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WPRO News and the Associated
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A statewide study of traffic data shows fewer motorists are subjected to police searches than 10 years ago.
The Providence Journal reports that the study by Northeastern University’s Institute on Race and Justice found that in 29 of 37 communities, more non-white motorists were stopped than white motorists. The disparities were very small in many municipalities.
The odds of a non-white driver being searched were almost twice that of a white driver.
Jack McDevitt, one of the authors, says training has resulted in fewer searches.
Richmond Chief Elwood Johnson, president of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, cautioned against assuming disparities in traffic stops and searches result from racial profiling.
The study, which state transportation officials released Thursday, reviewed 300,144 traffic stops between Jan. 1, 2013, and May 31, 2014.
