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News :: Civil & Human Rights : Crime & Police |
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Local Police Still Targeting African-Americans |
Current rating: 0 |
by citizen sane
(No verified email address) |
14 Aug 2006
Modified: 10:24:15 PM |
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While slightly improved from the previous year's reporting, the Monday, August 14 News-Gazette reported that in 2005 the Champaign and Urbana police continued to pull over minority motorists at rates far in excess of what would be expected according to the driving age population. |
While slightly improved from the previous year's survey, the Monday, August 14 News-Gazette reported that in 2005 the Champaign and Urbana police continued to pull over minority motorists at rates far in excess of what would be expected according to the driving age population.
Given that this news is of vital interest in a community riven by schools that fail to address minority needs, widespread lack of opportunity for living wage jobs, and an unjust, racially-biased justice system that has consistently yielded wildly disparate outcomes depending on the race of the defendant, one would think such a story of continuing injustice would rate front-page treatment in any paper driven by the best standards of community journalism. But then you're thinking of some paper other than the News-Gazette, which buried the story on page three.
The N-G put the best spin that its business-booster model of journalism could on the news. The fact remains that both Champaign and Urbana police department stop minority drivers at rates far above the state average.
Illinois is, by the way, a state that overall has a very racially disparate rate of incarceration for minority youth. Champaign's disparity index rate of minority traffic stops is 1.63, or 63 percent higher than is indicated by their overall percentage of the driving age population. Urbana's disparity rate is a little better, at 1.44. Statewide, the disparity ratio is 1.12 and 64 percent of all Illinois police agencies have a ratio of less than 1.25. Apparently, local leaders have seen fit to tolerate these indications of racially abusive police practices at rates far exceeding the state rate as politically acceptable in the past.
What does the future hold?
The Champaign City Council is expected to discuss these alarming statistics at its Tuesday, August 15 meeting. However, given the placement of this story and the N-G's long-standing editorial policy of denying any significant impact of racial disparity on the functionings of the local justice system, little change is expected in policy with the current council. It is unclear when Urbana will act on these reports, although the city council there seems to not be in as deep a state of denial as the Champaign Council majority. |
This work is in the public domain |
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Re: Local Police Still Targeting African-Americans |
by BD
BD (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
15 Aug 2006
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Calling out to all citizens concerned with peace and justice!!!
Come speak out at the Champaign City Council meeting tonight, Tuesday night, 7pm at the Champaign city building, University and Neil st.
When a margin of effort is taken into account, these recent numbers show NO IMPROVEMENT in the widespread racial profiling going on in Champaign.
Of course with former police officer Schweighart as Mayor there is going to be no action taken from above.
Pressure from below is the only way to reverse these numbers.
Racial profiling provides police a probable cause to stop Black drivers. This opens the door for police to openly interrogate citizens. Police ask questions that suggest unfounded assumptions of Black behavior. Questions may be as trivial as what is in a coffee cup, suggesting an individual is driving drunk.
More generally, racial profiling is a way to gain "total information awareness" about the Black population. This was first tested in big cities by compiling databases of suspected gang members. Now under the auspices of fighting a "war on terror" there is a desire to collect information on every American citizen.
Racial profiling is a way to stop law-abiding citizens, check their backgrounds, search for warrants, see patterns of behavior. Often this can lead to an illegal search and seizure in order to find drugs.
This is a great infringement upon basic rights of the individual to travel freely without fear of the state arbitrarily stopping them. This is what is supposed to separate us from "terrorist" regimes.
But as occupation is more strongly enforced in Palestine, in Beirut, and in Baghdad, there is an escalation of the police state in America. The rising prison population indicates this, just as clearly as does the statistics of racial profiling in Champaign County, Illinois.
Peace, BD |
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Re: Local Police Still Targeting African-Americans |
by BD
BD (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
15 Aug 2006
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Information from 2004 showed:
In Champaign and Urbana, Black drivers make up one third of all traffic stops while they are only 12% of the population.
ï€
Minority drivers are 1.71 times more likely to be stopped by police than whites in Champaign and 1.47 times more likely to be stopped in Urbana.
The change in Urbana in 2005 was very marginal - only .03.
This is a shame.
BD |
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Re: Local Police Still Targeting African-Americans |
by Ricky Baldwin
baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
15 Aug 2006
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Speaking of the overall Illinois ratio of 1.12, do we know the ratios of some other states - or the national ratio - for comparison? This would help put Champaign's 1.63 and Urbana's 1.44 in perspective, or at least tell a wider story. |
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Some Leads |
by historian
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
15 Aug 2006
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I doubt if you'll find the News-Gazette digging very hard on this story. They're acutely aware of the local problems and are working as hard as they can to downplay news like this.
I'd like to be more helpful, but right now academic priorities are calling. I did find this, which looks promising:
http://www.racialprofilinganalysis.neu.edu/spotlight/?article_id=990
The study is dated 2006, but looks like it is based on 2002 data, which may be the latest available right now. The main site seems like it has a wealth of info:
http://www.racialprofilinganalysis.neu.edu/
I googled this phrase:
police traffic stop racial disparity rate
More results there seem promising. |
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Re: Local Police Still Targeting African-Americans |
by ??
