MEDIA CONTACT: Charles Loebbaka at 847-491-4887 or c-loebbaka@northwestern.edu

July 13, 2004

Northwestern Center Studies Racial Bias in Traffic Stops

EVANSTON, Ill. --- The Northwestern University Center for Public Safety is assisting in a four-year statewide effort to determine whether racial profiling is a factor in traffic stops.

Newly enacted state legislation requires the officers of all law enforcement agencies in Illinois to document each traffic stop, including the race or ethnicity of the vehicle’s driver. The center is analyzing data from more than 1,000 agencies.

“This data collection can be seen as an opportunity for police departments to identify an issue if one exists and address it,” said center director Alexander Weiss.

The data collection began Jan. 1, 2004, and will end Dec. 31, 2007. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) contracted the center to conduct an analysis on the information provided by the agencies. The center also will assist IDOT in preparing a report to be submitted to the governor, the Illinois General Assembly and law enforcement agencies no later than July 1 of each year. (The first report is due July 1, 2005.)

In addition, the center will provide training materials and instruction to law enforcement personnel. Center researchers also will meet periodically with law enforcement agencies and community groups throughout the state to discuss the data and analysis. One such workshop, “Understanding the Illinois Traffic Stop Statistical Study,” will be held June 28 on the Evanston campus. More than 130 law enforcement officials are expected to attend.