CTData Collaborative released its annual traffic stop report for 2023, finding that while the number of traffic stops increased for the fourth consecutive year, traffic stops still remain below their pre-pandemic levels. The report also found that officers involved in traffic stops have given increasing leniency since 2020, with the percentage of stops ending in verbal warnings increasing while the percentage of infractions and searches has decreased.
The report relies upon data collected from the state’s traffic stop data repository. The repository first began in 2013 as part of the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Data Project (CTRP3), for the purpose of reducing racial profiling in traffic stops. The data is maintained by UConn’s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP).
“For over a decade, CTData and the IMRP have partnered to provide traffic stop data in an accessible web-based platform, enabling the identification of disparities and empowering informed action,” said Michelle Riordan-Nold, Executive Director of CTData.
The report found there to have been 358,000 traffic stops conducted in 2023, a 14% increase from 2022, yet 30% lower than in 2019, when 513,000 stops were conducted. Despite the decreased number in total stops when compared to pre-pandemic figures, the distribution of stops seems to be more evenly spread among the state’s municipalities, as 21% of law enforcement agencies reported conducting more stops in 2023 than in 2019.
The report included a list of municipalities that saw the highest percentage increases in stops made in 2023 compared to those made in 2019; stops increased by 167% in Avon, by 147% in Weston, by 91% in Southington, by 90% in Suffield, by 82% in East Hartford, by 78% in Wethersfield, by 48% in Granby, by 35% in Farmington, by 30% in Canton and by 28% in New Haven.
When analyzing the demographics of each stop, 63% of drivers stopped in 2023 were males, and 58% were white. Black and Hispanic drivers each accounted for 19% of stops.
CTData also broke down the purpose of each stop into four categories; Administrative, Equipment, Safety, and Other. Safety accounted for the majority of stops (74%) while administrative and equipment related stops accounted for 11% and 10% of stops, respectively. Only 5% of stops were attributed to other reasons.
The leading cause of safety-related stops was speeding or other speed-related infractions (35%), with stop sign-related stops accounting for 11% of safety stops, and blinker-related infractions and moving violations accounting for 8% each. Equipment related stops were primarily due to defective lights and incorrect display of license plates.
The report found that Black and Hispanic drivers were more likely to be stopped for administrative or equipment related violations, and less likely than white drivers to be stopped for speed-related violations, a trend that the report noted “has been persistent in Connecticut.”
Regarding the outcomes of stops, the report found that 62% of stops led to verbal or written warnings, 31% resulted in infractions, and only 4% led to a misdemeanor summons. In 2023, only 5,187 vehicles were searched, meaning searches only occurred on 1.6% of stops. Contraband was found in 21% of all vehicle searches, and the highest percentage of traffic stops ending in vehicle searches occurred in Waterbury (18%), West Haven (11%), Bridgeport (10%), Willimantic (9%), Norwich (7%), Shelton (7%), New Britain (6%) and Hartford (5%).
CTData found a slight racial disparity in stops ending in searches; less than 1% of Asian, American Indian, and white non-Hispanic drivers were searched, while Black drivers were searched 2.7% of the time and Hispanic drivers were searched 2.9% of the time. Contraband was more likely to be found in searches of white drivers, with a contraband discovery rate of 27%, while less likely to be found on Black and Hispanic drivers, with discovery rates of only 20% and 16% respectively.
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