Statistically significant? 8,849 traffic stops vs. 436 searches 8,849 traffic stops vs. 436 searches Searches are more personal, face to face contact Searches are more personal, face to face contact Discretionary Searches vs. Nondiscretionary Searches Discretionary Searches vs. Nondiscretionary Searches Officers have five reasons on traffic stop forms for authority to search… Driver gave verbal permission Driver signed a consent to search form Search was conducted to ensure to officers safety Officer observed contraband Search was conducted incident to arrest

Who’s Being Searched Total Stops Searches Total Search Rate Dis. Searches Dis. Search Rate White %1892.4% People of Color %414.0% Black People were stopped 581 times and searched 49 times. That’s a search rate of 8.3%. Their discretionary rate was 4.3%

What They Found in Those Searches Searches Contraband Found Hit Rate % White % People of Color % Statistics for Discretionary Searches