CALIFORNIA POLICE MORE LIKELY TO STOP, SEARCH BLACK TEENS

Data show racial disparities persist, advisory board says

California law enforcement searched teenagers whom officers perceived to be Black at nearly six times the rate of teens believed to be White during vehicle and pedestrian stops in 2021, according to a state report released Tuesday.

The annual report by California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board — part of a law that initially took effect in 2018 — is among several reforms taken by the state in recent years amid increased focus on police brutality and racial injustice nationwide.

The board’s report includes data on vehicle and pedestrian stops by officers from 58 law enforcement agencies in 2021. The data includes what officers perceived to be the race, ethnicity, gender and disability status of people they stop so that the state can better identify and analyze bias in policing.

The 58 agencies — which include the 23 largest departments in the state — collectively made more than 3.1 million vehicle and pedestrian stops in 2021. By April, all of California’s more than 500 law enforcement agencies must submit their data.

The data includes how officers perceive an individual’s race or gender, even if it’s different than how the person identifies, because the officer’s perception is what drives bias. The board’s work informs agencies, the state’s police office training board and state lawmakers as they change policies and seek to decrease racial disparities and bias in policing.

In more than 42 percent of the 3.1 million stops by those agencies in 2021, the individual was perceived to be Hispanic or Latino, according to the report. More than 30 percent were perceived to be White and 15 percent were believed to be Black.

Statewide, however, 2021 Census estimates say Black or African American people made up only 6.5 percent of California’s population, while White people were about 35 percent. Hispanic or Latino people made up roughly 40 percent of the state’s population that year.

“The data show that racial and identity disparities persist year after year,” the report said. “The Board remains committed to analyzing and highlighting these disparities to compel evidence-driven strategies for reforming policing and eliminating racial and identity profiling in California.”

For example: Police handcuffed, searched or detained — either curbside or in a patrol car — individuals whom they believed to be Black youths between 15 and 17 years old during a higher percentage of traffic stops than any other combination of perceived race or ethnicity and age groups. Black youths were searched at nearly six times the rate of those perceived as White youths

Law enforcement also searched people who were perceived to be Black at 2.2 times the rate of people thought to be White, the report said. Overall, officers searched 6,622 more people perceived as Black than those perceived as White.

And police were more than twice as likely to use force against people they thought were Black, as compared to people whom officers believed to be White.

Yet law enforcement officials reported taking no action most frequently after making stops of people they believed to be Black individuals, as compared to other racial and ethnic groups, “indicating those stopped Black individuals were not engaged in criminal activity,” the report said.

“Based on the research, the Board believes that public health officials and policymakers should treat racial and identity profiling and adverse policing as significant public health issues,” according to the report. “It is imperative to recognize that police interactions can negatively affect the mental and physical health of individuals who are Black, Hispanic/latine(x), Indigenous, and people of color.”

1. Do your windows have curtains, shades, shutters or blinds? Use them. “In the evenings, make sure your blinds are closed. That’ll keep a lot of the heat in. It’s a small thing, but it’s a manageable thing,” Lundquist said.

This is especially relevant for singlepane windows — which are common in rental properties, he added. When the sun is out, do the opposite to let rooms warm up naturally.

2. Speaking of windows, a simple homeimprovement project is checking windows for drafts and adding foam. The same goes for any doors that lead outside. (A 10-foot roll of rubber foam weather sealing tape currently costs $2.93 on Amazon.)

3. Do you have a fireplace? Close the chimney flue if you’re not using it. In fact, Lundquist said, if you never use your fireplace, “put a bookcase in front of it. That actually keeps a lot of heat in.”

4. If you rent, Lundquist recommends asking your landlord for two upgrades.

These DIY solutions only go so far. If you can’t afford the new natural gas rates, you may qualify for help.

SDG&E customers can access several bill assistance programs.

The California Alternate Rates for Energy, or CARE, program lowers natural gas rates by 20 percent for qualified households.

You’re eligible if you’re enrolled in a safety-net program such as Medi-cal or Calfresh, or if your income is no more than roughly twice the federal poverty level (for example, a maximum of $46,060 for a family of three).

If you have trouble paying your energy bill and don’t qualify for assistance programs, we want to hear from you. Likewise, if you have creative energy saving hacks, please write in with your strategies. Email roxana.popescu@ sduniontribune.com and you may be contacted for an interview.

Staff writer Rob Nikolewski and Los Angeles Times writer Jon Healey contributed to this report. roxana.popescu@sduniontribune.com

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CHRIS CARLSON AP FILE A California Highway Patrol officer stops a motorist who was suspected of speeding along Interstate 5 in Anaheim.