Racial bias in policing in America goes back to a period shortly after the Revolutionary War, when White Southerners worried about rebellions among enslaved communities. But this report concentrates on 21st century data indicating a marked disparity in the number and outcome of traffic stops of White drivers and people of color. Studies from as early as 2014 reveal significant differences in the numbers and types of stops made by police of White drivers versus people of color, people with mental disabilities and other more vulnerable populations. Though there were indications of bias in these earlier studies, none of them were able to prove conclusively that police bias was the causal factor. The California legislature sought in 2016 to find a way to gather data that would more definitively answer the question of whether implicit bias is at play. With that goal in mind they passed the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Act, RIPA. The data they produced confirmed these disparities.
The New York Times, in two articles published in October of 2021, uncovered two additional key issues. The first is the reliance of many jurisdictions on fines and fees collected as a result of traffic stops to supplement their budgets, thus putting pressure on police officers to make an excessive number of traffic stops. The second speaks specifically to the kind of training police officers receive, which emphasizes the excessive danger police face in making traffic stops.
To cast light on the question of implicit bias, as well as to improve police training, RIPA has appointed a commission, called Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). POST has developed more detailed data collection forms that might help determine whether implicit bias is at play. They have also produced an impressive body of training materials which have been made available to police and sheriff’s departments in California. These include language modeling and role playing exercises designed to train officers to tone down their interactions with drivers, suggestions for improving encounters with the community, racial and identity profiling training, and suggestions for making officers more accountable. Police departments and sheriff’s offices are urged but not mandated to implement these resources.
It will be important to follow up with the San Diego PD and county sheriff’s departments to see how much of the training materials have actually been implemented and whether changes in collection data and training materials have brought about a change in behavior on the part of police as they continue to interact with the driving public. Follow-up on adherence to AB 846 will also be important.
Read the full report.