U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics February 2000, NCJ 180776 revised 2/24/00 th -------------------------------------------------------- This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#tsdcp This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.wk1) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/tsdcp99.htm -------------------------------------------------------- Traffic Stop Data Collection Policies for State Police, 1999 By Kevin J. Strom BJS Statistician Matthew R. Durose BJS Statistical Assistant At midyear 1999, 9 of the Nation's 49 State law enforcement agencies whose primary duties include highway patrol reported requiring officers to record demographic information on the diver or passengers for all traffic stops. Thirty-one State State agencies reported collecting specifically racial or ethnic data on drivers who receive traffic-related citations. In recent years several States have mandated that State police collect demographic information on stopped motorists. California requires that highway patrol officers assigned to drug interdiction duties record the driver's ethnicity when a stop occurs. As of January 2000, State police officers for North Carolina and Connecticut are required to register demographic information during all traffic stops. Other Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies are at various stages of instituting policies to collect data from motorist encounters. Demographic information recorded from traffic stops To better understand practices and policies, the Bureau of Justice Statistics asked State police agencies about the information collected from traffic contacts and violations. Age and gender were the items most commonly recorded from motorist stops (table 1). -------------------------------------------------------- Table 1. Number of State police agencies collecting demographic data, by type of traffic stop, 1999 Number of States collecting data Racial/ Immigration Traffic-related circumstance Age Gender ethnic status Written warnings of traffic violations 24 16 12 1 Driver only 18 11 9 1 All vehicle occupants 6 5 3 0 Citations for traffic violations 40 40 31 1 Driver only 28 28 22 0 All vehicle occupants 12 12 9 1 Arrests arising from traffic stop 41 41 37 4 Arrestee only 23 23 20 3 All vehicle occupants 18 18 17 1 Vehicle/occupant searches 14 14 15 3 Driver only 5 5 6 1 All vehicle occupants 9 9 9 2 Use-of-force encounters 36 36 32 6 ------------------------------------------------ Race or ethnicity was collected when police officers took the following actions during a traffic stop: * Written warning 12 State police agencies required that the driver's race/ethnicity be collected, including 3 States that collected this information for all passengers. * Traffic citation 31 agencies recorded race/ethnicity if written citations were issued, including 9 that collected these data for all persons in the stopped vehicle. * Arrest from a traffic stop 37 agencies collected the arrestee's race/ethnicity, while 17 recorded the race/ethnicity of all vehicle occupants. * Search of vehicle or occupants 15 agencies collected the driver's race/ethnicity if a search was conducted, including 9 that recorded the race/ethnicity of all vehicle occupants. Mississippi, New Mexico, and Indiana also collected the driver's immigration status under these circumstances. * Use-of-force encounter from a traffic stop 32 State agencies collected the drivers' or passengers' race/ethnicity, including 6 that also gathered immigration status. Electronic accessibility of demographic records Among the 37 State police agencies that collected racial/ ethnic information on a traffic-related arrest, 23 stored these data electronically (table 2). ---------------------------------------------- Table 2. Electronic accessibility of racial/ethnic data collected by State police for traffic stops, by State, 1999 Traffic stops All Written Use-of- State stops warnings Citations Arrests Searches force Alaska + + + Arkansas # # # California* # # # # Colorado # + # Connecticut + # Delaware* + + + Florida + + + + Illinois + + + Indiana + + + + Iowa # # Kansas # # # + Louisiana # # # Maine # + # + Maryland + Massachusetts + + + # Michigan # + + Minnesota # Mississippi* + + + + Missouri + + + Nebraska + + + + # Nevada* + + # + New Hampshire # # # # New Jersey # # # # New Mexico + + + + + + New York* # North Carolina # Ohio + + + + Oklahoma # + + + Oregon # # # # Pennsylvania # South Carolina + + + + + South Dakota # # # # Tennessee # + + + Texas + + # Utah + + + Virginia* # # # Washington # # West Virginia # # # # Wisconsin + + + Wyoming + + # Note: State police in Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Rhode Island, and Vermont do not collect demographic data for traffic stops. Georgia and North Dakota collect age and gender for some traffic stops but not race/ethnicity. Hawaii does not have a formal State police agency. +=States storing racial/ethnic data electronically. #=States collecting racial/ethnic data but not storing those data electronically. *State does not issue written warnings. Source: 1999 Survey of State Police Agencies ------------------------------------------------------ For those 15 States that recorded racial/ethnic information following a search of the vehicle or occupants, 8 maintained these data in electronic form. About a third of all States have a driver's racial category on or linked to drivers' licenses. Immigration status is included in driver's license files in Florida, Indiana, and Wyoming. End of file 2/15/00 ih revised 2/24/00 th