CONNECTICUT, USA — Connecticut’s Racial Profiling Prohibition Project just released its preliminary traffic stop data and findings for 2022.
This is the 9th statewide racial profiling study. It became a law in 2013. Researchers said while there’s more work to be done, there have been significant changes.
“It is the first year in almost a decade where we did not identify any statewide disparities in the rate at which drivers are being stopped,” said Ken Barone.
Researchers use what they call a “veil of darkness analysis” theory to research disparities in traffic stops across the state.
“What the test says is that you theoretically shouldn’t be stopping more say Black or Hispanic motorists in the presence of daylight when police are more easily able to discern race and ethnicity than in darkness,” said Barone.
According to this year's preliminary report, they found evidence that between 2020 and 2022, troopers from four Connecticut State Police troops, as well as officers from Berlin and Guilford Police Departments were more likely to pull over Black or Hispanic drivers in daytime traffic stops than White drivers.
“Because we presented preliminary findings today, we don’t know conclusively why we’re identifying statistical disparities in those four troops or those two municipalities. We’ll spend the course of the next several months digging into the data with those agencies to fully understand what are the factors that are driving the disparities,” said Barone.
What he is certain about is the statewide data won’t change.
“What we’re happy about is that really for the first time in our work, we did not find using that very sophisticated test, any statewide disparities in Connecticut,” said Barone.
House Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Representative Steve Stafstrom said data like this helps craft policy at the state level, like the police accountability law.
“We passed that legislation with the benefit of certain data and looking at how to cut down on racial disparities. That has had a transformative effect on our state,” said Stafstrom.
While researchers have found equal treatment in terms of stop outcomes, there are still statewide disparities in how often Black and Hispanic drivers are searched, but that number is decreasing from past years due to the police accountability act.
DeAndria Turner is a multi-media journalist at FOX61 News. She can be reached at dturner@fox61.com.
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