BLACKS TWICE AS LIKELY TO BE SEARCHED

A Columbia Police Study Finds Evidence Of A Racial Gap.

Blacks in Columbia are more than twice as likely to be searched during a
traffic stop than whites, according to data compiled by Columbia police and
reported to the state attorney general.

In 2003, Columbia police conducted 1,777 searches during traffic
stops. Whites were searched less than 9 percent of the time; blacks
were searched just under 24 percent.

Yet, the percentage of total searches in which contraband was found
was slightly higher among whites.

Scott Decker, professor of criminology at the University of
Missouri-St. Louis, said both the search rates and contraband hit
rates were consistent with data from across the state and country. The
Columbia Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in
Missouri are required to report racial data of their traffic stops.

"Police tend to be more discriminating in searching whites," Decker
said. "The higher threshold of suspicion is consistent with the higher
contraband rates."

Contraband was found in 354 instances; 301 times it was either drugs
or alcohol. The drugs or alcohol - predominantly drugs, Columbia
Police Chief Randy Boehm said - were in the possession of a black
person in 137 of those instances, or 42 percent of the time.

Blacks were arrested for drug offenses at a rate similar to the
possession rate, according to Columbia's 2003 arrest records. Blacks
accounted for 41 percent of the 969 total drug arrests last year.

According to the 2000 census, blacks make up about 11 percent of
Columbia's population.

Boehm said he would need to examine the circumstances and locations of
the searches in order to explain the disparity between search rates.
He suspected that a good number of searches were occurring in the
central city, specifically Beat 50 and Beat 55.

Beats 50 and 55 are bounded on the south by Broadway and on the north
by Business Loop 70. Beat 55 extends to Stadium Boulevard to the west.
Beat 50 is bounded by College Avenue on the east. The two are
separated by Garth Avenue.

"We receive a lot of complaints related to drug activity and sales
from those areas," Boehm said. "Many times, searches are related to
officers having a reason to believe there are drugs in the vehicle."

Stephen Wyse, a local attorney and former police officer, said police
might be less likely to check whites for violations.

"Most law-enforcement officers do their job honorably and don't make
conscious decisions to target people of color," Wyse said. "However,
the institutional dynamics are hard to change. If you're a minority,
you're going to face stricter scrutiny."

Wyse cited the "natural hunter attitude" of some police officers. He
said although whites and blacks commit crimes at the same rate, the
scrutiny faced by minorities makes the phenomenon of "DWB" - "Driving
While Black" - a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"Because police have the expectation that they're more likely to find
drugs on blacks, they may be more attuned to following the procedures
to produce evidence," Wyse said.

Boehm said Columbia police focus on suspicious behavior, not skin
color.

"We make every effort to see that our officers are trained and
supervised to look for criminal and suspicious activity," Boehm said.
"The color of one's skin does not play a role."

The attorney general's report showed a similar disparity in both
traffic searches and traffic stops. Blacks in 2003 were pulled over by
Columbia police at a rate more than twice what their proportion of the
local population would indicate. Decker said that figure may be
inflated because it uses residential population as the benchmark.

"The gold standard would be the race and ethnicity of the drivers
driving," Decker said. "The driving population may look different than
the residential population."

Decker said the search data is more accurate because it presents the
entire population of traffic stops.

Statewide in 2003, whites involved in traffic stops were searched just
under 7 percent of the time. Blacks were searched over 12 percent of
the time. The contraband hit rate was nearly 6 percentage points
higher for whites.

Of the documented traffic-stop searches in Columbia in 2003, about 60
percent were described as "incident to arrest," meaning the search was
done because of an arrest. About one-third of all searches were done
with the driver's consent. In those two categories, the ratios were
consistent between whites and blacks.

Decker said the search data suggests two things.

"First, each department should engage in more analysis of their own
data," Decker said. "Second - and I think Columbia is out in front in
this - police should meet with community groups to discuss their
policies and training procedures."

Boehm agreed with Decker's analysis.

"An open dialogue with the community is a positive thing and we strive
to do that," Boehm said.

Numbers

In 2003, of the 1,777 searches Columbia police conducted during
traffic stops:

- - Whites were searched fewer than 9 percent of the times they were stopped;

- - Blacks, just under 24 percent of the times they were stopped.

Drugs or alcohol were found in 301 instances:

- - in the possession of a black person on 137 of those instances, or 42
percent of the time;

- - in the possession of a white 161 of those times (the other 3 times
were of other ethnicity)

Source: Columbia Police Dept. report