Over pulling over: NYPD vehicle stop data raises concerns

It will perhaps not be shocking to readers that, of the reported 673,120 vehicle stops that the NYPD made last year, Black drivers were the most pulled over, followed by Latinos, despite white drivers making up a larger share of the city’s vehicle operators. Despite some progress, racial disparities in policing aren’t so easily fixed.

Beyond race, the data’s main takeaway is the sheer prevalence of police motor vehicle stops, which naturally raises questions about deployment of resources. Traffic fatalities remain persistently above pre-pandemic levels, yet going for a walk outside in practically any neighborhood will reveal illegal oversized trucks cruising unbothered around residential streets, drivers turning without looking, cars idling or even parked in bike lanes and cops around seeming unperturbed by any of it. Often, it’s the NYPD themselves parking in bike lanes or on sidewalks in non-emergency situations.

There’s no doubt that cops are sometimes pulling people over for legitimately hazardous situations, and they’ve certainly taken dangerous drivers off the streets and confiscated weapons and drugs and other items of concern. Yet the police are legally empowered to pull over almost anyone for any flimsy reason, and at an average of almost 1,850 stops per day over the course of the year, the vast majority seem to have accomplished little beyond milking New Yorkers for fines and adding to the NYPD’s already engorged overtime expenses.

Just 2.2% of the stops resulted in arrests, and of that small percentage, most arrests were for license and license plate violations, with only a tiny sliver having to do with more serious issues like possession of a weapon. The answer isn’t to arrest more, but to stop less, especially since given the one thing vehicle stops are indisputably good at: terrifying drivers of color in particular and setting up situations where a minor issue can escalate into a confrontation.

The NYPD should have to answer for how this is all improving public safety, and if it isn’t, why they shouldn’t be redeploying efforts to where they’ll matter more.