Latino Representation in the Criminal Justice System
There are disparities present in how the justice system treats communities of color, including the Latino population. These disparities are greatest for Black populations, which
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Stops
Metadata
Variable Definitions:
Stop Rates
Total Stop Rate: The number of police stops of a vehicle or pedestrian per 1,000 people in the resident population
Pedestrian Stop Rate: The number of police stops of a pedestrian per 1,000 people in the resident population
Vehicle Stop Rate: The number of police stops of a vehicle per 1,000 people in the resident population
Stop by Race
Black Stops: The percentage of police stops where the person stopped was identified as Black/African American
Latino Stops: The percentage of police stops where the person stopped was identified as Latino/Hispanic
White Stops: The percentage of police stops where the person stopped was identified as White
Other Stops: The percentage of police stops where the person stopped was identified as a race/ethnicity other than Black, Latino or White
Source:
Stop Counts: Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)
Resident Population: American Community Survey, 5-year estimates
Years Available:
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Why are these variables important to measure?
These variables count one stop for each separate individual stopped by an officer. The data includes a number of different stop types, including pedestrian, vehicle stops, terry stops (also known as “stop and frisk”), and searches. The data includes stops reported by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in LAPD reporting districts within the City of Los Angeles.
After a stop occurs, there are multiple possible outcomes. Most commonly, nothing happens; however, an arrest, issuance of a citation, or warning are also possible outcomes of a stop.
Stops are the most common way that police directly initiate contact with citizens and have been shown to cause harmful trauma to some people stopped. In 2015, the state of California passed AB 953 which mandates that stops data be collected and analyzed across the state to look for racial bias. The LAPD have been collecting and publishing their stops data since 2011, making them unique among large law enforcement agencies in Southern California.
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