Catalyst California, ACLU Report Reveals Racist Patrol Practices by Sheriff’s Departments in CA

Data from Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego Counties show billions of public funds wasted on patrol activities that undermine safety

CALIFORNIA – Today, Catalyst California (formerly Advancement Project California) and the ACLU of Southern California released a new report revealing the prevalence of racially-biased patrol activities, particularly traffic stops, by sheriff’s departments in Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento and San Diego Counties. Read the full report here.

Based on 2019 data from the Racial & Identity Profiling Act, which requires public reporting by law enforcement on all vehicle and pedestrian stops, the report shows how sheriff's departments have wasted tremendous public dollars enforcing minor administrative and equipment violations, rather than responding to community concerns about serious safety issues.

“Outdated ‘tough-on-crime’ approaches not only fail to advance safety, but also disproportionately harm communities of color,” said Chauncee Smith, senior manager of Reimagine Justice & Safety at Catalyst California. “Rather than wasting billions of public dollars on unproductive patrol activities, policymakers must rethink 'public safety' and ensure that our collective welfare is truly rooted in the public—community members, especially those of highest need—rather than law enforcement.”

The report also found that counties and cities annually spend over $25 billion on sheriff’s and police departments, compared to only $3.7 billion on public health, and that counties spend more general fund revenue on sheriff’s departments than on social services by a substantial margin.

Specifically, the report found that in 2019:

• L.A. County Sheriff's Department
  • 88.8% of officer time spent on stops was for officer-initiated stops rather than in response to a call for service.
  • Officer-initiated stops cost over $981 million, and calls for service cost approximately $124 million.
  • Black people were nearly 2 times more likely than whites to be subject to an officer-initiated stop.
• Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
  • 88.8% of officer time spent on stops was for officer-initiated stops rather than in response to a call for service.
  • Officer-initiated stops cost approximately $308 million, and calls for service cost approximately $43.7 million.
  • Time spent on officer-initiated stops for traffic violations amounted to approximately $258.2 million. The figures for reasonable suspicion and arrest warrant were $24.1 million and $8.6 million, respectively.
• San Diego County Sheriff’s Department ​​
  • Looking at officer-initiated stops for traffic violations, over 1 out of every 3 hours spent was for a stop that resulted in a warning or no action.
  • Over $43.9 million was spent on traffic stops that result in a warning or no action and are indicative of pretext.
  • Black people were over 2 times as likely to be subject to an officer-initiated stop than whites.
• Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department
  • A little under two-thirds of officer time spent on stops was for traffic violations.
  • Among officer-initiated stops for traffic violations, approximately 75% of hours are spent on stops that result in a warning or no action.
  • Black people were over 4.5 times more likely to be subjected to an officer initiated stop for a traffic violation than whites.

“Sheriff’s departments across the state sell themselves as the protectors of the public, but the data tells a different story,” said Eva Bitran, staff attorney with the ACLU SoCal. “Deputies spend the vast majority of their time on initiating stops that target Black Californians. Sheriffs do not keep us safe; investing in education, healthcare, and community services does.”

In response to these findings, the report recommends reallocating public budgets to care and community-centered hard reduction strategies that better address root causes of social problems. The report also calls for decriminalizing minor offenses that pose limited to no public safety risks in order to prevent inequities.

Read the full report: https://www.aclusocal.org/app/uploads/drupal/sites/default/files/catalyst_ca_aclu_-_reimagining_community_safety_2022.pdf