Racial disparity data for 2015 released Wednesday by the Missouri Attorney General shows a decrease in the disparity index for African-American drivers across the state, St. Joseph also saw a decrease in its rate.
The St. Joseph Police Department recorded 13,323 stops in 2015. 11,370 were listed as White, 1232 Black, 544 Hispanic, 81 Asian, 12 American Indian, and 84 were others. Even though the department stopped more White drivers than Black drivers the disparity rate (1.58/.98) shows Black drivers were 61 percent more likely to be stopped. That’s down from 73 percent in 2014. Police Chief Chris Connally said in order to get a disparity index the stops are compared to the 2010 Census population for St. Joseph.
“You’ve got the Census data. What this does not show us, it doesn’t show us repeat offenders, people we pull over numerous time during the year, it doesn’t show us people that are from other communities whether they come up from Kansas City or out in the county that travel through that get pulled over and it’s not compared to folks that are from outside the area that live on campus at Missouri Western,” Connally said. “Those are some of the areas when you look at these statistics they’re not 100 percent accurate. But what it does do is it provides a baseline, a consistent baseline over the years to look at so you can make sure you’re addressing any potential issues.”
Connally said the data is used by the St. Joseph Police Department for training on implicit and explicit biases.
“Implicit biases are those biases that are subconscious and if you train and look at things you want to make sure that decisions are being made for the right reasons. Our mission is to enforce the law and enforce the law based on behavior not based on any biases,” Connally said. “If we’re doing things based on behavior you’re going to see some groups go up and you’re going to see some groups go down. Where I pay the most attention to are those areas where we have discretionary decision making.”
The annual report is completed pursuant to a state law requiring each law enforcement agency in the state to collect and report specific information relating to vehicle stops, including the race of the stopped vehicle’s driver.
“While statistical disproportion does not prove that law enforcement officers are making vehicle stops based on the perceived race or ethnicity of the driver,” said Attorney General Chris Koster in a news release, “this compilation and analysis of data provides law enforcement, legislators, and the public a starting point as they consider improvements to process and changes to policy to address these issues.”
To view the full 2015 report CLICK HERE.