An Independent Analysis of the

APD 2003 Racial Profiling Report

 

By Eva Owens, Director, Texas Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, March 4, 2004

 

Searches of Drivers                                                               

 

In 2003, 16% of the all blacks were searched by APD following a traffic stop. 12% of all Latinos were searched following a traffic stop. Only 5.5% of Anglo drivers were searched by the police.

 

  • This means that blacks were almost three times as likely (2.9) as Anglos to be searched following a traffic stop and Latinos were over twice as likely (2.3) as Anglos to be searched following a traffic stop.

 

  • The search rate disparity between Anglo and black drivers grew in 2003 compared to 2002. (In 2002, black drivers were searched at 2.4 times the rate of Anglo drivers).

 

  • APD gave no explanation as to why blacks and Latinos were searched at significantly higher rates than Anglos in Austin. The APD report said “it is difficult for individual departments to determine whether they have a problem or not.” They also stated they will hire experts to “validate our approach to the data collection, analysis, and conclusions about use of force, consent searches and racial profiling.”

 

  • In total APD searched about 11% of the drivers they stopped. This is significantly higher than other large cities in Texas. For example, Houston police only search about 5% of vehicles following traffic stops.

 

When Officers Ask to Search: Consent-based Searches

 

If you exclude all searches where an officer had no choice but to search (probable cause, inventory and searches after an arrest), and only examine searches where an officer had total discretion to search (consent searches), the racial disparities are even greater: 2.8% of black drivers were consent searched;1.7% of Latino drivers were consent searched; and only 1 .6% of Anglo drivers were consent searched.

 

  • In 2003, APD officers were almost four and half times as likely to ask a black driver for a consent search than an Anglo driver. APD officers asked Latinos at  over two and half times the rate of Anglos.

 

  • The APD gave no explanation as to why their officers were asking for consent searches of blacks and Latinos at such higher rates than they were asking Anglo drivers.

 

  • APD did not report what the contraband find rates were for different races in 2003. 

 

  • In 2002, contraband data was eventually released and showed that Anglos were approximately twice as likely as either blacks  and Latinos to be found with drugs or weapons during those searches. (25% versus 12% and 13% respectively)

 

Traffic Stops

 

In 2003, APD made a total of 177,194 traffic stops. 13% of the drivers they stopped were black, 32% were Latino and 52% were Anglo.

 

  • No matter which baseline (or approximate racial breakdown of the local driving population) is used, blacks and Latinos are stopped at consistently higher rates than Anglos.

 

 

PERCENTAGE STOPPED

v. PERCENTAGE OF DRIVING POPULATION

% OF TOTAL STOPPED

Driving Age Population

More likely than Anglos to be stopped?

Vehicle Availability

Ratios

More likely than Anglos to be stopped?

Blacks

13%

8.8%

1.9 times

8.2%

2 times

Latinos

32%

26%

1.5 times

20.9%

1.9 times

Anglos

51%

65%

 

64.5%

 

 

 

Pedestrian Stops

 

  • APD searches black pedestrians 50% (1.5) more often than white pedestrians.  Latinos are slightly more likely (20%) to be searched than white pedestrians.
  • APD officers ask black pedestrians for consent searches at twice the rate (2) they ask Anglo pedestrians.

 

 

Other interesting facts about APD and racial profiling:

 

  • APD has a more narrow definition of racial profiling than is allowed by state law.  APD defines racial profiling as “law enforcement officer initiated action based solely on race, ethnicity…,” while the state law defines racial profiling as “a law enforcement officer initiated action based on race, ethnicity….”

 

 

 

Travis County Sheriff’s Department  (2002)

 

  • Travis County Sheriff’s Department was almost twice as likely to search blacks and Latinos as Anglos following a traffic stop, at rates of 1.8 for each. 

 

  • If consent searches are isolated, blacks were twice as likely as Anglos to be subjected to a consent search following a traffic stop by Travis County Sheriff’s Department, and Latinos were almost two and a half (2.4) times more likely than Anglos to be subjected to a consent search following a stop.

 

Williamson County Sheriff’s Department (2002)

 

  • Blacks and Latinos were approximately one and a half times more likely than Anglos to be stopped by Williamson County Sheriff’s Department, at rates of 1.6 and 1.4, respectively. 

 

  • Blacks and Latinos were also approximately one and a half times more likely than Anglos to be searched following a stop, at rates of 1.5 and 1.4, respectively.

 

Georgetown Police Department

 

  • Blacks were over three times more likely than Anglos to be stopped by Georgetown Police Department, and Latinos were over one and a half (1.6) times more likely than Anglos to be stopped.

 

  • Blacks and Latinos were approximately two and a half times more likely than Anglos to be searched following a traffic stop, at rates of 2.5 and 2.6, respectively.

 

  • If consent searches are isolated, Latinos were over two (2.2) times more likely than Anglos to be subjected to a consent search following a stop, and blacks were almost three (2.8) times more likely than Anglos to be subjected to a consent search .

 

 

Note on Data: The data used to make this analysis was not audited by researchers.  Statistics were based solely on the self-reported figures that law enforcement agencies submitted to their local governing bodies.