Abstract: This report analyzes pedestrian and motor vehicle stops of the Los
Angeles Police Department over a one-year period: July 2003 to June 2004. We find
prima facie evidence that African Americans and Hispanics are over-stopped, over-
frisked, over-searched, and over-arrested. After controlling for violent and property crime
rates in specific LAPD reporting districts, as well as a range of other variables, we find
that:

• Per 10,000 residents, the black stop rate is 3,400 stops higher than the white stop
• rate, and the Hispanic stop rate is almost 360 stops higher.
• Relative to stopped whites, stopped blacks are 127% more likely and stopped
• Hispanics are 43% more likely to be frisked.
• Relative to stopped whites, stopped blacks are 76% more likely and stopped
• Hispanics are 16% more likely to be searched.
• Relative to stopped whites, stopped blacks are 29% more likely and stopped
• Hispanics are 32% more likely to be arrested.

All of these disparities are statistically significant (p < .01). The findings of racial
disparity are supported by ancillary analyses of investigative outcomes and officer race.
We find that frisks and searches are systematically less productive when conducted on
blacks and Hispanics than when conducted on whites:

• Frisked African Americans are 42.3% less likely to be found with a weapon than
• frisked whites and that frisked Hispanics are 31.8% less likely to have a weapon
• than frisked non-Hispanic whites.
• Consensual searches of blacks are 37.0% less likely to uncover weapons, 23.7%
• less likely to uncover drugs and 25.4% less likely to uncover anything else.
• Consensual searches of Hispanics similarly are 32.8% less likely to uncover
• weapons, 34.3% less likely to uncover drugs and 12.3% less likely to uncover
• anything else.

It is implausible that higher frisk and search rates are justified by higher minority
criminality, when these frisks and searches are substantially less likely to uncover
weapons, drugs or other types of contraband. We also find that the black arrest disparity
was 9 percentage points lower when the stopping officer was black than when the
stopping officer was not black. Similarly, the Hispanic arrest disparity was 7 percentage
points lower when the stopping officer was Hispanic than when the stopping officer was
a non-Hispanic white. Taken as a whole, these results justify further investigation and
corrective action.

Get a .PDF copy of the report HERE