The Crime Commission has released Traffic Stops in Nebraska as its most recent summary of data covering over 400,000 traffic stops reported for 2018. Data reported describes the race of the driver, the reason for the stop, the primary disposition or outcome of the stop, and whether or not searches were conducted.
ACLU of Nebraska Legal and Policy Counsel Rose Godinez issued the following statement in response to the report:
“The Nebraska Crime Commission report shows racially biased policing is a persistent problem in Nebraska. Black drivers are being stopped nearly twice as often as white drivers, three times more likely to be searched, and 6.5 times more likely to be arrested. These unacceptable racial disparities have increased for the past five years according to the Nebraska data.”
Godinez continued: “This data confirms what Nebraskans of color already know: racial bias persists in traffic stops. This data confirms there is a clear need to re-calibrate. We can’t continue to do the same things in terms of police training and watch the data about racial disparities in policing continue to rise. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to ensure our law enforcement agencies are doing all they can to eliminate racial bias and make Nebraska more fair and more free for all Nebraskans.”