Informe conjunto: Análisis de datos de uso de perfiles raciales, enero de 2020

OF
CITY
FOUNDED
Joint Report:
Analysis of APD Racial
Profiling Data
Office of Police Oversight,
Office of Innovation, and Equity Office
January 2020
1
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Racial Disparity 2018
Racial Disparity Trend 2015-2018
All Motor Vehicle Stops
Arrests
Citations
Warnings or Field Observations
Searches
High versus Low Discretion Searches and Race/Ethnicity
Racial Profiling
Austin Metro Population vs City of Austin Demographics Analysis
Austin Commuter Data Analysis
APD Racial Sector Analysis
Concentration of Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Arrests and 2018 Warnings
and Field Observations across APD Sectors
Recommendations
Summary
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
2
Executive Summary
The Office of Police Oversight, Office of Innovation, and the Equity Office engaged in data analysis
to understand how various ethnic/racial groups in Austin experience Austin Police Department (APD)
motor vehicle stops. The report examines APD motor vehicle stop data from 2015-2018 and offers
recommendations where disproportionality exists based on race/ethnicity. In summary:
Data reveals racial disparities in motor vehicle stops in 2018, with Black/African
Americans as the most overrepresented of all racial/ethnic groups in Austin.
In 2018, Black/African Americans made up 8% of the Austin population, 15% of the
motor vehicle stops, and 25% of the arrests.
Black/African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos are increasingly overrepresented in
motor vehicle stops from 2015-2018. White/Caucasians are increasingly
underrepresented during the same time period.
Data from 2018 shows that Black/African Americans are disproportionately
overrepresented in cases when their race is known by officers before the stop
compared to cases when their race is not known before the stop.
APD classifies motor vehicle stops based on whether the race of the person stopped
was known to the officer prior to the stop. In 2018, Black/African Americans are
overrepresented in both Race Not Known and Race Known categories. In the Race
Not Known category, Black/African Americans make up 14% of stops (this is a 6%
overrepresentation compared to their share of the Austin population). Black/African
Americans are further overrepresented when their race is known before the stop,
making up 17% of stops in the Race Known category and indicating a 9%
overrepresentation when compared to their share of the population.
Commuting habits cannot explain the disproportional representation of Black/African
Americans in motor vehicle stops. Commuting habits are similar across race.
The differences in the commuting habits of racial/ethnic groups in Austin would likely
not explain the overrepresentation of Black/African Americans in the 2018 APD
motor vehicle stop data because Black/African Americans are less likely to commute
to work alone than White/Caucasians or Hispanic/Latinos.
The share of Black/African Americans is lower in the metro region than in Austin (7%
and 8%, respectively). Therefore, their share of the metro region population does not
explain the overrepresentation of Black/African Americans in APD's motor vehicle
stop data.
White/Caucasians make up a 1% higher concentration of the region's racial
composition, and African Americans make up a 1% smaller share. There is no
Census data to support the idea that African Americans commute to Austin at a
higher rate than Caucasians.
1 For the purpose of this report, the terms "Caucasian" and "White" refer to the same racial/ethnic group.
This report uses the term Caucasian in the charts and graphs in order to be consistent with the previous
OPM Racial Profiling reports.
3
Introduction
This report examines Austin Police Department (APD) motor vehicle stop data from 2015-2018
and the race/ethnicity of the people pulled over. The purpose of this report is to understand how
various ethnic/racial groups in Austin experience APD motor vehicle stops and offer
recommendations where there appears to be disproportionality based on race/ethnicity. The
number of motor vehicle stops by race alone does not tell a complete story of racial profiling in
Austin because each racial/ethnic group does not make up an equal share of the population.
This report examines the number of motor vehicle stops and their results in proportion to each
racial/ethnic group within the population.
Racial Disparity 2018
Each year, the APD produces a report2 on racial profiling that includes the number of vehicle
stops and searches it has conducted by the race/ethnicity of the driver. The APD has also
released data on motor vehicle stops categorized as warnings, field observations, citations, and
arrests ³.
2 2018 APD Racial Profiling Report
3
There are slight discrepancies between the data on the open data portal and the APD reports. This
analysis uses the APD Racial Profiling report rolled up data whenever possible as the open data sets
have a disclaimer stating: "The data provided are for informational use only and may differ from official
APD crime data."
