Study Finds Racial Profiling in Mass.

[Quetzal]

Study Finds Racial Profiling in Mass.

BOSTON (AP) - A study has found that nearly three out of four Massachusetts police departments engaged in racial profiling of minority drivers, prompting the state to launch a probe.

The Northeastern University study, released Tuesday, was commissioned four years ago by the Legislature and included 366 departments - from cities and towns and the state police, to university, MBTA and Amtrak police agencies. Just 92 got a passing grade.

Public Safety Secretary Edward A. Flynn warned against condemning departments that failed until more information can be gathered. The study caused the state to order 249 departments to collect a year's worth of data on all traffic stops.

"We are not today finding any agency guilty of having engaged in racial profiling," he said. "Data collection is not punishment."

more...

http://news.findlaw.com/ap_stories/other/1110/5-5-2004/20040505004503_4.html

[papau]

1. An academically lousy study by NU - sad because they are a leader

in this area.

They established no baseline, so racial profiling can't be determined from the data - although they pretend the simple stats they do have show something.

The vast majority of cops are not racists - a change from the 50's - but studies like this one hurt the effort to clean things up.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Unfortunately for you, these traffic stop studies do have strong

precedent. I noticed that the article comes from findlaw. There are two court cases filed in the 90s that are milestones in this area. One was filed in Maryland and the other in New Jersey. The statistics were compelling, but it was the admission of the police themselves which clenched both cases. It just takes about six months to a year to collect the data and the information is quite revealing. In some cases, they found cops who ONLY ticketed black drivers. I think that one was in New Jersey.

[papau]

4. Post 95 the folks who know math explained the better way to do these

studies - and NU has been out there doing good work.

This study sucks.

Driving while Black - DWB - is indeed a real problem.

And it no doubt exists in Mass.

But this study is not a best practice study.

If I were grading it, I'd give it a "C - needs work - will regrade when complete".

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Okay, now I'm going to say it:

Why is one of the most Liberal states in the country capable of the same atrocities as a Southern state. I already have the answers, but I wish this was discussed more often. It just doesn't seem to be PC to admit that white liberals from tight social groups are capable of the same kind of discrimination as southern good ole boys.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

5. There was another study that rated Mass dead last in racial profiling

go figure.