This week, after being presented with the findings
of Spotlight PA’s nationwide survey that showed the force was the
largest of 11 statewide law enforcement agencies that do not collect race data
during stops, Pennsylvania State Police officials said the agency would reverse
course and resume collection next year.
“We do feel that collecting this information would
yield valuable statistical information for the department,” said Lt. Col. Scott
Price, deputy commissioner of administration and professional responsibility.
When initially asked why data collection was
discontinued, a spokesman for the State Police said it was based on studies
that found no evidence of racial disparities in traffic stops. One of those
studies had, however, identified “racial, ethnic, and gender disparities” in
how troopers dealt with motorists after they were stopped.
In June, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a
federal lawsuit against the state police, alleging troopers were violating the
law by stopping and holding people based solely on their Latino appearance.
The failure to collect racial data can “undermine”
police legitimacy, commented Georgetown law Prof. Christy Lopez, a former
official in the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “It makes it
look like you either don’t care about disparities, or you are trying to hide
what the data shows.”
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