[CPRB] Fwd: [cu_citizens] Urbana Traffic Stops

[John W.]

Chris Evans of CU Citizens for Peace and Justice is on the ball.



>To: cu_citizens at yahoogroups.com
>From: "Christopher Evans" <caevans2 at hotmail.com>
>Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 10:43:26 -0500
>Subject: [cu_citizens] Urbana Traffic Stops
>
>
>
>
>A review of the issues regarding traffic stops:
>
>
>
>Urbana police chief defends officers
>
>
>
>By MIKE MONSON
>© 2005 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
>Published Online July 26, 2005
>    URBANA – Urbana Police Chief Eddie Adair defended his police force 
> Monday night, giving a variety of explanations for why black drivers were 
> involved in nearly 35 percent of all traffic stops in Urbana last year.
>    But Urbana City Council members didn't seem satisfied with the 
> explanations and they asked Adair to come back next month with more 
> detailed information about minority traffic stops, such as the locations 
> of the stops, the ages and genders of those stopped and the number of 
> stops that didn't result in a ticket or warning.
>    Alderwoman Danielle Chynoweth, D-Ward 2, called for holding a series 
> of "community conversations" with the black community, neighborhood 
> meetings where residents would be encouraged to share instances in which 
> they believe they were racially profiled and stopped by police.
>    "We could ask, 'When have you felt you were 'driving while black?' and 
> 'When were you a victim of racial profiling?'" Chynoweth said.
>    "I do believe racial profiling has gone on for a long time," said 
> Alderman Robert Lewis, D-Ward 3, the council's only black member.
>    Adair spoke at the Monday council meeting at the request of Chynoweth.
>    He discussed a traffic stop study that police departments across the 
> state were required to submit to the Illinois Department of 
> Transportation this year.
>    The report examined the number of police stops during 2004, the racial 
> breakdown of drivers stopped, the reasons for the stop and the outcome.
>    The reports, released by the state earlier this month, showed that 
> black drivers made up 34.5 percent of all traffic stops in Urbana last 
> year, but were just 12.2 percent of the city's driving population, based 
> on 2000 Census figures.
>    Urbana had a ratio of 1.47, indicating minority drivers were 47 
> percent more likely to be stopped by police in Urbana than the minority 
> driving population in Urbana would indicate.
>    The statewide average ratio was 1.15.
>    Seventy percent of the police departments in Illinois had a ratios 
> below 1.4. Champaign had a ratio of 1.71, and several other central 
> Illinois cities had even higher ratios.
>    Adair said he believes Urbana's ranking, in comparison with similar 
> communities, puts Urbana "right in the middle."
>    The police chief also said the study assumes police officers always 
> know the race of the driver they are stopping. That is generally not the 
> case during traffic stops made at night, or when police are using radar 
> to stop speeders, he said. Of the 3,555 stops made in Urbana last year, 
> approximately 1,100 were radar stops for speeding, he said.
>    Chynoweth asked Adair whether police deployment in black neighborhoods 
> could be lessened if the crime rate drops.
>    She said some residents might have a "siege feeling" from a heavy 
> police presence.
>    "I'm in these communities, all of them," Adair responded. "I have yet 
> to encounter anyone who feels like Urbana police officers' presence 
> creates a siege mentality."
>    Adair said Urbana police shift their personnel from neighborhood to 
> neighborhood based on calls for service and reported crime. He said 
> low-income tax-credit apartments in Urbana are scattered throughout town 
> and create a demand for police services.
>    Council members indicated they would like a more detailed breakdown of 
> the traffic stop data.
>    Alderman Brandon Bowersox, D-Ward 4, noted that Champaign police 
> provide the Champaign City Council with 20 additional tables of data 
> compared with what the Urbana council received.
>    Adair said he would try to obtain the additional information Bowersox 
> requested, but he said he has only one employee compiling crime 
> statistics, while the Champaign Police Department has a statistical 
> management unit.
>    "I can certainly get you a sampling," he said. "We just don't have the 
> luxury of a staff that could retrieve that data."