4
Table 1: Disproportionality by race/ethnicity of all motor vehicle stops4
(2018 Motor Vehicle Stops by Race/Ethnicity versus 2010 City of Austin Voting Age Population)
Police Motor
City of Austin Over
City of Austin Over
Difference
# of APD Motor
Race
Vehicle Stops % of
18 Population
18 Population % of
(population vs
Vehicle Stops
total
(2010)
population
stops)
Asian
4,387
4%
39,777
6%
-2%
Black/African American
17,754
15%
48,230
8%
7%
Caucasian
57,173
47%
329,500
54%
-7%
Hispanic or Latino
39,946
33%
188,318
31%
2%
As demonstrated by Table 1 above, APD data shows that Caucasians were stopped 57,173
times in 2018. This represents 47% of all 2018 motor vehicle stops. Black/African Americans
were stopped 17,754 times. This represents 15% of all 2018 motor vehicle stops. Hispanic/
Latinos were stopped 39,946 times. This represents 33% of all 2018 motor vehicle stops.
As can be seen in Table 1 above, when comparing the number of stops to the voting age
population5 for Austin's four largest ethnic/racial groups, Caucasians were stopped 7% less than
their representation of the voting age population. Asians were stopped 2% less than their
representation of the voting age population. Hispanic/Latinos were stopped at a rate of 2%
above their representation in the population. Black/African Americans were stopped at a rate of
7% above their representation within the City of Austin's population. Thus, the largest disparity
between stops and the voting age population within any racial/ethnic group continues to be
amongst the Black/African American group, as it has been since the OPO started reporting6.
The total difference (spread) between Black/African American (7%) and Caucasian (-7%)
4Combining the values of the included racial/ethnic groups in the "Police Motor Vehicle Stops % of Total"
column will not equal 100% because this analysis is examining only the four most populous racial/ethnic
groups (See footnote 4 for further justification). This is true for most of the analysis that follows (figures
not adding up to 100%). Percent totals with the four most populous racial/ethnic groups typically equal
98% or 99% of all stops.
5
Census Bureau 2010 Census. Dataset: Census question: P12 and the various race/ethnicity-related
responses. The voting age population was chosen in order to more closely approximate the ages of
members of the public most likely to have interaction with the APD as well as to better reflect the age
range of complainants coming into the OPO. The voting age population is also viewed as a closer
approximation of those operating motor vehicles (as opposed to the total population which includes
children). OPO analyzed APD data with each years' respective American Community Survey (ACS) Data
as well as the 2010 Census data, and the ACS data analysis can be found in Appendix 1. OPO decided
to use the 2010 Census data for this analysis because the margins of error were smaller, but the trends
are very similar between analyses using both datasets.
6
OPO did not include Native Americans or other racial/ethnic groups because the annual American
Community Survey data does not garner enough responses to the questions of interest to report the data
publicly. Even though the OPO analysis in the Racial Disparity Trend 2015-2018 uses 2010 Census data,
OPO examines racial profiling trends for the four most populous ethnicities/racial groups in order to allow
for better comparison between the 2010 Census analysis and the 2015-2018 ACS-based analysis.
5
disproportionality adds up to 14% between the two racial/ethnic groups. Hispanic/Latinos
also have a spread of concern (See chart 1 below).
Racial Disparity Trend 2015-2018
All Motor Vehicle Stops
Black/African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos have been increasingly overrepresented in APD
motor vehicle stop data compared to Caucasians and Asians since 2015, the last year the
Office of the Police Monitor produced a Racial Profiling Report. Chart 1 below shows disparities
in APD motor vehicle stops for the top four racial/ethnic groups in Austin from 2015-2018.
6
Chart 1: Disproportionality by race/ethnicity of all motor vehicle stops trend
(2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops by Race/Ethnicity versus 2010 City of Austin Voting Age
Population 788
6%
6%
5%
4%
4%
2%
1%
2%
1%
0%
0%
-2%
-2%
-3%
-4%
-4%
-3%
-3%
-6%
-6%
-7%
-7%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Year
Race
Asian
3,715
4,270
4,562
4,387
Black or African
14,753
18,171
19,977
17,754
American
Caucasian
59,699
66,695
67,347
57,173
Hispanic or
37,702
45,356
44,899
39,946
Latino
Race
Asian
Black or African American
Caucasian
Hispanic or Latino
Since 2015, the overrepresentation of Black/African Americans has risen from 4% to 7% of all
motor vehicle stops in Austin, an increase of 3%. The overrepresentation of Hispanic/Latinos
has increased as well, from 0% to 2%, an increase of 2%. Since 2015, Asians have consistently
been underrepresented in motor vehicle stops relative to their population at 3%. Caucasians
7
Solid lines in the chart represent changes from year to year, and dotted lines represent a computed
trend line over 4 years.
