No plan yet to address racial disparity in traffic stops report

The city of Columbia still does not have a plan to address the racial disparity in traffic stops that was revealed in the 2016 traffic report that was released last month.

According to the report black drivers are three times more likely to be pulled over than expected based on population. The report also shows a disparity in car searches between black and white drivers. After being stopped 17 percent of black drivers had their car searched, compared to 9 percent of white drivers.

The Columbia Police Department has used car search consent forms to help with the disparity in car searches. The form was used 122 times between September 19, 2016 and June 18, and is still in use. In 2016 there were 1,346 total searches conducted by police.