ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR PASSING FOURTH AMENDMENT AFFIRMATION ACT
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri -- For the seventeenth year in a row, the Missouri Attorney General's office has released a report that shows that people of color are disproportionally stopped and searched by law enforcement. Empower Missouri and the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri believe this year's Vehicle Stops Report (VSR) shows - yet again - the need for improved data-gathering, training, and reform for law enforcement organizations in Missouri.
This year the data shows that, even when accounting for their different proportions of Missouri's driving population, African-Americans were stopped at a rate 75% higher than Whites. Situations in which officers exercise discretion, such as consent searches, are the best indicators of when bias may play a role. "The VSR does not compute these disproportions but our analysis of the data does," said Don Love, co-chair of the Empower Missouri Human Rights Task Force. "Minority drivers are affected by consent searches at a rate at least two and a half times the rate for White drivers in nine jurisdictions that make at least ten consent searches. In one jurisdiction, African-Americans were affected at a rate more than eight times the White rate."
"We have a constitutional and ethical obligation to strive for an equitable society where people are not stopped simply because of their race," said Sara Baker, Legislative and Policy Director for the ACLU of Missouri. "We are encouraged that the attorney general's office has been open to meeting with community activists and hope the open door policy will remain to talk about this year's findings."
Love continued, "We are very encouraged to see that Attorney General Hawley released new regulations today directing law enforcement agencies to note if a driver lives within the jurisdiction in which they were stopped, and we hope that the Attorney General will continue to see this report as a call to action. Going forward, he could make this data easier to understand and start a pilot program with law enforcement agencies to see how this situation can be improved."
Working in collaboration with a large coalition of community organizers, faith leaders, and advocates, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and Empower Missouri have made significant progress toward reforming our states racial profiling law over the past three years.
The Fourth Amendment Affirmation Act (FAAA), carried by representatives Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin) and Paul Curtman (R-Pacific) in the Missouri House was voted out of committee this year for the first time.
Similar legislation proposed by Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis), fostered productive meetings with top law enforcement representatives from across the state and set the stage for both activists and officers to work collaboratively. The bill requires officers to have facts about the individual that are clearly not based on stereotypes about the individual's group. The bill also establishes a policy for consent searches and allows the Missouri Attorney General to use alternative benchmarks to best assess areas in which bias may be of concern.
Senator Nasheed explained, "Understanding the information we have, collecting the information we need, and using that information to make effective policy decisions, will make us stronger as a community. Missouri has the opportunity to lead, to take its data, analyze it thoroughly, and act when that data flags an issue with a particular law enforcement agency. This is common sense, and it is high time Missouri ensures that all of its residents are treated fairly."
"We need our officers to have clear guidance when it comes to stops and searches. At the very least, our officers should always be able to clearly explain why they stopped someone," said Baker. "This is how we help officers and the communities they serve better understand one another. It is time to push our hardest now to make this happen."
Empower Missouri's data-driven research shows both areas in our state that are in need of support and agencies that are a model for best practices.
Ladue, in the St. Louis region, and Blue Springs, in the Kansas City area, are examples of police departments in Missouri that have implemented several best practices, including examination of implicit bias, unrecognized internal attitudes that can influence human interactions. Many of those departments show improved outcomes around reducing disparities in the VSR data that correlate to race/ethnicity, proving the value of investing in fair and impartial policing.
The coalition of organizations working on the Fourth Amendment Affirmation Act includes Missouri Faith Voices, Race Matters Friends, Reale Justice Network, NAACP of Missouri, Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, and Metropolitan Congregations United,SEIU MO/KS State Council, and One Struggle KC, among others.
Empower Missouri's analysis of the VSR data concentrates on what officers do after a stop has occurred. In these situations, officers can exercise considerable discretion in what they do and disproportions can be based on the rates at which groups have been stopped, which provides factual benchmarks. The VSR gives disproportions for just aggregate stops; this analysis gives disproportions for all categories of officer action after a stop has occurred.
For detailed analysis of the VSR data by Empower Missouri, see: http://empowermissouri.org/press/press-packets/