By Rachael Eisenberg,Daniel Bodah, & Brandon Tucker
For more than a century, policing has been seen as the solution to many social problems in the United States, from traffic violations to mental health crises to disputes between neighbors. While the justification for overpolicing is that it combats crime, in reality, the practice distracts police from the job of investigating serious crime—and the human toll is unconscionably high. Despite public perceptions, law enforcement actually spends very little time affirmatively fighting crime and focuses much more on minor incidents such as traffic infractions. In fact, research finds that police make roughly 20 million stops annually, despite evidence that traffic enforcement is not an effective means of fighting crime.
Traffic stops are one of the most common ways police encounter the public. One statewide study found that nearly half of traffic stops were for minor technical infractions that had little to do with traffic safety—such as a broken taillight or having an object hanging from the rearview mirror—rather than hazardous and aggressive driving behavior such as speeding, driving under the influence, or dangerous driving. Notably, Black motorists are stopped more often, relative to their share of the population, than white drivers, especially for low-level infractions. During a traffic stop, Black drivers are also more likely to be searched and less likely than white drivers to be found in possession of illegal items such as drugs or weapons. -- READ MORE