Report Lists Top Reasons Why Branford Police Officers Pull Your Vehicle Over

A recent report by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project found that the Branford Police Department conducted 5,025 traffic stops from Oct. 1, 2014 through Sept. 30, 2015.

The top reason a Branford police officer pulls someone over is for registration violations.

Of the 5,025 traffic stops, 24.4 percent were for registration offenses, followed by traffic control signal violations, 21 percent, then cell phone violations at 17 percent, and 8.74 percent for speeding.

Branford is at the lower end of the state for pulling driver’s over for speeding. But when it comes to your registration, Branford police are third highest in the state at stopping people for that violation.

Related story: Where and Why You Are Most Likely to be Pulled Over in CT: New Report

Also if you are stopped in Branford, be prepared to pay a ticket as Branford police have one of the higher percentages of issuing tickets as opposed to warnings.

Branford police issued tickets 61.3 percent of the time in 2015 and 27 percent of drivers received a verbal warning.

Out of 5,025 traffic stops in 2015, 97 ended in searches. Also out of 5,025 traffic stops, 5.11 percent involved blacks and 7 percent for Hispanics in Branford.

The report states that in Connecticut 14.1 percent of 585,000 traffic stops between Oct. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2015 involved black residents and 12.5 percent involved Hispanic motorists. Traffic stops are more likely during daylight hours.

Five municipal departments and one state police troop in Connecticut were identified to “exhibit a statistically significant racial or ethnic disparity that may indicate the presence of racial and ethnic bias” including: Bloomfield, New Milford, Norwalk, West Hartford, Wethersfield and State Police Troop H.

Additionally, 25 police officers throughout Connecticut were deemed to be more likely to pull people over based on race, the report notes.