SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

This assessment analyzes policing data, along with demographic and crime data, to identify which policing practices have patterns of racial disparities, and what factors may be contributing to those disparities.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department joined CPE’s National Justice Database project in June 2020. The Department shared data with CPE in order to receive analyses intended to support community and law enforcement collaboration on data-informed efforts to enhance equity in public safety. This assessment analyzes use of force, traffic stop, and non-traffic stop data from 2016-2020.

DEPARTMENTAL CONTEXT

The population of San Diego County, California is 48% White, 35% Latinx, 12% Asian, 4.9% Black, 0.4% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 0.4% Native. The total population of San Diego County, California is 3,185,270.

RESIDENT DEMOGRAPHICS

USE OF FORCE

The number of use of force incidents recorded each year with complete data varied from a low of 3,689 in 2016 to a high of 3,945 in 2019.

USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS PER YEAR

PERCENTAGE OF USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS, BY RACIAL GROUP, COMPARED TO POPULATION

RATES OF USE OF FORCE INCIDENTS AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME RATES, POVERTY LEVELS, AND SHARE OF BLACK RESIDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF INCIDENT FREQUENCY EXPLAINED BY NEIGHBORHOOD FACTORS

TRAFFIC STOPS

The total number of traffic stops recorded each quarter varied from a high of 12,332 in 2018-Q3 to a low of 3,132 in 2020-Q2.

TRAFFIC STOPS PER QUARTER

CONTRABAND FOUND AND NOT FOUND IN TRAFFIC STOP SEARCHES

CONTRABAND FOUND AND NOT FOUND IN TRAFFIC STOP SEARCHES

CONTRABAND FOUND AND NOT FOUND IN TRAFFIC STOP SEARCHES

CONTRABAND FOUND AND NOT FOUND IN TRAFFIC STOP SEARCHES

SEARCH RATES AT TRAFFIC STOPS

PROPORTION OF TRAFFIC STOPS OF EACH RACIAL GROUP THAT ARE MADE FOR EACH STOP REASON

PROPORTION OF TRAFFIC STOPS OF EACH RACIAL GROUP THAT ENDED IN EACH OUTCOME

NON-TRAFFIC STOPS

NON-TRAFFIC STOPS PER QUARTER

PERCENTAGE OF NON-TRAFFIC STOPS, BY RACIAL GROUP, COMPARED TO POPULATION

RATES OF NON-TRAFFIC STOPS AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME RATES, POVERTY LEVELS, AND SHARE OF BLACK RESIDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF STOP FREQUENCY EXPLAINED BY NEIGHBORHOOD FACTORS

PROPORTION OF NON-TRAFFIC STOPS OF EACH RACIAL GROUP THAT ARE MADE FOR EACH STOP REASON

PROPORTION OF NON-TRAFFIC STOPS OF EACH RACIAL GROUP THAT ENDED IN EACH OUTCOME

CONTRABAND FOUND AND NOT FOUND IN NON-TRAFFIC STOP SEARCHES

COMPOSITION OF OFFICER NON-TRAFFIC STOPS RELATIVE TO EACH OFFICER'S PATROL AREA

NEXT STEPS

Measure and monitor

Collecting and analyzing data can help you shed light on current problems and measure future progress.

Investigate to learn more

Learn as much as possible about the situations when a disparity occurs or is most severe, in order to understand how to address it.

Identify risk factors and develop targeted interventions

You can then address risk factors by improving written policies and partnering with the community to develop targeted interventions.

Share results

Visit the Justice Navigator homepage to learn more about how to share results and take action.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Funding for this platform was provided by Google.org, Players Coalition, Joyce Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Lyda Hill Philanthropies. Funding for development of the National Justice Database infrastructure and the original analytic plan upon which these analyses are based was provided by the National Science Foundation, under awards led by Principal Investigators Phillip Atiba Goff, Jack Glaser, Amanda Geller, Steven Raphael, and Amelia Haviland.

Suggested citation: Center for Policing Equity (2021). Assessment of San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. Justice Navigator, justicenavigator.org.

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