Recommended Best Practices
Recommendation 8.1: Collect and publish demographic and enforcement data.
The Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21stCentury Policing (the President’s Task Force Report) recommends that departments collect demographic and enforcement information about all law enforcement activities.[i]This includes data about stops, searches, summonses, arrests, and uses of force.[ii]Data should include:
- Date, time, and location of the incident.
- Actual or perceived race, ethnicity, age, and gender of people involved.
- Reason for enforcement action.
- Search conducted (if any) and whether it was consensual.
- Evidence located (if any).
- Name of officer(s) involved.
Each officer should be assigned a unique identifier so departments can link officer-involved incidents to other data, such as misconduct complaints, while concealing officers’ identities (for privacy and due process concerns). Departments should also analyze and maintain demographic and enforcement data to identify possible patterns of biased policing, misallocation of resources, or inadequate training.
Notably, departments should accurately capture demographic data, especially for Latinxs. The lack of law enforcement about Latinxs is alarming; a survey found that 40 states report data on race (e.g., Black, White, Asian) but that only 15 collect data on ethnicity (e.g., Latinx).[iii]This is problematic not only because Latinx people are disproportionately impacted by police practices but also because the lack of Latinx data skews racial disparities between Black and White people.[iv]
Specifically, classifying Latinx as “White” artificially inflates enforcement data about White people, which reduces actual disparities between Black people and White people.[v]State agencies that collect law enforcement data should set guidelines for collecting Latinx ethnicity data to report the full nature of disparities and to ensure consistency across departments.[vi]Departments, too, should record information related to ethnicity when collecting demographic data, and should analyze and report data through the lens of race and ethnicity.
Some jurisdictions have passed laws mandating data collection, and communities can advocate for similar legislation at the state or local levels. Several states (e.g., California, Connecticut, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia) require officers to record race and other demographic data regarding enforcement activities including traffic stops, citations, and arrests.[vii]
Data analysis and “feedback loops” enable communities and departments to develop evidence-based policies to address problems with existing practices. Some departments have taken on projects to collect and analyze data. In California, the Sacramento Police Department undertook a study to examine racial profiling in its enforcement practices in an effort to increase accountability and transparency.[viii]The department released several reports and continues to collect and publish vehicle stop data.[ix]The city of Philadelphia, meanwhile, requires its department to collect demographic data as part of a settlement agreement in a case challenging its stop-and-frisk practices.[x]
Departments should also provide data about the volume and nature of complaints. This information helps departments and communities identify patterns of misconduct, hold officers and departments accountable for their actions, and ascertain possible problems with training. The Citizens Police Data Project in Chicago makes public records requests to collect and share complaint data, but this process is costly and time-intensive.[xi]
[i]President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing 2 (2015), https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_finalreport.pdf.
[ii]President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing 24 (2015), https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_finalreport.pdf.
[iii]Sarah Eppler-Epstein et. al., Urban Institute, The Alarming Lack of Data on Latinos in the Criminal Justice System (Dec. 2016), http://apps.urban.org/features/latino-criminal-justice-data/.
[iv]See Christy E. Lopez, The Reasonable Black Child: Race, Adolescence, and the Fourth Amendment – A Response (forthcoming 2019) (on file with The Leadership Conference).
[v]Christy E. Lopez, The Reasonable Black Child: Race, Adolescence, and the Fourth Amendment – A Response (forthcoming 2019) (on file with The Leadership Conference).
[vi]Sarah Eppler-Epstein et. al., Urban Institute, The Alarming Lack of Data on Latinos in the Criminal Justice System (Dec. 2016), http://apps.urban.org/features/latino-criminal-justice-data/.
[vii]D.C. Code § 5-113.01(a) (4B) (I)-(K) (2018), https://code.dccouncil.us/dc/council/code/sections/5-113.01.html (requiring collection of demographic and other data for traffic stops); Cal.Gov’t Code § 12525.5(b)(6) (West 2018); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-1m(b)(1) (2017), https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/PUB/chap_959.htm#sec_54-1m; Md. Code Ann. Transp. § 25-113(d)(12)-(15) (2015), http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmStatutesText.aspx?article=gtr§ion=25-113&ext=html&session=2019RS&tab=subject5; Mo. Rev. Stat. § 590.650(2)(1) (2013), https://www.ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/public-safety/racialprofilingstatute.pdf?sfvrsn=2; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 20-504(3)(b) (2014), https://nebraskalegislature.gov/agencies/find_stat.php?statute=20-504; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143B-903(a)(2) (2014), https://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/Senate/PDF/S464v6.pdf; 31 R.I. Gen. Laws § 21.2-6(b) (2012), http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE31/31-21.2/31-21.2AC-6.HTM; Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 20, § 2366(e)(1) (2016),https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/20/151/02366.
[viii]City of Sacramento, Vehicle Stop History and Information, https://www.cityofsacramento.org/Police/Transparency/Vehicle-Stop-Data-History-and-Information.
[ix]City of Sacramento, Vehicle Stop History and Information, https://www.cityofsacramento.org/Police/Transparency/Vehicle-Stop-Data-History-and-Information.
[x]Settlement Agreement, Class Certification, and Consent Decree, Bailey v. City of Philadelphia, No. 2:10-CV-05952-SD (E.D. Pa. June 21, 2011), https://www.aclupa.org/download_file/view_inline/744/198.
[xi]See Citizens Police Data Project, https://cpdp.co/(last visited Dec. 12, 2018).