Section 7.2 Understanding the Issue
California provides an informative example of the political process surrounding police data, and how state level data has led to local impact.
In 2016 the Racial Identity and Profiling Act (RIPA) was passed, which enabled the widespread collection of racial identity in police interactions [7.10.118]. Before RIPA, the only cities in California that were required to collect data on the race of citizens involved in police stops were cities whose police forces were under consent decrees- meaning that the federal government had previously found widespread misconduct and mandated that the police force collect that data.
RIPA formed an advisory board comprised of community stakeholders and academic researchers. Each year the board analyzes stop data and releases reports on disparities in policing, which are then used by communities around the state to advocate for changes in both funding and accountability measures for police. As a result of the data, cities like Berkeley, Oakland, San Diego, and Los Angeles have started taking steps towards significant changes to police practices.
Note: Although race is regarded as a social construct by scientists from a wide variety of backgrounds [7.10.123], we acknowledge the very real racialized oppression that many groups experience in the United States. The use of race as a variable in this data is borne out of the necessity of shedding light on this oppression. In some cases police report the race of the person they stop, and in some cases it is also self-reported, which can lead to some uncertainty.