BOSTON — A new report is out on police stops in Massachusetts, and who gets pulled over.
Researchers says the report finds no support for “patterns of racial disparity in traffic stops.”
The data, from the Executive Office of Public Safety, is based on an analysis by researchers from Salem and Worcester State Universities and looked at 425,702 traffic stops over ten months between February, 2020 and December, 2020.
According to the report, white drivers accounted for 65% of traffic stops, while Black motorists accounted for 16%.
Hispanic drivers represented 15% of stops, and 4% were determined to be either Asian, Asian-Pacific, American Indian, Middle Eastern, or Pacific Islander.
The annual review of traffic stops is required by a 2019 law that prohibits drivers from using electronic devices, including cell phones, unless the device is in hands-free mode. The goal of the baseline study was to examine possible racial disparities in traffic stops and to gain insight into potential patterns.
“An important feature of the hands-free driving law established a research requirement that provides evidence-based insight into factors surrounding traffic stops and to identify any potential patterns of racial disparities. The annual study will contribute to our ability to better understand police interactions with the public and to ensure that the Commonwealth’s traffic laws are enforced in an impartial, equitable, and just way,” said Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy.
According to the state, researchers applied “the ‘Veil of Darkness’ (VoD) analysis to study the racial distribution of traffic stops. The VoD method, first developed in 2006 by renowned researchers Jeffrey Grogger and Greg Ridgeway, is considered the gold standard of analysis for identifying patterns of racial differences.”
Officials says the statewide analysis found no support for patterns of racial disparity in traffic stops.
Municipal police conducted approximately 60% of the traffic stops, while state police conducted 40%. Nearly 68% of drivers stopped were not residents of the community where the stop occurred.
“Of the more than 280 police agencies with enough stops to obtain meaningful analysis, researchers found that non-white drivers were more likely to be stopped during the day than night in three instances: the Massachusetts State Police Troop H-3 in Foxboro and the Hadley and Ludlow Police Departments,” according to the statement from EOPSS.
“This baseline research should serve as a starting point for deeper understanding, continued discussions, and further reflection. We caution that our findings do not confirm racial profiling and any incidents of statistical significance could have a variety of explanations other than officer bias,” said Salem State researcher Gina Curcio, Ph.D.
“The statewide analysis found that of the drivers stopped, 65% were male, 34% were female, and about 1% were non-binary. The mean age of stopped drivers was 37 years old, with 39% age 29 or younger and 61% age 30 or older,” according to a statement from EOPSS.
EOPSS will convene three virtual public hearings to present the analysis and accept public testimony regarding the report. The public hearing schedule includes:
Monday, February 28, 2022 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 from 1 – 3 p.m.
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