The public now has access to a final report on Ann Arbor traffic stop data over a three-year period. It shows that non-white men were more likely to be stopped for minor traffic violations and more likely to be searched by police.
Racial disparities were shown among the more than 34,000 traffic stops by the Ann Arbor Police Department from 2017-2019. Non-white motorists were pulled over nearly 2.5 times more often than white drivers.
Tonight, Ann Arbor City Council is expected to vote on the second reading of an ordinance that would restrict the police from pulling people over for minor traffic violations.
EMU professor Kevin Karpiak is the director of the Southeast Michigan Criminal Justice Policy Research Project. That organization compiled and analyzed the data. He says most of the racial disparities are found in minor equipment violations.
"There are disparities. I cannot necessarily single out the factors that are causing them. But it’s certainly my hope that trying to address them through an ordinance like this has the potential to lower these disparities that we see in traffic stops."
You can read the full report HERE.
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