PAI investigates CT Racial Profiling Project

by Elizabeth Neuse, PAI

People Against Injustice (PAI) has obtained the raw data file and the preliminary results of traffic stops in Connecticut, compiled by the CT Racial Profiling Prohibition Project. The site http://ctrp3.ctdata.org provides access to raw traffic stop data and tables for each police district in the state for stops conducted between Oct. 1, 2013 and March 31, 2015. New data will be posted as it is released.

According to the site, here’s what you will find in Phase I on your computer:
Using the filters on the left of the screen, you can create views of descriptive statistics on traffic stop data collected by each department [e.g., New Haven] and statewide totals.

Here’s what you will NOT find:
The ability to make comparisons for multiple departments simultaneously or alongside the statewide totals.
The ability to determine in the pre-stop descriptive statistics which departments were identified as exhibiting racial disparities in traffic stop practices.
To determine whether there are racial disparities by department, read the April 2015 report issued by the IMRP [Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain] which utilized a rigorous statistical analysis. You can also read our data story which explains the methodology applied and the departments that were identified.
Here’s what is coming in Phase II:
Visualizations [e.g., charts] of the econometric analysis that identifies which departments show statistically significant racial disparities in treatment of minority drivers versus non-minority drivers.

Visualizations enabling the comparison of post-stop data

In 2016, IMRP will complete an analysis of pre-stop data at the officer level and the results will be posted at its website.

PAI is planning to investigate further the results of the study.