Racial Profiling Discussed in Town Hall Meeting

Racial profiling was the topic of discussion at the city hall meeting in Columbia, Missouri this week.

Profiling is a subject that police officers face on a daily basis. People want to know that just because they are of a certain ethnicity or race, that they won’t be discriminated by police.

The Columbia Missourian wrote, “A central talking point of the meeting focused on statistics compiled by the Missouri Attorney General’s 2015 Vehicle Stops Report, a document that clearly shows African-Americans bear the brunt of negative interactions with police.”

According to this Vehicle Stops Report, “Columbia police are three times more likely to search a black motorist in a vehicle stop, but figures show contraband is four times more likely to be found in a white motorist’s car when adjusted for population size.”

After reviewing this data, Columbia Police Department Chief Ken Burton said that he does not think that racial profiling is an issue, “I told you I’ve got issues with the data for different reasons, I don’t think we’ve drilled down deep enough, OK?” There are a number of factors that must be considered in order to actually make a statistical backed claim.

The solution to determine whether there is actual racial profiling is to collect additional data via quality software that is able to delve into collected data.

Reference Sources:

  • http://www.abc17news.com/news/top-stories/columbia-police-city-manager-seek-stories-on-racial-profiling/300978531
  • http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/city-officials-provide-few-answers-at-town-hall-on-racial/article_4b9272a2-e733-11e6-b18a-af7a1170d989.html
  • https://leftasystems.org/products/pass/

Written By: Alexander (LEFTA Systems)

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