How to Correctly Collect and Analyze Racial Profiling Data: Your Reputation Depends On It!

This publication is the result of a COPS-funded project conducted by the CNA Corporation (CNAC) to help law enforcement agencies collect and analyze data. How to Correctly Collect and Analyze Racial Profiling Data: Your Reputation Depends on It! is particularly timely as more and more states mandate that law enforcement agencies collect traffic stop data. As part of this project, CNAC worked with the Baltimore (MD) Police Department, the Phoenix (AZ) Police Department, the Chattanooga (TN) Police Department, and the St. Paul (MN) Police Department, all of which are highlighted in the document along with the Oakland (CA) Police Department.

More than 400 United States law enforcement agencies have
instituted traffic-stop data-collection measures and 14 states have
passed legislation mandating racial profiling policies. Polls indicate
that a majority of citizens believe that police departments engage in
racial profiling, while most police chiefs do not believe their officers
engage in racial profiling. This difference of perception, at times,
is a reflection of a fractured relationship between the police and
the community. Citizens who do not trust the police are less likely
to invest their time in understanding police policies, procedures, or
efforts to collect data. Police, on the other hand, feel they are likely
to be unfairly accused of racial profiling, and may be less enthusiastic
about pursuing their duties. Many departments have swiftly
implemented mechanisms to collect data to investigate allegations of
racial profiling, but too often base their conclusions on comparing
preliminary data on traffic stops to aggregate city demographics
without establishing credible benchmarks for comparison purposes.
These superficial evaluations are dangerous, in that they may foster
incorrect conclusions and generate inappropriate corrective measures.