Author: scott prell

Contact Cards in Cincinnati – A Review of Racial Bias in Police Stops, 2009–2025

The analysis shows that in 2025:

● Cincinnati Police officers stopped Black people 3.4x more often than White people.

● Black pedestrians were stopped 5.4x more often than White pedestrians.

● Black people were stopped in vehicles 3.2x more often than White people.

The Cincinnati Police Department’s data shows that each step in the process – from where and when police stopped people, to who got stopped, searched, subjected to use of force, and arrested – was racially biased against Black people.

Cincinnati Police Department data from 2009–2025 shows:

● Once stopped by Cincinnati Police officers, Black people are:

2.1x more likely to be searched than White people.

1.9x more likely to have force used against them than White people.

1.8x more likely to be arrested than White people.

● In majority White neighborhoods, Black pedestrians are stopped by Cincinnati Police 4.5x more often than White people, and Black motorists experience discretionary traffic stops 5.5x more often than White motorists.

● The more White the neighborhood, the more likely it is for a Black person to be stopped there. Crime rates do not explain this trend.

Get a PDF of the report HERE

Check out a local news report on the reaction of government and the police union. HERE

Houston Police Staffing Hits 20-Year High as Hiring Improves Nationwide | Officer

A spike in hiring and a drop in resignations have boosted Houston’s police ranks, as departments across the country see similar gains, analysts say.
— Read on www.officer.com/training-careers/hiring-promotion/news/55381263/houston-police-staffing-hits-20-year-high-as-hiring-improves-nationwide

Washington, D.C.’s crime decline and its lessons for American policing – Niskanen Center

Washington, D.C., offers a rare opportunity to study how police departments throughout the country might, and in fact must, do more with less. Since reaching a dramatic peak in 2023, violent and property crime in the District has fallen sharply — even as the police force shrank to its smallest size in half a century.

— Read on www.niskanencenter.org/washington-dc-crime-decline-and-its-lessons-for-american-policing/

Why Are Crime Victims the Only People We Force to Trust the State? | Cato at Liberty Blog

Last week, I blogged in support of reviving private criminal prosecutions. The state’s monopoly on bringing criminal charges arose late historically and prosecutors have often failed to show victims the responsiveness they deserve. My piece quickly met with pushback, especially from libertarians concerned about expanding the criminal legal system’s overreach and coercion using the guise of victims’ rights. I write again to offer a clarification, a qualification, and a challenge.
— Read on www.cato.org/blog/victims-rights-private-prosecutors-responding-critics