Austin Police Stop Minority Drivers Disproportionately: Report

AUSTIN, TX — The city's police oversight office on Monday published an analysis of 2019 Austin Police Department motor vehicle stop data showing that people of color in Austin are still stopped in their vehicles at disproportionately higher rates than their percentage of the population in Austin.

The Joint Report of APD Racial Profiling Data examines how various racial/ethnic groups in Austin experience motor vehicle stops and provides recommendations to support city council’s goal of advancing the fair administration of justice. The report is available for public view on the Office of Police Oversight’s website.

The analysis concludes that people of color in Austin are disproportionately stopped at higher rates than their percentage of the population in Austin. While the Austin Police Department's Racial Profiling Report focuses on the raw numbers of stops, searches and arrests, the Joint Analysis focuses on the ethnicity of those stopped, searched, and arrested in the context of their overall percentage of the population.

• Data from 2019 reveals that racial disparity in motor vehicle stops is still a pervasive problem, with Black/African Americans being the most overrepresented of all racial/ethnic groups in Austin.
  • Black/African Americans made up approximately 8 percent of Austin’s voting age population, but experienced 14 percent of motor vehicle stops, 25 percent of stops resulting in searches, and 25 percent of stops resulting in arrests.
• APD vehicle stop data from 2019 also revealed a geographic disparity in warnings, field observations, and arrests.
  • Warnings and field observations were most concentrated on the west side of the city, while arrests were most concentrated on the east side of the city.
• In 2019, Black/African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos were overrepresented in motor vehicle stops by 6 percent and 2 percent, respectively, while White/Caucasians were underrepresented by 6 percent, and Asians were underrepresented by 3 percent.
  • While there was a 1 percent decline in the overrepresentation of Black/African Americans in motor vehicle stops from 2018 to 2019, the Black/African American driving population had two times more motor vehicle stops per driving population than the White/Caucasian driving population.
• Black/African Americans were the most overrepresented group across all categories except citations, for which Hispanic/Latinos were the most overrepresented. On the other hand, White/Caucasians were the most underrepresented across all categories, and Asians were slightly underrepresented across all categories.
• Once pulled over, Black/African Americans were three times more likely to be searched than White/Caucasians and were the only racial/ethnic group to receive more high-discretion searches than low-discretion searches.
  • Black/African Americans received 58 percent high-discretion searches versus 42 percent low-discretion searches. This disparity has grown by an absolute percentage of 7.7 percent since 2018.

The report makes a series of recommendations to advance the goal of ensuring that all community members are treated fairly and equitably in the enforcement of laws, officials noted. The recommendations include that Austin Police Department work with the community to create a strategic plan to eliminate racial disparity in policing, commit to the goal of zero racial disparity and report progress in their annual Racial Profiling Report and acknowledge and address the role of officer discretion in racial disparity.

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Officials categorized the analysis as an important milestone to advance city council’s Strategic Direction 2023 (SD 2023), which prioritizes the Fair Administration of Justice, and city council resolution 50, which sets a goal for zero racial disparities in motor vehicle stops, citations, and arrests.

“APD’s data continues to show that disproportionality in traffic stops exists and adversely impacts Black and Brown community members," Office of Police Oversight Director Farah Muscadin said in a prepared statement. "This is an opportunity for the Austin Police Department to take action to eliminate these disparities and rebuild trust with the communities that have been negatively impacted."

Chief Equity Officer Brion Oaks added: “The color of one’s skin should not be the most reliable predictor of you getting stopped, searched, or arrested in Austin. This report has established firmly how systemic racism manifests itself in policing and I hope it will serve as a catalyst for our community and city leaders to respond courageously in the pursuit of the fair administration of justice for our city."

Chief Innovation Officer Kerry O’Connor said the report manifests an accountability to which the city must adhere: “Racial equity is an anchor for the City’s Strategic Direction 2023. That’s why we brought this level of rigor to the data analysis in this report, borrowing from the legal standard of disparate impact. This is the foundation for holding ourselves accountable for reaching the goal of zero disparities."

The Austin Police Department responded to the report early Monday evening:

"The Austin Police Department has received the Joint Report of APD Racial Profiling Data and is currently reviewing the findings of the report. We remain committed to eliminating racial disparities among communities of color and underrepresented populations.

"Although we are in the initial stages of reviewing the results and recommendations, we are pleased that according to the data, there has been some progress made to minimize the disproportionate number of traffic stops made among these communities. We recognize there is work that still remains, and we continue to make strides towards providing equitable public safety for the entire Austin community."

About the Office of Police Oversight

The mission of the Office of Police Oversight (OPO) is to provide impartial oversight of the Austin Police Department’s conduct, practices and policies to enhance accountability, inform the public to increase transparency and create sustainable partnerships throughout the community.

About the Equity Office

The City of Austin’s Equity Office provides leadership, guidance, and insight on equity to improve the quality of life for Austin residents. It works to achieve the vision of making Austin the most livable city in the nation for all. The office strives to build and sustain a culture of equity across the city.

About the Office of Innovation

The Innovation Office helps diverse and inclusive teams examine challenges and opportunities to surface better ideas and solutions that make a lasting, positive impact. It works with internal and external partners to develop, test, organize and encourage innovative projects with the goal of fostering a culture of innovation within the City of Austin.