8
All APD stop data in the following charts is from APD Racial Profiling reports. 2015 represents a year
where APD's racial profiling data does not match between the 2015 report and the 2016 report (2016
reports the previous year's data as much higher, 158,298 vs 120,056). See the second page of the 2016
APD Racial Profiling Report for an explanation. This report works with the 120,056 number, which is also
the same data the 2015 OPM report used. The subsequent charts use the OPM 2015 report data, which
is also not reflective of the APD data on the open data portal, but OPM report data is considered more
authoritative than APD open data, see footnote 2 for justification.
7
have seen a decrease in their representation from -4% to -7%, demonstrating a total decrease
of 3%.
As Hispanic/Latinos and Black/African Americans are being increasingly overrepresented in
motor vehicle stops in Austin, the number of stops involving Caucasians is decreasing relative
to their population, while Asians remain underrepresented.
See Appendix 2 to view the trend of the total number of APD motor vehicle stops from
2015-2018. Even as the number of motor vehicle stops has generally decreased from
2015-2018, disproportionality among racial/ethnic groups has remained the same or increased.
Arrests
The disparities in arrests9 resulting from motor vehicle stops are larger than disparities in motor
vehicle stops overall. Black/African Americans are overrepresented by 17% in arrests from
motor vehicle stops, a disparity that has generally increased from 16% in 2015. The same can
be said of Hispanic/Latinos, who are overrepresented by 12% in 2018 arrests from motor
vehicle stops, up from 10% in 2015. Both Caucasians and Asians have grown consistently more
underrepresented; arrests of Caucasians dropped from -19% in 2015 to -23% in 2018 and
arrests of Asians dropped from -5% in 2015 to -6% in 2018 (see chart 2 below). Note the total
difference (spread) between Black/African American and Caucasian disproportionality,
which adds up to a total of 40% between the two racial/ethnic groups. Hispanic/Latinos
also have a spread of concern (See Chart 2 below).
9 All arrest, citation, and field observation/warning data is from the APD Racial Profiling Open Data sets.
8
Chart 2: Disproportionality by race/ethnicity of motor vehicle stops resulting in arrest
(2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Arrests by Race/Ethnicity Versus 2010 City of
Austin Voting Age Population)¹0 10
20%
18%
17%
16%
16%
10%
12%
10%
10%
7%
0%
-5%
-5%
-6%
-5%
-10%
-16%
-20%
-19%
-22%
-23%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Arrests by Race (Raw Number)
Race
Black/African
2,164
2,152
3,154
2,804
American
Hispanic or
3,735
3,435
5,000
4,812
Latino
Asian
99
93
135
106
Caucasian
3,147
3,417
3,822
3,406
Race
Asian
Black/African American
Caucasian
Hispanic or Latino
10 Unlike all motor vehicle stop data for 2015 (see footnote 7), 2015 arrest, citation, and field
warning/observation data is from APD open data. This is because the 2015 OPM report does not include
arrest, warning/field observation, and citation data broken out in its report. Thus, APD open data was
used.
9
Citations
A different narrative presents when examining the demographic data for APD motor vehicle
citations compared to arrests. The data shows Hispanic/Latinos evenly represented between
the Austin population and APD motor vehicle citations in 2015, yet they end 2018
overrepresented by 5%; that is a five percent increase in four years. Meanwhile, Black/African
Americans remain consistently overrepresented by 4% in 2015 and 5% in 2018. Caucasians
grew increasingly underrepresented from -2% in 2015 to -8% in 2018, a six percent decrease
(see chart 3 below). Note the total difference (spread) between Black/African American and
Caucasian disproportionality, which adds up to a total of 13% between the two
racial/ethnic groups. Hispanic/Latinos also have a spread of concern (See graph and
chart below).
10
Chart 3: Disproportionality by race/ethnicity of motor vehicle stops resulting in a citation
(2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Citations by Race/Ethnicity Versus 2010 City of
Austin Voting Age Population)
5%
5%
4%
3%
5%
4%
3%
2%
0%
0%
-2%
-3%
-3%
-3%
-3%
-5%
-6%
-6%
-8%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Citations by Race (Raw Number)
Race
Black/African
12,497
10,589
10,374
7,446
American
Hispanic or
33,600
32,571
29,235
21,470
Latino
Asian
3,614
3,077
2,982
2,118
Caucasian
56,358
45,326
42,511
26,943
Race
Asian
Black/African American
Caucasian
Hispanic or Latino
11
Warnings or Field Observations
Black/African Americans continue to be overrepresented in motor vehicle stops resulting in
warnings or field observations11. Caucasians in 2015 were underrepresented by 3%, and in
2018 were -1% represented compared to their share of the voting age population.
