I live in central NJ (a somewhat rural - read: caucasian area) and see minorities pulled over much more frequently than white people.
Do police target minorities in predominently white areas, or do all of these minorities get pulled over for legitimate reasons (not just for being black or mexican or indian)?
2006-12-04 07:58:51 · 20 answers · asked by pastor of muppets 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
I should add that I've noticed this with one township in particular. Oh, and I'm white, honkies!
2006-12-04 08:13:12 · update #1
New Jersey actually ran a rather intensive study on this because of all the complaints.
Do you know what was found?
1. Minorities are pulled over at the exact same rate as they are represented in the population. In other words, on average over the state, minorities are not pulled over more frequently.
2. In those areas where minorities are pulled over with high frequency, the population of minorities is, in fact higher. In other words, more minorities are being pulled over simply because the concentration of them is higher.
3. Crime rate predicts the rate of being pulled over.
4. This is the important part. The ratio of times being pulled over to the number of times there is a REASON to pull the person over, is the same regardless of race. If a minority is pulled over, the reason is simple. He is committing some sort of action that leads to being pulled over. What is definitely not happening is minorities being pulled over when they have done nothing wrong.
Your chances of being pulled over, if you are not engaging in something that would obviously result in you needing to be pulled over (ie speeding, drunk driving, erratic driving, expired plates etc.) is exactly the same whether you are white, black, hispanic, whatever.
Your perception is simply wrong (and probably racist)....end of story.
2006-12-04 08:07:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Yes! although they should not be biased that some group of people is more prone to breaking the law... they do. I'm studying psychology right now and it's definitely a major issue. I've heard the same situation of minorities being pulled over for no reason many times as well as from teenagers... that we're actually not breaking the law. P.S: I live in northern N.J. The community is mostly caucasian with a few acceptions.
2006-12-04 16:03:57 · answer #2 · answered by italianchic1606 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If your such a concerned citizen why don't you go to the townships prosecutor and register a complaint instead of posting it on the internet? Could it be your just bored and don't like cops so you decided to fabricate a story. Are others in your town enraged like you are. Maybe the stupid answer to the stupid question is "the cops pull over minorities because they have a better shot at making an arrest, therefore enabling them to get back to headquarters where the really good donuts are" You have no concern for whats going on so why waste peoples time!
2006-12-05 08:04:33 · answer #3 · answered by bcre8iv 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You would need to check the records in the department to confirm that minorities are pulled over more frequently. Most of the time, the departments themselves keep very close track on this kind of thing. Officers can get in a lot of trouble if there's a discrepancy in the number of people pulled over by race.
2006-12-04 23:49:46 · answer #4 · answered by Jess H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are looking at the situation all wrong. Don't get me wrong...there are bad law enforcement officers out there but the chance that it is a whole department is impossible nowadays. You might see 2 to 3 traffic stops in a day if its a bad neighborhood. But in actually in a 24 hour period 30 to 40 might get pulled over. The only way to find out is go to the Clerk of Courts in your area and find out. Also the local PD keeps that information on record. I could save you the time and say no, its not just one race.
2006-12-04 16:30:52 · answer #5 · answered by Cpl Coop 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I like your question. I am Canadian. I live in a huge city.[the biggest] I am an minority. I am a good driver a good citizen a good god fearing man. I only get pulled over when I am doing something stupid. Like speed ing or racing. Some of my friends have the "why me" prejudice syndrome. Hey man. We are free people in a free land. If you are cool the cops are cool too
2006-12-04 16:06:49 · answer #6 · answered by veerfish 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Police normally pull people over for breaking the law. Race isn't an issue since everyone does break the law on occasion whether they realize it or not.
You do not have to be speeding or racing to be pulled over. If you have a tail light out, too much wear on your tires, thump a cigarette but out of the window, etc. - you are breaking the law.
If you are breaking the law, expect to be pulled over!
2006-12-04 16:16:45 · answer #7 · answered by LadySable 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, I live in South Florida, my dad had a friend that lived in a mansion by the beach, he was driving slowly looking for his friends house and was being followed by 2 cops the whole time until they pulled him over for no reason. My dad was in a new explorer wearing a suit dressed in work clothes. You cant tell me he got pulled over because he looked like he was a theif... this has happened several times to my family and myself
2006-12-04 16:07:42 · answer #8 · answered by Fries 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Often people see what they want to see. If the area is predominantly white, they probably pull over more white people. You are just noticing the minorities.
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2006-12-04 16:03:51 · answer #9 · answered by FozzieBear 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I have faith in our police forces.. my guess would be they are probably be pulled over for legitimate reasons- I mean you gotta think with the way cars are made now a days.. and with so many cars with tinted windows it would be hard for a cop to know if someone is of a different race until they actually pulled them over
2006-12-04 16:02:59 · answer #10 · answered by katjha2005 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