Columbia Police Chief’s Vehicle Stop Committee reviewed the newest state report
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Police Chief's Vehicle Stop Committee reviewed the 2022 State Annual Vehicle Stops Report on Tuesday.
The report found that the rate at which Black drivers were pulled over in Columbia compared to other races has grown, a measure known as the disparity index.
The report found that in Columbia, police stopped 3,055 white drivers, 2,007 Black drivers, 157 Hispanic drivers and 91 Asian drivers.
The index for Black drivers in Columbia was tied for the highest total reported since the reports started -- a 3.51 in 2019. The disparity index also increased for Hispanic and Asian drivers while it decreased for white drivers.
"We're looking at what's driving that disparity," said Chair member, Toni Dukes Larkins. "It could be implicit biases, it could be crime rates in a certain area, there's a lot of factors that affect why we have a disparity."
The index from 2000 to 2022 remained fairly consistent for White and Asian drivers, while Black drivers saw a spike in 2014 that continued to climb through 2022. Native Americans also saw a large spike starting in 2018 while Hispanic drivers remained relatively the same with a small increase starting in 2020.
Larkins said the board has been offering recommendations to the department for three years now.
"There have been lots of recommendations, that they have implemented," said Larkins.
Larkins said those recommendations were not present in the 2022 data, but said, "next reporting year will be the first full year that those things have been in place."
