Naked City

On Feb. 3, the Texas Criminal Justice Reform Coalition released its first comprehensive statewide report on racial profiling by law enforcement agencies in traffic stops and searches. The report, commissioned by the TCJRC, the Texas ACLU, the NAACP, and the League of United Latin American Citizens, and authored by Austin economist and UT professor Dwight Steward (who last year analyzed Austin racial profiling stats for the Office of the Police Monitor), includes a review of racial profiling data collected by more than 400 police agencies statewide.

According to the report, three out of every four law enforcement agencies reported stopping black and Latino motorists at higher rates than white motorists, and six out of every seven law enforcement agencies reported searching blacks and Latinos at higher rates than whites following a traffic stop. Researchers used census data, Texas Fair Roads Standards data, and TxDOT survey data, along with the self-reported racial profiling data provided by police as required by the state's racial profiling law to analyze stop-and-search trends.

The report found that Austin's black motorists are 1.8 times more likely to be stopped and 2.3 times more likely to be searched than white motorists; Austin's Latino drivers are 1.5 times more likely to be stopped and 2.2 times more likely to be searched than are white drivers – even though white Austinites were twice as likely to be found with contraband following a consent search. In each case, the data was similar for other major Texas cities including San Antonio and Houston. Still, the researchers report that while the data "suggest a pattern of racial profiling by law enforcement agencies," more research is needed to firm up that link because some of the departments included in the research provided "mitigating information" that may explain higher stop-and-search rates. The complete report can be found online at www.protex.org/criminaljustice.