Hispanic/Latinos and Asians were consistently underrepresented between 2015-2018. Note the
total difference (spread) between Black/African American and Caucasian
disproportionality, which adds up to 8% between the two racial/ethnic groups.
Superscript(1)Warnings and Field Observations are reported in the same open dataset by APD and are grouped in
this analysis. A field observation occurs when an APD officer produces "documentation of a subject stop
when there is not a corresponding incident report, supplement or citation for the stop," according to the
Austin Police Department General Orders. A warning issued by an officer is a statement that the motorist
has committed some offense, but is being spared the actual citation. Officers use their own discretion in
deciding whether to issue a citation or warning.
12
Chart 4: Disproportionality by race/ethnicity of motor vehicle stops resulting in a warning
or field observation
(2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Warnings or Field Observations by Race/Ethnicity
Versus 2010 City of Austin Voting Age Population)
8%
7%
8%
8%
7%
6%
Race
4%
Asian
Black or African American
2%
Caucasian
Hispanic or Latino
0%
-1%
-1%
-2%
-2%
-2%
-3%
-3%
-2%
-3%
-4%
-4%
-4%
-4%
-4%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Race
Asian
1,054
1,100
1,445
2,116
Black or African
5,819
5,430
6,449
7,504
American
Caucasian
19,485
17,952
21,014
26,824
Hispanic or Latino
11,143
9,350
10,664
13,664
Searches
There were 12,554 searches listed in the 2018 APD racial profiling report ¹². Black/African
Americans and Hispanic/Latinos were overrepresented by 17% and 13%, respectively, while
Asians and Caucasians were underrepresented compared to their proportion of the population
at -5% and -24%, respectively (see Chart 5 below). Note the total difference (spread)
between Black/African American and Caucasian disproportionality, which adds up to
41% between the two racial/ethnic groups. Hispanic/Latinos also have a spread of
concern (See Chart 5 below).
12 Searches occur during motor vehicle stops that result in citations, field observations, warnings, and
arrests. Searches can include a search of a person or a vehicle.
13
Chart 5: Disproportionality by race/ethnicity of motor vehicle stops resulting in a search
(2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Search by Race/Ethnicity Versus 2010 City of
Austin Voting Age Population)¹
20%
17%
18%
17%
16%
12%
13%
10%
12%
10%
0%
-5%
-5%
-5%
-5%
-10%
-20%
-22%
-23%
-24%
-24%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Searches by Race (Raw Number)
Race
Black/African
2,228
2,603
3,602
3,072
American
Hispanic or
3,973
4,494
5,932
5,514
Latino
Asian
109
131
162
150
Caucasian
2,838
3,520
4,139
3,704
Race
Asian
Black/African American
Caucasian
Hispanic or Latino
13 2015 data is from the 2015 OPM report and 2015 APD Racial Profiling report. The 2016 APD Racial
Profiling Report provides overall motor vehicle stop and search numbers for 2015 which are different from
the other 2015 reports. According to the 2016 APD report "although the state requires the reporting of
motor vehicle stops that result in a citation or arrest, we [APD] have modified this year's report to include
all motor vehicle stops." This report uses the originally reported 2015 numbers in order to maintain
continuity with previous OPM report figures. The ratios remain very similar. There are slight discrepancies
between open data and official APD Racial Profiling report data. For instance, in 2018, open data
numbers add up to 142 vehicles operated by an Asian person being searched, but official APD data
states 150 vehicles operated by Asians were searched. This report uses the APD figures. See footnote 3
for justification.
14
While racial representations in searches are very disproportionate, search "hit" rates vary
comparatively less along racial/ethnic lines. According to the APD 2018 Racial Profiling Report,
"Productive searches or 'hits' are searches where contraband is found (e.g., drugs or
weapons)." The search "hit" rate describes the percentage of searches that result in finding
contraband (see Table 2). Caucasians have a 27% search "hit" rate (999 "hits" among 3,704
searches) while African Americans have a 31% search "hit" rate (957 "hits" among 3,072
searches). There is a 4% difference in "hit" rate between Caucasians and Black/African
Americans (31%-27%). Note that Causasians are underrepresented in motor vehicle searches
by 24% based on their proportion of the population, while Black/African Americans are
overrepresented by 17%. The 4% difference in "hit" rates between Black/African
Americans and Caucasians would not explain the disparity between how often
Caucasians and Black/African Americans are searched (41%).
