RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Police in Suffolk County stopped and searched Black and Hispanic drivers at higher rates than White drivers, according to a new report published Tuesday.
The 81-page report, by the John Finn Institute for Public Safety, found Suffolk County Police Officers were twice as likely to search vehicles of Black drivers compared to White drivers and three times more likely to use physical force on Black drivers during traffic stops.
“These disparities are unacceptable, to me. They’re unacceptable to the police department,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone after reading the report.
The study also found that officers were 16% more likely to search the cars of Hispanic drivers and Hispanic drivers are 25% less likely to receive just a warning in comparison to White drivers.
Bellone says the county will work on improving the statistics.
“We are committed to working with the community, the Finn Institute and other expert law enforcement organizations to develop successful, evidence-based strategies to effectively reduce and ultimately eliminate disparities,” the county executive said.
He says there will be eight community forums to help with that change, along with training for the officers.
The Suffolk County Police Department commissioned the report and supplied the data to be analyzed.
Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart says the information found was “concerning.”
“We do not want anybody to feel that they're not being treated fairly,” she said. “I mean really that's at the heart of all this that you, as a resident of this county, deserve to be treated fairly. So that's what we're drilling down on, that's what we're gonna ensure that we take significant steps towards as a department.”