Missouri report shows Black drivers more likely to be stopped. See how your city ranks
While the disproportionate rate at which Black drivers are pulled over compared to white drivers has lessened some in Kansas City for the first time in years, the disparity is still substantial, a new state report shows.
In 2020, Black drivers were 23% more likely than white drivers to be pulled over by Kansas City police, according to the Missouri Vehicle Stops 2020 Annual Report, released by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
State law requires the attorney general’s office to collect and report data on traffic stop demographics.
The 2020 statewide report includes data from 590 Missouri law enforcement agencies. In 2019, they also began collecting data on the officer’s assignment, the driver’s home ZIP code and the reason for the citation or warning.
Of the 1,521 traffic stops that led to arrests last year in Kansas City, the majority — 792 — were Black drivers. White drivers represented 608 of the arrests.
The most recent report found that in 2020, Black Kansas City residents were about twice as likely to be pulled over as white Kansas City residents.
The report also found that once pulled over, Kansas City drivers were twice as likely to receive a citation when compared with traffic stops statewide.
The disproportionate rate of Black drivers pulled over by the North Kansas City Police Department far outpaced the rest of the metro last year.
North of the Missouri river, Black drivers were 674% more likely to be stopped by the department than white drivers, according to individual agency reports.
Statewide data
In 2020, there were more than 1.16 million traffic stops reported across the entire calendar year in Missouri, down more than 361,000 from 2019.
The report notes that there were nearly 24% fewer vehicle stops in 2020 compared to 2019 because it is “very likely” the pandemic led to fewer cars being on the road and some departments tried to limit unnecessary exposure.
On average, only 35% of drivers stopped were stopped in the jurisdiction where they resided.
In 2020, Black drivers were 71% more likely to be pulled over than white drivers, and 25% more likely to be arrested in Missouri.
This is a slight improvement from the year prior, when Black drivers were 95% more likely to be pulled over by police in Missouri, and 36% more likely to be arrested. The traffic stop disparity in 2019 was the worst since reporting began.
Three years ago, the NAACP issued a travel advisory telling people of color to take caution when traveling through the state, citing the annual report as evidence that people of color might not have their rights respected in Missouri.
Despite the drop in stops in 2020, the numbers remain troubling, said Nimrod Chapel Jr., president of the Missouri NAACP.
“The NAACP is deeply concerned that even in a pandemic where large portions of the minority community were providing essential services, we were still pulled over at an incredibly high and disproportionate rate,” Chapel said.
Kansas City metro data
North Kansas City was one of the only cities on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro where Hispanic drivers were pulled over at a disproportionate rate to white drivers. In North Kansas City, Hispanic motorists were 14% more likely to be stopped.
Data from the Belton Police Department shows that Black drivers were 427% more likely to be stopped than white drivers. In Independence, Black drivers were 223% more likely to be stopped than white drivers and Hispanic drivers were 6% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
The breakdown of stop rates for the rest of the metro is as follows:
Raytown Police Department: Black drivers were 199% more likely to be stopped than white drivers. Hispanic drivers are 30% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
Liberty Police Department: Black drivers were 146% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
Lee’s Summit Police Department: Black drivers were 137% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
Clay County Sheriff’s Office: Black drivers were 132% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
Platte County Sheriff’s Office: Black drivers were 107% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
Blue Springs Police Department: Black drivers were 96% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
Cass County Sheriff’s Office: Black drivers were 86% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
Raymore Police Department: Black drivers were 69% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office: Black drivers were 16% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
Grandview Police Department: Black drivers were 6% more likely to be stopped than white drivers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
