Eugene, Ore. – A report released by Oregon Criminal Justice Commission or the most recent state-wide Statistical Transparency of Policing Report (STOP) data has found no evidence Eugene Police Department conducts traffic or pedestrian stops, enforcement actions, searches, or arrests in disparate proportions for Black, Native America, Middle Easter, or Asian populations. For Latinx populations the report found disparities in one of three analyses, specifically for citations and or for the combined measure of all dispositions i.e., citation or search or arrest. There was no indication of disparity for the stops themselves or for searches and arrests. This indicates that it is likely the only relevant disparity is for citations and not the other outcomes. Eugene Police will further analyze its results and work with the Latinx community on follow-up to the report findings. Eugene Police Department was not referred to DPSST for additional technical assistance. Of all qualifying stops that are made by EPD officers, 100 percent are reported, as EPD has an internal compliance program.
From July 2020 through June 2021, Eugene Police Department made 13,164 stops. 16 percent of these stops were of pedestrians and 84 percent were traffic stops. Of all reported stops, Eugene Police stopped white (85.4%), Latinx (6.8%), Black (5.5%), Asians (2.0%), Native American (0.2%), and Middle Eastern (0.0%).
The CJC’s report uses three different analysis:
- Veil of Darkness (variations in daylight)
- Predicted disposition analysis (stop outcomes- citations, searches, arrests)
- KPT Hit Rate Analysis (rate of successful searches)
In one of those, Predicted Disparity analysis, EPD’s citation rate for the Latinx the citation rate was 40.1 percent (the predicted rate is 34.0 percent), the Citation/Search/Arrest combined was 42.1 percent (the predicted rate is 37.3 percent). In the Latinx group, there were no disparities for stops, searches or arrests. There were also no disparities found in the Veil of Darkness or KPT Hit Rate analyses. There were no findings of disparity in EPD’s data for any other demographic groups for all three analyses: veil of darkness, KPT Hit Rate, Predicted Disparity.
“Having the information puts us on top of any trends we need to pay attention to,” said EPD Chief Chris Skinner. “Our results were similar to last year’s in that Latinx did not have disparity for stops themselves, but in the outcome of citations, there was a disparity. I don’t want to see even one disparity for any group and will tap our resources to find out more. We welcome the scruitiny on the STOPS data each year to help us ensure there are no differences in how demographic groups are treated. We will work with our Crime Analysis Unit and with Latinx community on this going forward.”
Oregon CJC STOP Report
https://www.oregon.gov/cjc/CJC%20Document%20Library/STOP_Report_2021_FINAL.pdf
Agency Data
https://www.oregon.gov/cjc/CJC%20Document%20Library/STOP_Agency_Summaries_2021_FINAL.pdf
BACKGROUND
To determine if disparities identified in this report warrant additional in-depth state-level analysis and/or technical assistance from the Oregon Department of Public safety standards and training, stop program researchers reviewed the results of each of the three analyses conducted on the stop program data. For each individual analysis an estimated disparity must meet the 95% confidence level for it to be statistically significant. Further following best practices for a law enforcement agency to be identified as one requiring further analysis as well as DPSST technical assistance, it must be identified as having a statistically significant disparity in two of the three analytical tests performed on the stop data including the following:
- Veil of Darkness (variations in daylight)
- Predicted disposition analysis (stop outcomes- citations, searches, arrests)
- KPT Hit Rate Analysis (rate of successful searches)
Eugene Police had disparity in one out of three tests for the Latinx population, and that was in the predicted disposition analysis.
Eugene Police Department’s activity with STOP began in 2012, well ahead of the 2017 passage of House Bill 2355. “That’s a good indicator of our intentional work to ensure this community has information about how we conduct our stops. We want our community’s trust and having our stops evaluated is an important component,” said Skinner. “We have a longstanding training program for implicit bias, emphasis on professionalism, and strong cultural values for fairness and equity. We are going to ensure our community is experiencing professional service without discrimination toward any individual or group.”
Much work by Eugene Police, Police Commission and community groups and individuals has gone into developing this program and accompanying policy. EPD worked to consolidate guidance to officers in the new Professional Stops policy, which was developed following recommendations by the Police Commission. EPD also prepared a pilot project to collect and analyze demographic data on vehicle stops. The pilot project and policy development processes have included a panel of community experts and people with first-hand experience of bias, and a public forum to gather input from members of our community. EPD consulted with a number of technical experts for advice on software design and implementation. These individuals include officers, representatives from K-12 schools, higher education, ACLU, NAACP and the governor’s Law Enforcement Contacts Commission. EPD included the Department of Justice best-practices for this program.
(information directly from EPD)
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