Arlington Police Department
2016 Traffic Stop Hit & Enforcement Rate Analysis
This report analyzes the hit rate and enforcement outcomes following traffic stop searches conducted
by the Arlington Police Department (APD), from 1/1/2016 through 12/31/2016. The results indicate hit
rates differed slightly across racial/ethnic groups, but that enforcement outcomes were uniform and
consistent across all racial/ethnic groups.
Briefly for content perspective, the hit rate is the number of contraband discoveries versus the number
of searches conducted, while enforcement outcomes are the number of arrests and citations linked to
those contraband discoveries. The relevant concept is that an agency’s enforcement rate (outcomes
versus search hits) should be uniform across racial/ethnic categories, thusly demonstrating the equal
application of lawful police authority. The implicit expectation is that an arrest or citation occur upon
the discovery of contraband.
Before continuing, it should be noted that officers’ use of discretion (the lawful choice to enforce or not
to enforce) absolutely impacts an agency’s enforcement rate. Said more bluntly, the more officers
choose not to enforce when finding contraband or other unlawful acts, the lower an agency’s
enforcement rate becomes. The more disparate enforcement rates become across racial/ethnic
categories, the more disconcerting that agency’s use of lawful authority becomes. As previously stated,
no such concerns were found in these data concerning APD’s 2016 traffic stop hit or enforcement rates.
For summary descriptions of the below bulleted items, please refer to the below Tables and Figure. A
more detailed explanation of the bulleted items follows that.
APD’s overall hit rate was 53.5%; meaning officers found contraband a little more than half of
the time when conducting traffic stop searches
The hit rate for a probable cause search was 57.2% and for a consent search was 27.4%
APD’s overall enforcement rate was 93.7%; meaning an arrest or citation occurred for the vast
majority of contraband discoveries
The enforcement rate for a probable cause hit was 94.7% and for a consent hit was 79.8%
The enforcement rate for African-Americans was 95.3%, Hispanics was 94.3%, and Caucasians
was 91.4%
African American, Caucasian and Hispanic drivers collectively accounted for 97.3% of all
contraband hits.
African Americans accounted for 51.0% (634), Caucasians accounted for 25.3% (315) and
Hispanics accounted for 21.0% (261) of all contraband hits.