Traffic Stops More Common For Milwaukee’s African Americans
To tell a black person in Milwaukee that they are more likely to be stopped by police than a white, would come as no surprise to them. But now there are statistics to back it up. Not only are black drivers more likely to be stopped than their white counterparts, they are seven times more likely to be stopped, according to a study by the Journal Sentinel involving 46,000 traffic stops.
Such disparities are not unusual in large cities. But Milwaukee’s disparities are greater than many other large metro areas that track the data, including Kansas City, Charlotte, Raleigh, and St. Louis.
The disparities were present in all seven police districts, though they were most pronounced in Districts 1 and 6, where the population is predominantly white and crime is low.
Hispanic drivers are also subject to traffic stop disparities, being twice as likely to be stopped as whites. Blacks are also searched at a rate more than twice the rate of whites, even though those searches didn’t lead to higher rates of seized weapons, drugs, or stolen property among blacks.
In other large metro areas, blacks are stopped at a rate between 1.6 and 2.2 times that of whites, a far cry from the 7 times found in Milwaukee.
This was the first such study in the city. While some are saying the study shows what has always been known but never spoke about—that biased policing is alive and well, others like Police Chief Edward Flynn say the resulting numbers are simply a result of high-crime areas being more predominantly minorities.
Of course Flynn approves of the numbers, having instituted an increase in traffic stops as part of his drive to reduce crime. The number of stops conducted by Milwaukee police has quadrupled over the past four years with almost 200,000 made in 2010. Flynn believes that by targeting high crime areas with traffic stops, he can reduce overall crime.
In the first four months of 2011, Milwaukee police stopped 45,703 residents; 69% of which were black. Only 16% of all traffic stops during this period were for white drivers. Though blacks were searched more often, about twice as much, police recovered contraband at about the same rate no matter what the race of the driver was (in about 22% of searches).
Whites were let off with warnings more often than black and Hispanic drivers and were ticketed less often. Minorities were also arrested at twice the rate of their white counterparts.
Giving meaning to all of these numbers can be tricky, as everyone seems to have an opinion and these opinions vary widely depending on who you are, where your priorities lie, and what your agenda is. But if you are a black or Hispanic Milwaukeean, they likely come at little surprise.
When you are stopped for a traffic violation you rarely expect a criminal charge will follow. When one does, the results can be extremely stressful and life changing. Call us today if you are accused of a crime. We can help.