Table 2 - Search "Hit" Rates Compared by Race/Ethnicity
Race/Ethnicity
Hits
Searches
Hit Rate
Caucasian
999
3,704
27%
Hispanic
1,669
5,514
30%
Black/African American
957
3,072
31%
Asian
34
150
23%
High versus Low Discretion Searches and Race/Ethnicity
As the OPM has previously reported, not all searches require the same level of discretion of a
police officer14. Searches during motor vehicle stops which result in an arrest and towing are
considered low discretion searches because an officer is required to perform a search in those
cases. However, searches based on consent, frisk for safety, probable cause, and contraband
are high discretion searches ¹5. In 2018, the APD data demonstrates that high discretion
searches are more likely to occur with Black/African Americans, followed by Hispanics/Latinos,
then Caucasians, and finally Asians. Black/African Americans were slightly more likely to
receive a high-discretion search compared to a low-discretion search in 2018. The ratio is
14 Office of Police Monitor 2015 Annual Report,
http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/OPM_AnnualReport 2015 FINAL2.pdf
15 The methodology to categorize searches into low and high discretion is taken from the "Science of
Policing Equity: Measuring Fairness in the Austin Police Department" report. While the search of a motor
vehicle is normally exempted from the search warrant requirement, police do need a basis for the search.
The most common reasons cited are consent, incident to arrest, probable cause, contraband in plain
view, frisk for safety, and subject to towing; these are reported here. Many factors contribute to the
existence of probable cause, but the basic premise is that probable cause requires facts or evidence that
would lead a reasonable person to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence.
15
reversed for Asians, Hispanic/Latinos, and Caucasians, who were more likely to receive a
low-discretion search required by law and less likely to receive a high-discretion search from an
APD officer (see Table 3 below).
Table 3: Racial Disparities between High and Low Discretion Searches
(2018 APD Proportions of High Versus Low Discretion Searches by Race for Field
Observations, Warnings, Arrests ¹6, and Citations (percentage and raw numbers)
Black/African
Hispanic/
Level of Search Discretion
Asian
Caucasian
American
Latino
23.9%
50.3%
40.0%
29.3%
High
34
1,544
2,206
1,084
76.1%
49.7%
60.0%
70.7%
Low
108
1528
3,308
2,620
Racial Profiling
APD Race Known Analysis
The APD collects data for each motor vehicle stop, indicating "whether the subject's race was
known to the officer before the stop17. This data is separated into Race Known vs Race
Not Known categories (Table 4). According to this data, in 2018 the race/ethnicity of the subject
was known before the stop in 5% of motor vehicle stop cases.
Within the Race Not Known category, Black/African Americans make up 14% of stops,
Hispanic/Latinos make up 33%, Caucasians 47%, and Asians 4%. Black/African Americans are
disproportionately overrepresented in this category (14% of Race Not Known stops compared to
8% of the voting age population, a 6% overrepresentation). Hispanic/Latinos are
overrepresented by 2% (33% of Race Not Known stops compared to 31% of the voting age
population). In contrast, Caucasians and Asians are underrepresented (Caucasians make up
47% of Race Not Known stops and 54% of the voting age population, Asians 4% of Race Not
Known stops and 6% of the population).
Within the Race Known category, Black/African Americans are even more disproportionately
overrepresented compared to other races. Black/African Americans make up 17% of Race
Known stops in 2018. This is a 9% overrepresentation as compared to their share of the voting-
age population. As such, Black/African Americans are 3% more overrepresented when their
race is known by the officer prior to the stop than when their race is not known. Both
16 Arrests were included in this analysis because in the APD open data, 80% of arrests included a search,
which would suggest some discretion on the part of the APD officer.
17 Source: City of Austin Open Data, "GUIDE 2018 - Racial Profiling"
https://data.austintexas.gov/Public-Safety/GUIDE-2018-Racial-Profiling/mipf-8at9/data
16
Hispanic/Latinos and Asians, on the other hand, make up a smaller portion of the Race Known
stops than of the Race Not Known stops (27%, or down 6% from Race Not Known stops, for
Hispanic/Latinos and 2%, down 2% from Race Not Known stops, for Asians). Caucasians make
up 51% of Race Known stops in 2018. Although this is up 4% from the Race Not Known
category, it is also a 3% underrepresentation when compared to their share of the voting age
population.
Table 4: Racial Disparities in whether a motorist is pulled over if the race is known before
the stop
(2018 APD Race Known vs Not Known Compared for Motor Vehicle Stops for 4 Highest
Population Racial/Ethnic Groups (percentage and raw numbers)
Black/African
Hispanic
Race Known?
