As our country tries in this moment to face its chronic issues with structural racism and over-policing (what Stephen Colbert called “our nation’s pre-existing condition”), Seattle has a unique perspective on the problem. The city was busted in 2012 for biased policing practices after an investigation led by U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan; it admitted the problem, signed a consent decree, and began many years’ hard work of reforming its practices under court supervision. If everything had gone according to plan, the city would have completed the two-year sustainment period by now (having been found to be in initial compliance in …
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Latest SPD “stops and detentions” report shows jump in Terry stops, but gives little explanation
Last week the Seattle Police Department published its annual report on stops and detentions, with numbers for 2018. It begins by noting that Terry stops are up substantially over 2017 numbers — but then it provides another 25 pages of text, tables and charts that offer little help in understanding why. In fact, SPD itself admits in the report that they don’t know what the increase means: SPD conducted 18.5% more Terry stops in 2018 than in 2017. However, statistical trend analysis shows that this increase appears to be an anomaly. Our analysis next year will indicate whether a pattern …
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