Understanding Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) in California
The Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) in California requires law enforcement agencies to collect demographic data and other identifying characteristics based on officers' perceptions during pedestrian and traffic stops. The purpose of RIPA is to eliminate racial and identity profiling, improve diversity, and increase sensitivity within law enforcement. Data collected includes perceived race/ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, English fluency, and disability. This presentation covers key points such as the purpose of RIPA, information collected, demographics, actions taken during stops, and disparities in stops based on race and ethnicity.
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Presentation Transcript
RIPA PRESENTATION FOR PSROC
What is Ripa? Purpose Information collected Brief explanation of the data Data CONTENTS Demographics Calls for service v. officer-initiated stops Primary reason for stops Actions taken during stop Conclusion
RIPA = Racial & Identity Profiling Act (AB 953) Passed in 2015 by California Legislature WHAT IS RIPA? Requires all Law enforcement agencies in CA to collect & report demographic data and other identifying characteristics based on the officer s perception Required on all pedestrian & traffic stops
To eliminate racial & identity profiling Improve diversity PURPOSE Increase identity sensitivity within law enforcement To identify whether specific groups receive differential treatment based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
Perceived race/ethnicity WHAT INFORMATION IS COLLECTED AS PER RIPA? Perceived gender Perceived age Perceived sexual orientation Perceived English fluency/limited English Perceived disability
Data is representative of 58 law enforcement agencies across California with 3,184,543 pedestrian & vehicle stops BRIEF EXPLANATION OF DATA The data is from January 1, 2021-December 31, 2021 This presentation does not encompass all the data, but the most significant data points
INDIVIDUALS STOPPED (RACE & ETHNICITY) Perceived Hispanic/Latinx individuals were the highest proportion of individuals to be stopped, followed by Black/African American individuals and White individuals. The disparity b/w the proportion of stops and proportion of stops was greatest for perceived Black/African American individuals
CALLS FOR SERVICE V. OFFICER- INITIATED STOPS Per RIPA regulations, officers must state whether their stop was due to a call for service or if it was officer-initiated From the 2023 CA RIPA board report, only 6.1% of stops were as a response to calls of service 86.8% of officer-initiated stops were due to traffic violations
PRIMARY REASON FOR STOP (RACE/ETHNICITY) There s 8 different reasons an officer could specify as the primary reason for a stop. The top 3 most common were traffic violations (86.8%), reasonable suspicion of criminal activity (10.5%), and other (2.7%). Relative to the other racial/ethnic groups, Black/African American individuals had the largest proportion of their stops as a result of reasonable suspicion (16.2%), and the lowest due to traffic violations (80.5%).
PRIMARY REASON FOR STOP (GENDER) Compared to the other genders, the highest percentage of transgender women (45.4%) followed by transgender men (42.9%) were attributed to reasonable suspicion of a criminal activity. Gender nonconforming individuals (91.6%), followed by cisgender females (89.2%) had the highest percentage of stops due to traffic violations.
PRIMARY REASON FOR STOP (PERCEIVED LGBT & PERCEIVED NON-LGBT) Individuals perceived to be LGBT had a higher proportion of their stops attributed to reasonable suspicion (22.7%) than those perceived to be non- LGBT. Individuals perceived to have a disability had the highest percentage of their stops attributed to reasonable suspicion (70.2%)
9/23 of the actions reportable by officers include the use of force. Officers reported using lethal force against 0.005% of stopped individuals, less-lethal force against 0.6% of stopped individuals and limited force against 0.8% of stopped individuals. ACTIONS TAKEN DURING STOPS Individuals perceived to be Hispanic/Latinx had the highest rates of lethal force used against them. Individuals perceived to be Black/African American had the highest rates of less-lethal force and limited force used against them.
ACTIONS TAKEN BY OFFICERS DURING STOPS (RACE/ETHNICITY) Officers reported taking action during 19.9% of stops. The most common actions reported were search of person/vehicle (11.9%), detained on curb/patrol car (11.3%), handcuffing (9.8%), and verbal order to exit the vehicle (4.3%). Among all the racial/ethnic groups, stopped individuals whom officers perceived to be black had the highest rate of being searched (20.1%), detained on curb/patrol car (17.9%), handcuffed (15.4%), and verbal order to exit vehicle (7.6%)
ACTIONS TAKEN BY OFFICERS DURING STOPS (GENDER) The group of individuals perceived as transgender men by officers had the highest rate of being subjected to searches (34%) and detentions (30.1%) among those stopped. The individuals perceived as transgender women had the highest rates of being handcuffed (34.9%) and verbal order to exit the vehicle (8.8%).
ACTIONS TAKEN BY OFFICERS DURING STOPS (DISABILITY) Individuals who were perceived to have a disability were searched (45.9%), detained (46%), and handcuffed (49.4%) at a much higher rate than those not perceived to have a disability.
SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS Individuals perceived as Black/African American are disproportionately stopped, searched, and used force against. There s a significant disparity between the proportion of stops and the residential population for Black/African American individuals, with them being stopped at a much higher rate than expected. Individuals perceived as Hispanic/Latinx constitute the highest % of stops Almost 87% of officer-initiated stops are due to traffic violations Individuals perceived as African American/Black, trans men and trans women make up most stops due to reasonable suspicion Individuals with perceived disabilities are significantly more likely to be searched, detained and handcuffed than people without perceived disabilities
CONCLUSION When analyzing and comparing data, note that demographic and identity information is based on an officer s perception, rather than an individual s self-identity. Therefore, the disparities for certain groups may not be fully reflective of the actual data. This distinction is important because racial and identity profiling originates from how people are perceived and treated, rather than how they personally identify themselves.
https://ripalog.com/ripa/ripa- faq.htm#:~:text=The%20RIPA%20law%20requires%20peace, Reason%20for%20the%20stop https://post.ca.gov/Racial-and-Identity-Profiling-Act https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/ripa-appendix-2023.pdf REFERENCES https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/ripa-board-report- 2023.pdf https://openjustice.doj.ca.gov/data