Asian
Caucasian
American
or Latino
NO - RACE OR ETHNICITY
4%
14%
33%
47%
WAS NOT KNOWN BEFORE
4,182
16,331
37,600
53,483
STOP
YES - RACE OR ETHNICITY
2%
17%
27%
51%
WAS KNOWN BEFORE STOP
117
994
1,592
2,964
Austin Metro Population VS City of Austin Demographics Analysis
While the claim may be made that overrepresentation in stops of Black/African Americans is due
to a pattern of Black/African Americans residing in surrounding communities and coming into
Austin to work and/or for entertainment, the data refutes this. The OPO compared the
percentage of stops per race/ethnicity to the voting age population within the Austin-Round
Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) voting age population (2018 American Community
Survey Data ¹8.
The OPO analysis demonstrates that, when comparing the MSA region's racial composition to
the APD racial data for motor vehicle stops, Caucasians are further underrepresented compared
to the city of Austin comparison alone, with a -8% difference between the racial makeup of the
metro region and the APD data, compared to -7% underrepresentation when focusing solely
within Austin city limits. Black/African Americans are equally overrepresented when examining
the MSA population, being 7% overrepresented in the metro region versus 7% overrepresented
within the city of Austin. Hispanic/Latinos have the same racial/ethnic representation in the
metro region as in the city at 3% overrepresentation, while Asians are less underrepresented
when examining data from the metro region, totaling -2% in the region compared to -4% within
the city of Austin (see Table 5 below).
18
Margins of error are smaller for the American Community Survey (ACS) when examining the
Austin-Round Rock metro area than in the city of Austin alone, thus the 2018 ACS data was used instead
of the 2010 Census for the metro region comparison analysis.
17
Table 5: Racial Disparities in motor vehicle stops in the Austin Metropolitan area
(2018 Motor Vehicle Stops by Race/Ethnicity versus 2018 Austin MSA Voting Age Population)
Austin Round Rock
Police Motor
Austin Round Rock
Difference
Metro Over 18
Type
Race
Count
Vehicle Stops
Metro Over 18
(population vs
Population % of
% of total
Population
stops)
population
All Motor Vehicle
Caucasian
57173
47%
918,822
55%
-8%
Stops
All Motor Vehicle
Black/African
17754
15%
122,304
7%
7%
Stops
American
All Motor Vehicle
Hispanic or
39946
33%
492,080
29%
3%
Stops
Latino
All Motor Vehicle
Asian
4340
4%
105,429
6%
-3%
Stops
Austin Commuter Data Analysis
Another claim as to why various ethnic/racial groups may be overrepresented in motor vehicle
stops is that differences exist in the driving habits across ethnic/racial groups. However, data
collected in the American Community Survey does not support this.
When examining the percentage of people over age 16 who drive to work alone (which makes
up 75% of commuters in Austin in 2018), Table 6 below shows the various racial/ethnic groups'
commuting habits in 2018¹9. Seventy-six percent of Hispanic/Latinos aged 16 years or older
commute to work alone, 73% of Black/African Americans aged 16 years or older commute to
work alone, and 76% of Caucasians and Asians over age 16 commute alone. The variations in
this data would not explain the overrepresentation of Black/African Americans in the 2018 APD
motor vehicle stop data. Particularly, Caucasians commute alone in vehicles 3% more than
Black/African Americans, yet Black/African Americans are proportionally overrepresented by
14% in motor vehicle stops compared to Caucasians.
19
OPO chose to examine commuting by vehicle alone as opposed to commuting by vehicle alone and
carpooling because there is no way to know the race/ethnicity of the driver when carpooling, which would
make the analysis not valid or useful.
18
Table 6: Commuting Behavior by Race in Austin
(2018 Percentage and number of people living in Austin Who Commute Via Driving Alone and
Are Over Age 16 by Race/Ethnicity)
Percent,
Race
Raw number
73%
Black/African American
29,795
76%
Hispanic/Latino
125,833
76%
Caucasian
225,786
71%
Asian
29,901
APD Racial Sector Analysis
OPO also analyzed the geographic distribution of arrests and warnings/field observations based
on the APD open data field connecting each incident with an APD sector20. APD divides the city
into 5 Regions. Each region is further divided into 2 sectors (in the case of Region 1, Baker and
Ida Sector), see map 1 below.
20 APD does not include Sector in the 2018 Citation open dataset, and thus the sector analysis was not
undertaken on that dataset.
