City assesses data collected on police stops
The Mill Valley Police Department and a city racial equity group said they will continue to collaborate on policy updates following the first release of racial data associated with police stops.
The data release complies with AB 953 Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), which requires law enforcement agencies in the state to start collecting the data by January and report it to the attorney general by April 2023.
Mill Valley police Chief Rick Navarro touted his department’s early acquisition of RIPA data as indicative of his department’s receptivity to tackle racial challenges described by Mill Valley’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Work Plan.
“I value and believe in 21st century policing and seek to enhance building trust and legitimacy, updating our policies and oversight, enhancing technology and social media, increasing community policing while reducing crime, improving officer training and education, as well as officer safety and wellness,” Navarro said on Oct. 18 during a Mill Valley City Council meeting where the data were publicly introduced.
The first run of stop information was collected between June 1 and Aug. 31. Out of 457 stops, 341 involved White people (74.6%); 64, Hispanic/Latino (14%); 17, Asian (3.7%); 17, Black/African-American (3.7%); 11, Middle Eastern or South Asian (2.4%); and less than a percentage point of Pacific Islander, Native American and multiple races.
Representatives of the Mill Valley Force for Racial Equity and Empowerment (MV FREE), an advocacy group composed of members of the DEI Task Force, noted that these percentages showed disparity from the population of Mill Valley for non-White residents, with Blacks at 1.2% and Hispanic/Latino at 4.2%.
“I think it’s an indication of racial bias. It’s a very small data sample, but it’s certainly something that warrants further inquiry,” said Tammy Edmonson, a representative of the MV FREE Police Team, which is collaborating with the police department on new policies.
Other city officials did not draw the same conclusion. The police department’s staff report said the daytime population doubles each day, which might distort the data and its applicability to Mill Valley residents.
“We have three months of data that shows that the police stops are materially in line with our daytime population. Our chief is committed to assessing data continually to ensure that our policing is both unbiased and effective,” said Mayor John McCauley.
Navarro also said he did not
think the results produced any evidence of bias based on age, race or sex.
Raw data promised to MV FREE might provide further context to the stops, Edmonson said, adding that Navarro reached out to MV FREE to set a meeting in November when the information could be shared and other next steps could be developed.
“What we’re re-focused on is, what are the actual measures that we’re using to ensure that we’re moving forward? And that’s a long-term objective, obviously. You don’t erase racism in a single year,” Edmonson said. “We don’t want to see the city in a position where they say, our work is done.”
The data did not indicate where the stops occurred. “Casual encounters,” or stops where there are no detentions or search, are also not included in the data.
Edmonson noted that she did not believe the department was racist, but that implicit bias, or unconscious stereotyping, might contribute to the disparity.
Navarro touted accomplishments over the last six months that included increased transparency; updated policies and procedures including RIPArecommended best practices to avoid bias by proxy; alignment of force policies with “21st century policing”; improved accessibility of complaint submissions” enhanced community engagement; collaboration with community groups; increased officer training; early implementation of AB 953 (RIPA); development of a civilian oversight process; creation of a part time community service officer position; recruitment for a police cadet; and continued utilization of outside organizations such as Marin Mobile Crisis and the Marin Streets Team to assist in calls for service.
Navarro said the department had introduced a biasfree policing policy within the department, which was developed in collaboration with MV FREE.
“We believe we have taken significant and meaningful steps to expand and develop a policy and procedure that helps address potential racial bias in law enforcement,” he said.
The agency is also exploring a bias-by-proxy standalone policy, which it is developing with MV FREE. Bias-by-proxy is when a person makes an inappropriate call for service or police report based on racial profiling.
“The Mill Valley Police
Department has an excellent partnership with MV FREE, which includes an open dialogue with mutual respect and understanding,” Navarro said.
Mill Valley’s 22-officer police department has an annual budget of about $7.1 million for a city of about 15,000 people.
The meeting also included a presentation from Southern Marin Fire Protection District Chief Christian Tubbs, who said the agency was seeking to improve diversity in hiring despite obstacles such as public trust, the cost of applying and infrequent vacancies.
“We have to first start building these relationships of trust in the communities where perhaps this trust does not exist or where, even where it does, they don’t see it as an opportunity of employment for them for a variety of reasons,” Tubbs said.