Policy Brief: Have Racial Disparities in Law Enforcement Stops Narrowed

As part of its recent efforts to address stark racial disparities in its criminal justice system, California enacted the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) in 2015; RIPA requires detailed reporting on all pedestrian and traffic stops. We used recent RIPA data to examine changes in racial/ethnic disparities in law enforcement encounters from 2019 to 2023; this analysis is particularly important in light of dramatic pandemic-era changes to California's criminal justice system.

The Number of Stops Remained below Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2023

Our analysis focused on California's 15 largest law enforcement agencies: the California Highway Patrol, 8 police departments (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, San Jose, Long Beach, and Oakland) and 6 county sheriff's departments (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Diego, Riverside, and Orange).

The RIPA data show that law enforcement stops-which plunged at the onset of the pandemic-were one million per year (or 26%) below 2019 levels in 2023. The eight largest police departments accounted for more than 60% of the overall decrease. In addition to the pandemic, key drivers could include the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, limits to pretext stops, and decreased police staffing.