New Study Focuses On Racial Profiling In Greensboro, NC

A New York Times study of tens of thousands of traffic stops on Greensboro, North Carolina–a racially diverse city of 280,000 and the third largest in the state–found dramatic racial differences in police conduct. Further, the Times learned that these disparities were common across North Carolina, which collects the most data in the nation on traffic stops. Disparities were found in six other states that compile comprehensive traffic stop data.

In Greensboro, which is 41 percent Black, police pulled over Black motorists for traffic violations far out of proportion to their share of the local population, the report found. In addition, officers searched Black drivers or their vehicles more than twice as often as white motorists, even though they found guns and drugs far more often among white motorists. Moreover, police were more likely to stop Black motorists for no apparent reason, and more likely to use physical force, even when not met with resistance.

Nationwide, as the New York Times points out, Blacks are arrested four times as often for the questionable offense of resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer. And while Blacks and whites use marijuana at nearly the same rate, Black residents in Greensboro are charged with possession of minor amounts of marijuana at five times the rate of white residents.