DOJ report - Discrimination in Baltimore Police Department

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) just released a report investigating allegations of racially discriminatory policing in the Baltimore Police Department (BPD). The conclusion is fairly scathing, as the DOJ found reason to believe that:

- the BPD engages in unconstitutional (violation of the 4th amendment) stops, searches and arrests
- the BPD engages in intentional racial discrimination against African-Americans...

The DOJ also finds additional points of criticism wrt. handling of sexual assault cases, excessive use of force and retaliation against people using expression which is constitutionally protected under the 1st amendment.

The full report is available here... but I'd like to draw attention to a few especially interesting conclusions regarding stops and searches (the 4th amendment issues):

A simple comparison of arrest, search and conviction rates is insufficient to determine if police are acting in a discriminatory fashion... after all, since crime rates are higher among African-Americans, one would also expect law enforcement responses to be at a similarly higher level. So what's all the fuss about?

... well... He is the rate at which African-Americans and Caucasian residents are stopped by the BPD:



As evident above, African-Americans are stopped by the police 2.89 times as often as Caucasians in Baltimore... (520 pr. 1,000 vs. 180 pr. 1,000)...

... and here is the rate at which contraband is discovered at stops for African-Americans and all other races...



If the BPD was engaging in non-discriminatory police practices, the rate of contraband discovery should be identical across groups... after all, a police officer should only stop and search a citizen if reasonable suspicion is present...

Clearly, this is not the case in Baltimore... and the discrepancy wrt. vehicle stops (less than *half* the rate for African-Americans) is especially egregious.

Source:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/883366/download (page 49-50 and 54)-55

Obviously, the DOJ is missing something, though...



... As evident above, crime rates are identical when *all* relevant crimes are included...

Please discuss...

Clearly BLM has the right instincts based on this and anyone who says otherwise is part of the problem...