DPS TELLS BUSH TRAFFIC STOPS NOT PROMPTED BY RACE

Data show minorities twice as likely as whites to be searched

AUSTIN - State police officials have assured Gov. George W. Bush's office
that statistics showing minority drivers are twice as likely to be searched
at traffic stops is not an indication of racial profiling, the governor's
spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The Department of Public Safety has collected information on the gender and
ethnicity of drivers stopped by state troopers, and whether the motorists
were ticketed, warned or searched.

The first five months of data, involving 780,000 traffic stops, shows that
white motorists who were stopped by troopers had a 1-in-38 chance of being
searched, while black drivers had a 1-in-19 chance and Hispanics had a
1-in-18 chance.

The statistics on traffic stops was released Tuesday in response to a
request from The Dallas Morning News. The DPS compiled the data from March 1
through July 30.

"The Department of Public Safety has told us this information does not
constitute racial profiling, and the department has assured us that they
will continue to look very closely at the data as it continues to come in,"
said Linda Edwards, the governor's press secretary.

DPS officials said their officers are instructed that race cannot be a
factor in stopping a car or searching the driver or occupants.

The officers must establish a probable cause to search a person or vehicle,
or request permission on a suspicion that can be articulated, said Maj.
Ricky Smith.

"We do not use race. It's not an acceptable indicator," he said.

Drugs or drug money are discovered in about 12 percent of DPS searches, he
said.

In its study of the DPS information, The News consulted University of Texas
economics professor Dwight Steward.

Focusing on March data alone, he looked at 65,000 instances in which drivers
were given warnings but not ticketed. Minority motorists were twice as
likely to be searched compared with white drivers, he said.

"There's a pretty strong indication that race is a factor in these stops,"
Dr. Steward said.

Female drivers were less likely to be subjected to searches. Looking only at
male drivers, Hispanic men were four times as likely and black men were 2.5
times more likely to be searched as were white males, Dr. Steward found.

Ms. Edwards said the governor's office and the DPS would continue to monitor
information from the traffic stops to ensure that officers are following the
law.

"Governor Bush and the Department of Public Safety absolutely do not
tolerate law enforcement officers stopping people simply because of race or
ethnicity," she said.