Durham police say racial makeup of traffic stops not uncommon
DURHAM (WTVD) -- The Durham Police Department says it has completed a study of data from traffic stops in 2014 and found that the race of people stopped is similar to other major cities in North Carolina.
Several advocacy groups including the NAACP and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice have claimed racial bias and racial profiling exists among Durham officers.
In the reports released Thursday, DPD said there were 21,939 total traffic stops in 2014. Of the drivers stopped, 12,880 (58.7%) were black and 8,440 (38.5%) were white. 2.6% of the traffic stops involving black drivers resulted in consent searches compared to 1% for white drivers.
While more blacks were stopped, "Durham had relatively similar rates of racial disparity for both stops and searches as other major cities in North Carolina," said the department in a statement.
"Officers with the highest racial disparity in vehicle stops also worked in the districts which represent the highest minority population, and the highest level of policing due to higher crime rates and calls for service," said officials.
View the Internal Staff Inspection Report (March 18) at http://bit.ly/1MoJtfT
View the Executive Command Staff Summary (May 20) at http://bit.ly/1H3PONQ
