Report Indicates Disparity in Traffic Stops in Hartford
Feb 20, 2017 10:44:32 GMT
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Post by ck4829 on Feb 20, 2017 10:44:32 GMT
Report Indicates Racial Disparity in Traffic Stops in Hartford
Shortly after a midnight last March, less than a mile from Town Hall, Hartford police stopped a man who was driving on Route 14, right where the Maple Street section runs beneath Interstate 91 and past the Watson Upper Valley Dog Park.
The street would have likely been deserted, with weather records showing a rainy, foggy night at near-freezing temperatures.
The police officer didn’t arrest the driver, or even give him a ticket. The driver was let go with a warning.
But there was something about this particular traffic stop that stood out to a University of Vermont researcher who has reviewed a year’s worth of traffic-stop data for at least 30 police agencies around the state.
Of the 44 people stopped for possible traffic violations by Hartford police during the week of March 13, 43 of the drivers were either ticketed or warned before they were sent on their way. The 44th, the man stopped near the dog park, was the only one who, before he was released, was searched for contraband.
The database of traffic stops used for the research doesn’t list his name or other identifying information, but it does note his race.
He was the only one who was black.
Hartford’s population of people of color is small, but growing, with Census records showing an increase from 3 to 5 percent between 2000 and 2010. In recent weeks, the community has been in the throes of a lively public discussion about how implicit bias affects people of color in the community. Now, Hartford may have just received a prime example of such bias in action: A report by UVM economist Stephanie Seguino has found that white drivers are less likely to be stopped and searched by Hartford police officers than black drivers.
This racial disparity is present in towns throughout the state, but Hartford’s racial gap seems to be higher than the statewide Vermont average documented by Seguino in the report, which she published last month.
www.vnews.com/UVM-study-on-racial-disparity-in-traffic-stops-8097319
Shortly after a midnight last March, less than a mile from Town Hall, Hartford police stopped a man who was driving on Route 14, right where the Maple Street section runs beneath Interstate 91 and past the Watson Upper Valley Dog Park.
The street would have likely been deserted, with weather records showing a rainy, foggy night at near-freezing temperatures.
The police officer didn’t arrest the driver, or even give him a ticket. The driver was let go with a warning.
But there was something about this particular traffic stop that stood out to a University of Vermont researcher who has reviewed a year’s worth of traffic-stop data for at least 30 police agencies around the state.
Of the 44 people stopped for possible traffic violations by Hartford police during the week of March 13, 43 of the drivers were either ticketed or warned before they were sent on their way. The 44th, the man stopped near the dog park, was the only one who, before he was released, was searched for contraband.
The database of traffic stops used for the research doesn’t list his name or other identifying information, but it does note his race.
He was the only one who was black.
Hartford’s population of people of color is small, but growing, with Census records showing an increase from 3 to 5 percent between 2000 and 2010. In recent weeks, the community has been in the throes of a lively public discussion about how implicit bias affects people of color in the community. Now, Hartford may have just received a prime example of such bias in action: A report by UVM economist Stephanie Seguino has found that white drivers are less likely to be stopped and searched by Hartford police officers than black drivers.
This racial disparity is present in towns throughout the state, but Hartford’s racial gap seems to be higher than the statewide Vermont average documented by Seguino in the report, which she published last month.
www.vnews.com/UVM-study-on-racial-disparity-in-traffic-stops-8097319
