Further Reading

The Driving Equality Bill

The Driving Equality Bill passed in Philadelphia in 2021 is an example of what dismantling institutional and systemic racism can look like for policing. Find text of the bill here. This bill passed by a 14-2 vote by the city council in Philadelphia. Our Good Neighbor Ordinances seek to accomplish the same goal in Bexley - an end to racial profiling better known as "Driving While Black".

Traffic stops make poverty a crime, retired Birmingham police captain says

OpEd written by retired Birmingham, Alabama Police Captain Jerry Wiley. His empathy and compassion and common-sense policing is what is desperately needed in Bexley. BRAIR’s Good Neighbor Ordinances were inspired by Jerry’s work in Birmingham. [AL.com, March 31, 2021]

In Wake of Beating Death of Tyre Nichols, SB 50 Attempts to Limit Use of Minor Pretext Stops

"A 2022 study by Catalyst California and ACLU SoCal found that instead of addressing community concerns about serious crime, sheriff’s deputies in Los Angeles and Riverside counties spend nearly 9 out of every 10 hours on stops initiated by officers rather than responding to calls for help. Among those officer-initiated stops, approximately 80 percent are for traffic violations.

Additionally, in its report released earlier this year, the California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board found that people who were perceived as Black were stopped and searched at 2.2 times the rate of people perceived as white. Overall, officers searched 6,622 more people perceived as Black than those perceived as white. Furthermore, those perceived to be Black adolescents between 15 to 17 years old were searched at nearly six times the rate of those perceived as white youth." [The Davis Vanguard Feb 14, 2023]

Philly’s Driving Equality Act inspires similar policy in Memphis after Tyre Nichols killing

“In the aftermath of the police killing of Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop in Memphis last month, at least one city council member there is considering introducing legislation inspired by Philadelphia’s Driving Equality Act, which limits when police officers can pull someone over for a vehicle violation.” [Philadelphia Tribune, Feb 3, 2023]

Is It Time To Rethink Police Traffic Stops?

“We have analyzed a data set of more than 20 million traffic stops as part of research into the effectiveness of this routine part of police life. What we have found is that, even by its own standards, the return on this high-contact form of policing is slim – it rarely leads to criminal charges or convictions. Moreover, the negative consequences are far-reaching. Law enforcement traffic stops are prone to racial bias and cause harm to communities and individuals disproportionate to any benefit that they bring, our research suggests.” [Newsone, Feb 3, 2023]

SF Police Commission Bans Pretextual Stops for Minor Traffic Violations, After Months of Controversy

“ After a five-hour debate at Wednesday night’s Police Commission meeting, the commission did finally adopt a policy to bar SFPD from making stops for nine specific traffic infractions that supporters of the ban say are ticky-tack offenses meant to search, incarcerate, and prosecute people of color.” [SFiST Jan 12, 2023]

Minor police encounters plummet after LAPD put limits on stopping drivers and pedestrians

“The change appears to be having the intended effect. A Times analysis of LAPD records has found that in the months since the new policy went into effect, officers are stopping far fewer people for the minor violations that can mark the start of pretext stops and are conducting fewer searches during those stops.” [Los Angeles Times, Nov 14, 2022]

New Virginia law bans police arrest and ticket quotas

“The ban on arrest and ticket quotas is the latest reform that protects Virginia drivers from unjust police practices. In 2020, Virginia repealed laws that suspended driver’s licenses for unpaid fines and fees as well as for drug crimes unrelated to driving. That same year, Virginia became the first state to prohibit pulling over motorists based on minor driving violations, such as having tinted windows or a broken taillight. Law enforcement has long used petty traffic code offenses as a pretext to stop drivers they suspect are carrying drugs, guns or even just cash. However, according to recent data by the Virginia Department of State Police, just 2 percent of all traffic stops resulted in an arrest, belying the notion that pulling drivers over is an effective way to fight crime. Worryingly, more than 40 percent of those arrested were Black, even though they account for less than 20 percent of the state’s population. But soon after the 2020 ban on pretextual stops took effect, police searches of White and Black drivers plummeted by 30 percent and 40 percent, respectively.” [Washington Post, May 20, 2022]

Cities Try to Turn the Tide on Police Traffic Stops

“Los Angeles last month became the biggest city to restrict the policing of minor violations. In Philadelphia, a ban on such stops has just taken effect. Pittsburgh; Seattle; Berkeley, Calif.; Lansing, Mich.; Brooklyn Center, Minn.; and the State of Virginia have all taken similar steps. Elsewhere across the country, a half-dozen prosecutors have said they will not bring charges based on evidence collected at these stops. Officials pushing the new rules cite data showing that minor stops not only disproportionately snare Black drivers but also do little to combat serious crime or improve public safety, and some escalate into avoidable violence, even killing officers and drivers.” [New York Times, April 15, 2022]

Mayoral committee backs end to police traffic stops for nonmoving violations

“The committee, composed of citizens representing civic and political groups as well as elected officials, is tasked with analyzing EPD practices and suggesting changes for the city’s 2022 budget. The panel also recommended prohibiting searches without a warrant unless the officer has a probable cause, which might be a specific vehicle description for a crime or a weapon in sight, for example. These recommendations were made via formal vote at the virtual Oct. 26 committee meeting, and were presented as one strategy to curb racial discrimination in local traffic stops. The committee has been looking at EPD traffic stop data from 2019, which showed that 50% of motorists stopped for these sorts of violations were African American, while only 16% of Evanston’s population is Black.” [Evanston RoundTable, Oct 29, 2021]

Reevaluating traffic stops in NASHVILLE

“Our report further concludes that traffic stops are not an effective strategy for reducing crime. In particular, the MNPD’s practice of making large numbers of stops in high crime neighborhoods does not appear to have any effect on crime.” [The Policing Project, Nov 2018]