WSU study finds no intentional racial bias in State Patrol traffic stops

PULLMAN, Wash. – A study from Washington State University found no intentional racial bias in traffic stops by the Washington State Patrol.

But while white drivers were stopped at the same rate as their percentage of the population, Black motorists were stopped slightly more often compared to their statewide population.

Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic drivers were actually stopped at a lesser rate than their populations.

Lead researcher Christina Sanders says there were some areas of concern including results of searches.

“The success rate of searches should, that number should be the same across different demographic groups,” said Sanders. “And we did find some disproportionality across those groups. So, we’re going to work with the State Patrol to see if we can help figure out what might be going on there.”

The study conducted by WSU’s Division of Governmental Studies analyzed more than 7 million contacts with state patrol troopers over five years.

The team compared stops with census data, the statewide driving population, regional population, the time of day stops were conducted and other measures.