?? (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
16 Aug 2006
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Anybody catch the meeting last night??
What was said??
?? |
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Re: Local Police Still Targeting African-Americans |
by correlation is not causation
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
17 Aug 2006
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A difference in the percentage of a particular population (e.g., African-Americans) involved in traffic stops with the percentage of that group in the overall driving age population is not necessarily indicative of racial profiling. Traffic stops happen where the police are, so if police presence is higher in predominantly African-American neighborhoods (perhaps in response to an elevated crime rate in those neighborhoods) then one would expect the percentage of African-Americans involved in traffic stops to be higher than the overall percentage of African-American drivers in the community. Racial profiling (deciding to stop or not stop a particular car based on the driver's apparent race) is one possible contributing factor but simply noting a statistical discrepancy is not evidence of racial profiling. But I know you know that. |
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Try Again -- You're Not At All Persuasive |
by citizen sane
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
17 Aug 2006
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If we were talking about a disparity rate that was close to either the state or national average, then the argument just made might be something to take into more serious consideration.
When we're dealing with statistics that show that, far from being near average, local police forces are statistical outliers in a very negative direction when it comes to racially disparate traffic stop rates, then any argument that this represents something other than a racially disparate system simply fades into insiginificance. A basic grasp of Statistics 101 will tell you that.
But there are still people who think the earth is flat, that there were stockpiles of prohibited WMDs in Iraq, and that the president loves peace and hates war. You're welcome to your opinion, but it simply isn't relevant in a real-world discussion of the impact that racism still has on the functionings of our society. |
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Relevant Info |
by citizen sane
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
17 Aug 2006
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I looked at the report cited above. If one takes national statistics into account, drivers from all races shared a roughly statistically equal chance of being stopped by the police while driving in 2002. So the fact that local drivers are somewhere between 44% and 63% more likley to be stopped than drivers as a whole remains an impressively damning figure.
Furthermore, the report itself states that nationally black and hispanic drivers are roughly three times (300%) more likely to be forced to undergo a search of themselves, their vehicle or both during a traffic stop. I wonder what the local rate for that is?
The report does note that statistics in it should not necessarily be taken as an indication of racial disparity. This may very well be true for small statistical differences. But the significant discrepancies reported locally, as well as the national statistics on searches after traffic stops by race I just mentioned, seem to have no other credible explanation to account for the greatest part of the difference.
Plain and simple, these are terribly disturbing and embarrassing statistics for our community. They should also be for our police, but apparently there are other factors at work. The complacency of many local politicians on this subject has only been fed by the apathy of the News-Gazette in its reporting and follow-up to this story.
Somehow, the editors there must think such statistics are "good for business" since this seems to be the only factor they consider in whether to give support to or provide obstruction to solutions for such community problems. Sadly, this philosophy often fails to serve the best interests of the community as a whole. What is good journalism for the community is not always what is good for the News-Gazette's advertisers.
BTW, the News-Gazette said nothing at all about any discussion on this issue at Tuesday night's meeting. Maybe the council didn't get to it. More likely, the News-Gazette just didn't bother to follow-up, because they know that the balance of power on the present council won't permit any serious efforts to effectively address this problem. Some people profit from oppression. Some people just don't care. Some people think nothing can be done. They're all wrong. |
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Re: Local Police Still Targeting African-Americans |
by Local Yocal
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
18 Aug 2006
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And if you think Urbana and Champaign are bad, check out the numbers on neighboring cities:
2004 2005
Statewide average 1.15 1.12
Champaign County 1.02 1.08
U of I 1.28 1.30
Danville 1.45 1.42
Urbana 1.47 1.44
Normal 1.60 1.97
Mattoon 1.60 1.92
Champaign 1.71 1.63
Peoria 1.71 1.72
Charleston 1.77 1.98
Rantoul 1.84 1.93
Bloomington 1.87 1.67
Decatur 2.12 2.11
Springfield 2.66 2.13 |
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Re: Local Police Still Targeting African-Americans |
by BD
BD (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
18 Aug 2006
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In a recent report on traffic stops in Urbana, Police Chief Michael Bily says:
"The sole goal and purpose of this study should not be to attempt to make the minority stop ratio a perfect "1." I believe this would be manipulating the numbers at the expense of the citizens we attempt to serve."
A "perfect 1" ratio would, of course, be the ideal number in a society that was not plagued by racist attitudes and perpetual poverty.
Who are the citizens the police serve?
Apparently, only its white citizenry.
We are not asking for a manipulation of numbers.
We are simply asking for a redress of racial disparities in our home town.
BD |
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The Elephant in the Road |
by Local Yocal
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
18 Aug 2006
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Why do police departments racially profile then?
Why stop and search drivers more often when they are black?
Is it law enforcement's position that blacks and hispanics and asians are drug dealers?
What are they profiling for? For what crime? |
