Study Finds Some Racial Disparities In Miami-Dade Traffic Stops

By CURT ANDERSONAssociated Press Writer MIAMI (AP) – There is no evidence that Miami-Dade County police officers are stopping drivers because of their race, but among those pulled over blacks are more likely to be searched or interrogated, a study released Monday concludes. The study by the Alpert Group, a law enforcement research company, recommended more training of Miami-Dade Police Department officers and closer monitoring of their actions on duty to identify those with questionable patterns against specific ethnic and racial groups. Blacks stopped for traffic violations were “substantially more likely” than whites or Hispanics to have their vehicles towed, to be subjected to “pat-down” searches, to be questioned closely by officers and to have records checks done on them or their vehicles. Although they are more often searched, blacks in Miami-Dade were less likely to possess illegal items such as weapons or drugs than whites or Hispanics, the study found, “which may indicate that the criteria used for searching a black citizen may be more liberal” than for others. “Obviously, this study presents an opportunity for us to review and train personnel about the appropriate response,” said Miami-Dade police director Robert Parker, who is black. The study was requested by the Miami-Dade County Commission in 2000 following a litany of complaints that blacks were being unfairly singled out in traffic stops. In an examination of more than 66,000 such stops, the study found there is no “consistent, systematic or patterned targeting” of minorities by county police. While Parker hailed that portion of the study, County Commissioner Barbara Jordan, who is also black, said the disparate treatment of blacks after they are stopped warrants further investigation and corrective steps. “I do have a problem with these findings,” Jordan said. Out of the 66,109 Miami-Dade traffic stops examined, Hispanics made up 45 percent, whites almost 28 percent and blacks nearly 27 percent. Officers were able to identify the race of a driver only about 30 percent of the time before the stop. The increased number of searches of black drivers _ 4.1 percent compared with 2.7 percent for whites and 2.6 percent for Hispanics _ had one main cause: officers more frequently checked for vehicle records or outstanding arrest warrants after stopping black drivers. That led to an arrest rate of 3.7 percent for black drivers, compared with 2 percent for whites and Hispanics. Geoffrey Alpert, the main author of the study, said the increased police checks for records of blacks causes a “domino effect” that leads to more blacks being arrested. “Black citizens have their records called on more often than do white citizens,” Alpert said. Terry Coble, president of the Greater Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the findings were only released after Miami-Dade was threatened with legal action. The report itself, which cost $375,000, was completed in November. “There is evidence that blacks are treated differently,” Coble said.