WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — In D.C., when police stop a person the vast majority of the time it’ll be a person of color, a report showed.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of D.C. has a new report called “Bias at the Core?” showing 70% of the people officers stop-and-frisk are Black.
“I’m hoping that they can do something about it, but to tell you the truth I’m not too hopeful,” said Eddie Nance Jr.
Though Black people made up just about 44% percent of D.C.’s population in 2022 and 2023, the ACLU reported that they comprised about 70% of stop-and-frisks.
The practice allows officers to briefly detain individuals suspected of engaging in criminal activity on the spot and without a warrant.
“If they’re going around and they’re just randomly choosing Black people, I mean, that’s wrong. but however, there has to be a stop to what’s going on,” said Darnell Perkins.
| Ethnicity | Number of Stops in 2022 | Number of Stops in 2023 | Percent of Stops in 2022 | Percent of Stops in 2023 |
| Black | 48,700 | 48,407 | 71.4% | 70.6% |
| White | 8,664 | 8,154 | 12.7% | 11.9% |
| Hispanic | 5,216 | 5,014 | 7.6% | 7.3% |
| Other/Unknown | 4,209 | 5,532 | 6.2% | 8.1% |
| Asian | 1,034 | 888 | 1.5% | 1.3% |
| Multi-ethnic | 421 | 566 | 0.6% | 0.8% |
| Total | 68,244 | 68,561 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
The report argues that racial disparities are consistent with racial bias.
“It’s time for District leaders to truly question why they uphold stop-and-frisk practices that lack community safety benefits — especially when these practices implicate people’s constitutional rights, can be traumatic to Black and brown communities, and erode trust in the criminal justice system,” said ACLU-D.C. Policy Advocacy Director, Scarlett Aldebot. “Instead of leaning into harmful and ineffective policing, the District should build a public safety system that protects us from bias, increases trust in government, and keeps all our communities safe.”
Data shows in 2022 that there were 68,244 stops, with 0.9% resulting in the seizure of a gun. In 2023 out of 68,561 stops, 1.2% resulted in the seizure of a gun.
“Point something after all them thousands of people, I don’t think the stop and frisk thing–I’ve never thought that would be worth doing,” Nance Jr. said.
Patrice Sulton, executive director of DC Justice Lab, believes stop-and-frisk practices, “foster a pervasive cycle of trauma among Black residents.”
“Unlike other major cities, D.C. has ignored calls for change since 2020. We see the same state and community violence persisting as a result,” Sulton said. “It is imperative that D.C.’s leaders dismantle these harmful practices. We urge the development of a public safety framework that is not only just and equitable but also strengthens the very fabric of our community.”
In response to the ACLU report, a D.C. police spokesperson sent the following statement:
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) continues its commitment to transparency by publishing comprehensive stop data twice a year, which supports the work of partners such as the ACLU in studying this data. However, it would be helpful for the public if descriptions about the data were also transparent. For example, whereas the ACLU gives the impression that all of the 68,940 stops in 2023 were “stops and frisks,” this is not at all accurate. Of the almost 69,000 stops, only 4,471 (less than 7%) included a protective pat down, sometimes called a frisk. Only 1% include a consent search. More broadly:
- The stops had a clear purpose. Almost 4 of every 5 stops resulted in enforcement action, either a ticket (58%) or an arrest (23%). The rest ended with investigation or other public safety response, such as mediating a dispute, educating a violator, or referral to services.
- The stops included many people traveling in or through the District. Sixty percent of the stops were traffic stops. Only 30% of the vehicles stopped and issued tickets for traffic violations were registered in the District; 70% were registered in another state.
- Most stops were resolved without any physical contact between the officer and the person stopped or his or her property. Only 10% of stops involved a protective pat down or a pre-arrest search of either a person or property.
- MPD stops play a vital role in supporting Vision Zero and making our streets safe for all users. Fifty-eight percent of all stops result in a ticket. Of these, almost one-third of the tickets were warning tickets. Eleven percent of arrests include a charge for a criminal traffic violation.
- Most stops are for traffic violations and have nothing to do with gun or gun crimes, but some stops help remove a significant number of guns from our neighborhoods. In 2023,MPD officers were able to remove 2,057 guns—64% of all guns recovered—from DC streets as a result of police stops.[1]
- Most stops are brief. More than three out of four were resolved in about 15 minutes; 86% lasted 30 minutes or less.
The Department is committed to fair, professional, and constitutional policing in all aspects of its work as it strives to safeguard people and property in the District of Columbia. The Department works continuously to strengthen its service to the city. In the past year, the Department has focused on providing updated and comprehensive training for all its officers on the Fourth Amendment, including 10 hours of online and classroom training developed in partnership with the US Attorney for the District of Columbia. The Department is also supporting an independent study on Equity in Traffic Stops conducted by the University of Connecticut Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy. Researchers regularly stress that disparities, in and of themselves, are not sufficient evidence of racial profiling. We expect this study to be available in Fiscal Year 2025.
[1] The stop data only indicates that one or more guns was recovered. It does not indicate how many guns were recovered. This comes from another data system.
The Metropolitan Police Department