19
Map 1: APD Sectors
79
45
Sector
ADAM
APT
BAKER
CHARLIE
DAVID
EDWARD
FRANK
GEORGE
HENRY
130
IDA
Concentration of Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Arrests and 2018 Warnings and Field
Observations across APD Sectors
Using Maps 2 and 3 below, one can examine visually the distribution of arrests in Austin by APD
sector. One notes a concentration of arrests on the east side of the city.
20
Map 2 and 3: 2018 Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Arrests and Warnings and Field
Observations
2018 Arrests
2018 Warnings and Field Observations
of
Number of Warnings
Number of Arrests
and Field Observations
9
1,625
193
8,050
21
Recommendations
To address The City of Austin's Strategic Direction 2023 (SD23) Safety Strategy One:
Develop and act on recommendations to ensure that all community members are treated
fairly and equitably in the enforcement of laws and the adult and juvenile justice systems,
whether they are defendants or victims of crime.
The Office of Police Oversight, Equity Office, and the Office of Innovation recommend the
following:
Acknowledgments
1. Acknowledge that racial disparity exists and is worsening.
2. Acknowledge that the methodology previously used omitted the context of proportionality
and therefore was an incomplete analysis. This resulted in a perception that a trend of
disparity did not exist.
3. Acknowledge that race plays a major role in who we stop, search, and for whom we use
discretion favorably.
Accountability
4. To gain community trust, proportional racial disparity in motor vehicle stops,
arrests, searches, field observations, warnings, and citations should be zero.
To take meaningful action toward the acknowledgments in year one, 2020, the
proportional racial disparity for motor vehicle stops, arrests, searches, field observations,
warnings, and citations shall decrease to 2015 levels by the end of year one.
For all motor vehicle stops, the proportional racial disparity shall decrease by
1.75% percent per year to get to zero racial disparity by 2023.
For all arrests resulting from motor vehicle stops, the proportional racial disparity
shall decrease by 4.25% percent per year, to get to zero racial disparity by 2023.
For all citations resulting from motor vehicle stops, the proportional racial
disparity shall decrease by 1.25% percent per year, to get to zero racial disparity
by 2023.
For all warnings and field observations resulting from motor vehicle stops, the
proportional racial disparity shall decrease by 1.75% percent per year, to get to
zero racial disparity by 2023.
While African Americans have the largest disproportionality, Hispanic/Latinos have
similarly concerning trends, and APD should work to bring these disparities to zero in
the same timeframe.
Methodology
5. The official comprehensive analysis of racial profiling shall be conducted and released
by the City of Austin Office of Police Oversight, although state-mandated reporting may
continue under the purview of the Chief.
6. In order to uphold data integrity, accuracy, and transparency, officers should verify the
racial and ethnic identity with people they stop. The verified data should be documented
22
in officer reports and be published in the Racial Profiling data sets on the City's Open
Data Portal.
Next Steps
7. Analyze and report on the operational inefficiencies and costs that disproportionate
racial disparities create by the second quarter of the fiscal year 2020 and provide to the
City Manager and Council.
8. Explore promising practices from Oakland and Nashville that use a scoring mechanism
for disproportional behavior to identify at-risk officers and assign appropriate
interventions and use in the determination of promotions.
9. Include implicit bias testing in the Austin Police Department hiring process.
10. For current employees, require implicit bias testing and flag high-scoring officers for
appropriate intervention.
11. Identify and implement bias-countering policies, practices, methods, processes, and
standard operating procedures to mitigate bias.
Training
12. Include the comprehensive Racial History of Policing curriculum in the cadet training
academy and adapt it into required training for existing officers, at all ranks, annually.
13. Follow the guidelines for racial equity training established by the Equity Office. The
Equity Office and Office of Police Oversight shall be consulted for final selection of
official racial equity training for officers at all ranks.
14. Develop a method to provide racial equity training on an ongoing basis (a minimum of 40
hours per year) for all staff, sworn and civilian, in the department, annually, during every
year of service.
Summary
In Council's adoption of SD23, one of the explicit challenges identified for the Safety outcome
was to ensure that our enforcement and justice processes are accountable, fair, equitable,
impartial, and transparent. To achieve the strategic direction of the City of Austin, the Austin
Police Department (APD) should make every effort to address racial and ethnic disparities in
this report and fulfill the recommendations within. This is just the first step to establish trust with
the communities that have been negatively impacted by these practices. There should be an
expectation that the APD go above and beyond this floor of recommendations to effectuate their
vision and mission for the department to effectively protect and serve all the communities in
Austin.
