Attorney General Chris Koster
While the chances of an African-American motorist being stopped by police in Missouri dropped by 5 percent in 2015, a large disparity still remains, according to an annual study by Attorney General Chris Koster’s office.
African-American drivers were about 70 percent more likely than whites to be pulled over, when considering “proportionate share of the driving-age population.” That rate was down from 75 percent in 2014, the highest since the report became mandatory in 2000. (In 2000, the disparity level was only 31 percent, so it's more than doubled in 15 years.)
While the report indicated that there's a greater chance of finding something illegal in the vehicle of a white driver, African-American and Hispanic drivers face searches at rates “significantly higher than white drivers.” About 7 percent of stops of African-American motorists and slightly more than 7 percent of Hispanic drivers resulted in arrests, while about 4 percent of stops of whites resulted in arrests. This could have contributed to a discrepancy in searches and finding of contraband because searches are conducted during arrests, regardless of whether there's an indication that a suspect has contraband items, according to Koster.
In the city of St. Louis, nearly twice as many African-American motorists were stopped by police than their white counterparts (34,552 to 17,856.) African-Americans saw a 9.53 percent search rate, compared to 6.70 for whites and 6.52 for Hispanics. According to the report, the white driving population in the city was 46.1 percent and 45.7 percent for blacks.
In St. Louis County, the white driving population was listed as 71.4 percent, with blacks comprising 21.7 percent. More whites (34,864) were stopped by police than blacks (20,198), but the disparity in stops because of motorist population numbers is significant. Hispanic motorists were stopped 748 times and comprised 2.15 percent of the driving population. White drivers had their vehicles searched at a 7.95 percent rate, while African-Americans faced an 11.75 percent rate and Hispanics had their vehicles searched at a 10.96 percent rate.
In a press release, Koster said the report does not conclude that police officers throughout the state are guilty of racial profiling: “While statistical disproportion does not prove that law enforcement officers are making vehicle stops based on the perceived race or ethnicity of the driver, this compilation and analysis of data provides law enforcement, legislators, and the public a starting point as they consider improvements to process and changes to policy to address these issues.”
On May 5, Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis chapter of the NAACP, told a legislative committee that stops of minority drivers could be under-reported and “biased policing” could be worse than statistics conclude. He cited the 2012 example of a St. Louis County Police officer's activity log for one day, which included arrests that were not included in that year’s data.
On Wednesday, Pruitt told the Associated Press that regardless of the 5 percent drop, “there’s still a significant problem we have as it relates to biased-based policing." He also questioned Koster’s statement that the report doesn't prove there is racial profiling. “If that's the case, that means that African-Americans and minorities have a higher propensity for violating traffic laws or violating other laws that warrant these stops," he said. "That’s what I don’t believe.”
