New RACE COUNTS Interactive Report Shows LAPD Stops and Arrests are Biased, Costly, and an Inefficient Means of Advancing Traffic Safety
Today Advancement Project California’s RACE COUNTS initiative released “Reimagining Traffic Safety & Bold Political Leadership in Los Angeles,” a bold new interactive report that shows how Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) traffic stops and arrests are racially and economically biased and provides recommendations for enhancing traffic safety through alternative models that do not rely on armed law enforcement.
Our findings show that:
- Black individuals are five times more likely to be stopped and nearly nine times more likely to be arrested for traffic violations than White individuals.
- Latinx individuals are 1.6 times more likely to be stopped, and 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for traffic violations than White individuals.
- Low-income Black neighborhoods experience a higher rate of traffic stops than low-income White neighborhoods.
- Officers spend more time on traffic violation stops of Black and Latinx individuals compared to Whites. Officers spent over 22 minutes on 25% of stops involving Black people while only spending 15 minutes on 25% of stops involving White people.
Rather than continue to rely on the LAPD, the City of Los Angeles should pursue alternatives to traffic safety that do not require the use of armed law enforcement. Our recommendations for equity-centered change include, among other things:
- Immediately ending the use of pretextual stops because they are an inefficient means of advancing public safety and are used to harass Black and Brown Angelenos.
- Enhancing urban design to address the root causes of circumstances that create traffic safety risks.
- Centering equity by no longer taxing low-income Angelenos of color through excessive fees and fines for minor traffic offenses that they cannot afford to pay.
This new interactive report was developed in collaboration with the PUSH LA coalition. Please click the link below for more information about our findings and recommendations.