23
Appendix 1
The tables and charts below represent data from the Racial Disparity and Racial Disparity Trend
2015-2018 sections comparing annual APD data to each respective year of American
Community Survey (ACS) data from 2015-2018. This section is meant to demonstrate the
similarity of the trends and patterns when using 2010 census data and 2015-2018 ACS data.
Table 7: 2018 Motor Vehicle Stops by Race/Ethnicity versus 2018 City of Austin Voting
Age Population
City of Austin
Number of
Police Motor
City of Austin
Difference
Over 18
Race
Motor Vehicle
Vehicle Stops
Over 18
(population vs
Population %
Stops
% of total
Population
stops)
of population
Asian
4,387
4%
61,646
8%
-4%
Black or African
17,754
15%
63,919
8%
6%
American alone
Hispanic or
39,946
33%
228,331
30%
3%
Latino
Caucasian
57,173
47%
403,107
52%
-5%
24
Chart 6: 2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops by Race/Ethnicity versus 2015-2018 City of
Austin Voting Age Population
Year
6%
6%
6%
6%
4%
4%
3%
2%
1%
2%
0%
0%
-2%
-2%
-4%
-4%
-4%
-4%
-5%
-5%
-5%
5%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Race
Asian
3,715
4,270
4,652
4,387
Black or African
14,753
18,171
19,977
17,754
American
Hispanic or
37,702
45,356
44,899
39,946
Latino
White
59,699
66,695
67,347
57,173
Race
Asian alone
Black/African American
Caucasian
Hispanic or Latino
25
Chart 7: 2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Citations by Race/Ethnicity Versus
2015-2018 City of Austin Voting Age Population
6%
6%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
2%
0%
0%
-2%
-3%
4%
-4%
-5%
-4%
-6%
-7%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Citation by Race (Raw Number)
Race
Asian
3,614
3,077
2,982
2,118
Black/African
12,497
10,589
10,374
7,446
American
Caucasian
56,358
45,326
42,511
26,943
Hispanic or
33,600
32,571
29,235
21,470
Latino
Race
Asian alone
Black/African American
Caucasian
Hispanic or Latino
26
Chart 8: 2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Arrests by Race/Ethnicity Versus
2015-2018 City of Austin Voting Age Population
20%
18%
16%
17%
16%
15%
13%
10%
11%
10%
7%
Race
Asian
5%
Black/African American
0%
Caucasian
Hispanic or Latino
-5% -7%
-6%
-7%
-7%
-10%
-15%
-15%
-18%
-19%
-20%
-22%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Arrests by Race (Raw Number)
Race
Asian
99
93
135
106
Black/African
2,164
2,152
3,154
2,804
American
Caucasian
3,147
3,417
3,822
3,406
Hispanic or
3,735
3,435
5,000
4,812
Latino
27
Chart 9: 2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in Warnings or Field Observations by
Race/Ethnicity Versus 2015-2018 City of Austin Voting Age Population
Motor Vehicle Stops by Race (%)
Race
14%
14%
Asian
Black/African American
12%
Caucasian
10%
Hispanic or Latino
8%
8%
7%
6%
6%
4%
2%
1%
0%
0% -1%
-1%
-2%
-3%
-4%-4%
4%
-4%
-5%
-6%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Field Warnings and Observations by Race (Raw Number)
Race
Asian
2,108
2,200
2,890
4,232
Black/African
11,638
10,860
12,898
15,008
American
Caucasian
38,970
35,904
42,028
53,648
Hispanic or
22,286
18,700
21,328
27,328
Latino
28
Chart 10: 2015-2018 Motor Vehicle Stops Resulting in a Search by Race/Ethnicity Versus
2015-2018 City of Austin Voting Age Population
20%
18%
17%
17%
16%
15%
12%
12%
10%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
-7%
-6%
-6%
-7%
-10%
-15%
-20% -21%
-21%
-21%
-23%
2015
2016
2017
2018
Searches by Race (Raw Number)
Race
Asian
109
131
162
150
Black/African
2,288
2,603
3,602
3,072
American
Caucasian
2,838
3,520
4,139
3,704
Hispanic or
3,973
4,494
5,932
5,514
Latino
Race
Asian alone
Black/African American
Caucasian
Hispanic or Latino
29
Appendix 2
Chart 11: Motor Vehicle Stops Per Year
142,036
139,709
140K
135K
130K
125K
122,185
120K
120,056
115K
2015
2016
2017
2018
21
21
See footnote 7 for 2015 total motor vehicle stop explanation.
30