On June 8, 2020, Chief of Police David Wolf hosted a virtual Coffee with a Cop via Zoom (you may view it on YouTube by clicking here), co-hosted with City Manager Barbara Sondag, Deputy Chief of Police Beth Andreski, Mayor Ruth Springer, and Chairman Pro Tem Sidney Clark.  The topic of traffic stop data came up in the course of conversation.  

In regards to the discussion about traffic stops and available data, a brief explanation follows.  When a traffic stop is conducted in Missouri, Missouri Law Section 590.650, RSMo requires that all peace officers report specific information about the stop including the driver’s race, age, and residency.  This information is then provided electronically to the Attorney General’s office.  Yearly, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) then compiles a Vehicle Stops Report (VSR) that is available for the previous year’s data.

The data is presented in different forms.  The Attorney General’s Office allows for police administrations to provide a response to the VSR.  Included are Olivette’s specific statistics,  Chief Wolf’s response to the 2019 VSR, and links to the AGO’s website and documents where you may find more information, data, and breakdowns in regards to Vehicle Stop Reporting.

Data

Vehicle Stops Data 2019

Olivette Police Dept.                                     2010 Population: 5,993 (age 16 and over)

Data taken from 2019 Agency Reports, pg 751 
Link to Report on AGO Website

Notes: 2010 Disparity index is based on population figures from the 2010 Census for persons 16 years of age and older who designated a single race. Hispanics may be of any race. Other includes persons of mixed or unknown race. 2018 Disparity index is based on 2014-2018 average population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS only provides race-specific Hispanic estimates for White, meaning non-White Hispanic residents are double-counted in the 2018 race percentages above. While the 2010 disparity index is the default metric, if this jurisdiction has a small non-white Hispanic population, the 2018 disparity index may provide more current information.
Disparity index = (proportion of stops / proportion of population). A value of 1 represents no disparity; values greater than 1 indicate over-representation, values less than 1 indicate under-representation.
Search rate = (searches / stops) X 100.
Contraband hit rate = (searches with contraband found / total searches) X 100.
Arrest rate = (arrests / stops) X 100. #Error indicates zero denominator. 

Response

Chief Wolf’s Response to Attorney General’s 2019 Vehicle Stops Report

The City of Olivette has two major highways within its boundaries. I-170 is on the east and HWY 340 (Olive Boulevard) is a major thoroughfare that divides the north and south sectors of the City.   The reported population of the City is 7,737; however, on a daily basis, over 100,000 vehicles utilize I-170 and over 32,000 vehicles utilize Olive Blvd.  Olivette has several employers that employ hundreds of employees which also increases the daily population.

In 2019, the Olivette Police Department made 2,695 traffic stops. The traffic analysis reports submitted to the Missouri Attorney General during this time period indicate the drivers of the stopped vehicles were as follows: 50.65% White, 41.11% Black, 5.31% Asian, and 1.63% Hispanic. The reported African American resident population in Olivette is approximately 27%. Using that percentage, it appears as if African Americans were stopped at a rate disproportionate to the African American resident population. However, the actual number of African American residents that were stopped was 139, which equates to 4.79%., far below the resident percentage. Likewise, the reported Caucasian resident population in Olivette is approximately 55%. The actual number of Caucasian residents that were stopped was 231 or 8.57%. It does not seem adequate to determine potential bias without including the massive amount of people of varying demographics who work, visit and travel through Olivette daily while only considering Olivette’s resident population who are 16 years old and over.

The Olivette Police Department prides itself on the amount of training our officers receive.  Included in that training are courses on bias based policing, implicit bias and racial profiling.  The Olivette Police Department is a professional police organization that is committed to protecting all people, both residents and non-residents, from racial or bias based profiling.

Links

Missouri Attorney General’s Vehicle Stops Report
Link

Missouri Attorney General’s 2019 Vehicle Stops Executive Summary
Link

2019 VSR Agency Reports
Link

2019 VSR Appendix A: Local Vehicle Stops in Proportion to State Racial Composition
Link

2019 VSR Appendix B: Disparity Index Scores for 2000-2019 Data Compare
Link

2019 Appendix C: Resident and Non-Resident Driver Disparity Index Scores
Link