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

A recent report by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project found that the Madison Police Department conducted 3,708 traffic stops from Oct. 1, 2014 through Sept. 30, 2015.

The top reason a Madison police officer pulls someone over is for speeding.

A total of 32 percent of Madison’s traffic stops were for speeding offenses, 14 percent registration, 8 percent each for defective lighting and moving violations, and 7 percent for cell phone infractions, and 6.7 percent for stop sign violations.

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

If a Madison police officer does stop your vehicle, it doesn’t necessarily mean your bank account is going to get lighter.

In fact, you’ll only receive a ticket 27 percent of the time, followed by a written warning 31 percent and a verbal warning 36 percent of the time.

If a police officer stops you in Madison, the chances are low that your car will be searched. Out of 3,708 stops only 35 searches were conducted in 2015.

Of Madison’s 3,708 stops, 2.48 percent involved blacks and 4.31 percent, Hispanics.

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.