NCJ Number
226796
Date Published
April 2008
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This report presents Nebraska traffic-stop data for 2002-07, data which Nebraska law enforcement agencies are required to record under legislation enacted in 2001 (LB593).
Abstract
LB593 requires Nebraska law enforcement agencies to record the following data: the number of motor vehicle stops; the race or ethnicity of the person stopped; the nature of any alleged law violation that prompted the stop; and whether warnings or citations were issued, arrests made, or searches conducted as a result of the stop. In addition, LB593 requires agencies to report to the Crime Commission all allegations of racial profiling received and notifications of the review and disposition of such allegations. This report indicates there were 463,131 traffic stops reported to the Crime Commission for 2007. The breakdown of traffic stops by race closely parallels the census population breakdown; however, this does not mean that there is no racial profiling, only that on the statewide aggregate, there are no apparent disproportionalities by race/ethnicity. The types of stops and related data by race have remained relatively consistent throughout the reported years, with certain variations in searches and the stop dispositions. Although disparities of stops by race/ethnicity in any given jurisdiction do not prove bias or racial profiling, they can and should cause agencies to look at such disparities more closely. In 2007, although 1.5 percent of all traffic stops involved a criminal code violation, 3.9 percent of all stops that involved Native Americans were for criminal violations, as were 2.6 percent of stops of Blacks and 3.5 percent of stops of Hispanics. The reason for the stop may affect subsequent decisions and actions in the stop's processing. Data are provided on the percentage of traffic stops that involved warnings, searches, and arrests and the races/ethnicities of the drivers/passengers involved. 6 tables