By Irshad Altheimer, Hayder Alhafedhi, Rashid Muhammad

his report provides a descriptive analysis of Rochester Police Department (RPD) traffic stop data. We analyzed 41,201 traffic stops performed by RPD between 2015 and 2023. The stop data consisted of 83 variables, but the analysis of many of those variables was hampered by high numbers of missing values. Increased scrutiny of law enforcement practices has led to calls for the collection and analysis of police stop data. Such data analysis is essential for fostering accountability and transparency within the police departments. Police officers in the United States conduct at least 50,000 traffic stops every day, making these stops a central part of modern policing and the most common way in which the public interacts with law enforcement (Policing Project, 2019). Beyond the frequency, traffic stops often lead to significant financial hardship for individuals through fines and fees, and evidence suggests that both traffic and pedestrian stops disproportionately impact people of color (Policing Project, 2019). Despite how common these stops are, there is still much we do not understand about traffic stop practices and the full effects of traffic stops. Analyzing this data enables the identification of patterns and trends within policing practices, including disparities in traffic stops based on factors such as race, gender, or geographic location (Policing Project, 2019). This helps to assess the effectiveness of current policing strategies and ultimately develop informed policy reforms aimed at promoting equitable policing practices. Transparency is crucial in law enforcement because it builds trust between police departments and the communities they serve. When the actions, decisions, and data of law enforcement agencies are open to public scrutiny, it demonstrates a commitment to accountability and ethical practices. This openness allows citizens to understand the reasoning behind police actions, reducing misunderstandings and promoting cooperation. Strong relationships based on mutual trust between police and the communities they serve are vital for effective policing and public safety; community members are more likely to cooperate with law enforcement and provide crucial information when they trust that police actions are fair and reflect community values (Community Relations Service, n.d.). Transparency is a key element in fostering this trust, as timely and open communication about critical incidents helps reassure the public that information is not being deliberately withheld (Community Relations Service, n.d.). This report is divided into the following sections. First, we provide an overview of the data. Second, we provide a descriptive analysis of the data that could be reliably analyzed. Third, we provide recommendations for future data collection.

Working Paper 2025-01 - 01

Rochester, NY: Center for Public Safety Initiatives Rochester Institute of Technology, 2025. 15p.

By The United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney’s Offices Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana

On the evening of May 10, 2019, near Monroe, Louisiana, a Louisiana State Police trooper tried to stop a 49-year-old Black man named Ronald Greene for speeding and running a red light. Mr. Greene drove away. For 14 minutes, officers pursued him until he lost control of his vehicle, crashing on the side of the road. According to a sergeant that LSP regarded as its in-house use-of-force expert, what happened in the ensuing hours, weeks, and months was a “catastrophic failure in a million different directions.” Multiple LSP troopers and sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene of the crash. They tased Mr. Greene repeatedly and pulled him out of his car. They punched him, dragged him by ankle shackles, and left him face down in the road. When Mr. Greene tried to roll onto his side, a trooper put his foot on Mr. Greene’s buttocks to hold him down on his stomach. That trooper later told a supervisor, “I’m trying to keep him laying down. I was going to sit him up, but I don’t want him spitting blood all over us.” Mr. Greene pleaded, “I’m scared. I’m your brother. I’m scared.” The LSP troopers deactivated or muted their body-worn cameras. When a supervisor arrived, he casually stepped over Mr. Greene, who laid moaning on the ground, and instead asked the troopers if they were ok. None of the troopers rendered aid to Mr. Greene, who became unresponsive and died before he reached the hospital. After Mr. Greene died, troopers filed reports attributing his death to a car accident. “We investigate crashes every day,” one trooper later told us. “No way someone died from a car crash with that damage.” One trooper who was there misdated the incident in an official report. LSP’s designated use-of-force expert at the time believed that was a deliberate attempt to cover up the incident. Another trooper miscategorized camera footage in LSP’s systems. And the supervisor who stepped over Mr. Greene’s body that night signed off on all the use-of-force reports. Over 15 months passed before LSP opened an Internal Affairs investigation into Mr. Greene’s death. In the intervening days and months, LSP troopers—including one involved in Mr. Greene’s death—would go on to assault more drivers. It was not until September 2020, 16 months after the incident, that LSP fired one of the troopers involved. It would take until 2021 for LSP to suspend a second trooper and fire a third who was involved in both Mr. Greene’s death and an assault of a different Black man. Mr. Greene’s death and its aftermath demonstrated serious failures at LSP—excessive force, improper supervision, ineffective training, and breakdowns in accountability. As our civil pattern or practice investigation revealed, these failures were not isolated, but part of a larger pattern or practice of law enforcement conduct that deprives people in Louisiana of their rights under the Constitution.

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Department of Justice has reasonable cause to believe that the Louisiana State Police engage in a statewide pattern or practice of using excessive force, which violates the Fourth Amendment. Our investigation, opened in 2022, also included examining whether LSP engages in racially discriminatory policing. At this time, we make findings only as to excessive force. Though this investigation reveals systemic problems, we recognize that most LSP troopers work hard to keep the public safe. We commend LSP troopers and staff who devote their professional lives to serving the community. LSP began making much-needed reforms after video of Mr. Greene’s death became public in 2021, two years after the incident. We believe those changes may have contributed to some recent improvements in use-of-force practices. The changes include revising LSP’s use-of-force policy, creating a Force Investigation Unit to investigate serious uses of force, and updating training programs. However, more reforms are needed to remedy the unlawful conduct we found. We describe recommended changes at the end of this report. We hope to work constructively with the State and LSP to implement these reforms.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 2025. 32p.

By Rachel Boba a and John P. Crank

Problem-oriented policing (POP) has emerged as a fertile area of innovative police research and practice. Its core ideas have existed for over 20 years; however, research suggests that POP has been routinized into the practice of few police departments. This paper argues that POP has not gained widespread adoption because of the inclination to make line officers the central actors in POP’s implementation. It presents an integrated model reconsidering how problems are defined, analysis is used, and how problem-solving accountability is distributed throughout an organization and builds upon the strengths of traditional policing – information-gathering, centralized command, and accountability structure.

Routledge. Police Practice and Research Vol. 9, No. 5, December 2008, 379–393

By Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

The Virginia Advisory Committee explored issues regarding trust and accountability between police and community members, the lack of standardization in policing practices and how they affect the disparities faced by vulnerable communities, as well as an analysis of recent legislative efforts on policing in Virginia.

Washington, DC: USCCR, 2023. 57p.

By University of Chicago Law School - Global Human Rights Clinic

This Report is being published in the midst of a long series of horrifying incidents of police abuse of power in the United States. The deaths of George Floyd, Lacquan McDonald, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Breonna Taylor and many others, have echoed throughout the communities of this nation and prompted protests across the country. The video and testimonies from these incidents provide grim illustrations of the power law enforcement officers have over the people they are sworn to serve and protect, and the deadly consequences when they abuse that power. Society vests law enforcement with the responsibility to protect public safety and enforce the law when necessary. For these reasons, and these reasons only, law enforcement officers are granted the immense power to use force, including lethal force. This authority—state sanctioned violence—necessarily comes with limits and obligations to ensure those who enforce the law do not abuse it. These limits and obligations require that police use their power in a manner that protects and serves the entire community that has vested them with this privilege. The exercise of this authority also requires accountability when abuses occur. Without accountability, state sanctioned violence is nothing but the exercise of arbitrary brute force, a common tool of tyrannical and despotic governments.

Chicago: University of Chicago Law School - Global Human Rights Clinic. 2020. 105p.