outside city limits represents a substantial volume of all motor vehicle-related contacts made in a given year .
Since 2002 , several civil rights groups in Texas expressed their desire and made recommendations to the effect that all police departments should rely , in their data analysis , on the Fair Roads Standard . This source contains census data specific to the number of “ households ” that have access to vehicles . Thus , proposing to compare “ households ” ( which may have multiple residents and only a few vehicles ) with “ contacts ” ( an individual-based count ). This , in essence , constitutes a comparison that may result in ecological fallacy . Despite this , the Arlington Police Department accepted the recommendation to utilize this form of comparison ( i . e ., census data relevant to households with vehicles ) in an attempt to demonstrate its “ good will ” and “ transparency ” before the community . Thus , the Fair Roads Standard data obtained and used in this study is specifically relevant to the Dallas Fort-Worth ( DFW ) Metroplex ).
Tier 2 ( 2018 ) Motor Vehicle-Related Contact Analysis
When analyzing the enhanced Tier 2 data collected in 2018 , it was evident that most motor vehicle-related contacts were made with males and most of the contacts were made with Black drivers . This was followed by White and Hispanic drivers . In most instances , police officers report not knowing the race or ethnicity prior to the stop . Further , they cite as the primary reason for the stop to have been a “ moving traffic violation ”. This was followed by “ vehicle traffic violation ”.
In 2018 , most of the contacts made took place in city streets . This was followed by “ state highways ”. The Arlington Police Department cites that most contacts did not result in a search . Of those searches made , most were based on probable cause . The second most significant reason for a search was “ incident to arrest ”. In addition , contraband was not found as a result of most searches . Of the contraband found , in most instances , drugs were cited as the most frequent contraband found .
The data also shows that the majority of stops resulted in a verbal warning . This was followed by “ citations ”. When an arrest was made , the most frequent reason provided was an outstanding warrant . Also , 24 of the contacts resulted in the use of physical force which caused bodily injury .
Comparative Analysis
The data analysis of motor vehicle contacts to the census data relevant to the number of “ households ” in DFW who indicated , in the 2010 census , that they had access to vehicles , produced interesting findings . Specifically , the percentage of Blacks and Hispanics that came in contact with the police was higher than the percentage of Black and Hispanic households in DFW that claimed , in the 2010 census , to have access to vehicles . With respect to Whites and Asians , a lower percentage of contacts were detected . That is , the percentage of White and Asian drivers that came in contact with the police in 2018 was lower than the percentage of White and Asian households in DFW with access to vehicles .