JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Black motorists were more likely than others to be stopped by Missouri police last year.
An annual report released Wednesday by the attorney general found that black drivers were 69 percent more likely than white motorists to be pulled over in 2010.
Police also were more likely to arrest black and Hispanic drivers and search their vehicles. However, searches of the vehicles of white motorists were more likely to turn up contraband. The statistics compare the racial demographics of Missouri's driving-age population to racial characteristics of motorists in the nearly 1.7 million traffic stops, 112,000 searches and 84,000 arrests last year.
Attorney General Chris Koster says the findings are not conclusive evidence of racial profiling. He says the report can be used to trigger conversation between police and their communities.
The full report plus data for individual law enforcement agencies can be found online at http://ago.mo.gov/VehicleStops/.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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