Traffic report gives Sheriff's Office clean bill of health after traffic stop scandal

The report concluded there were no disparities in traffic stop outcomes for Hispanic drivers.

PUBLISHED JUL 2, 2024

Since 2014, MCSO has operated under three court orders resulting from the Melendres lawsuit. (Representational pic: Kindel Media)

Phoenix, Arizona: On June 28, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) released its Traffic Study Annual Report, which reviewed traffic stops from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023.

The report concluded that there were no disparities in traffic stop outcomes for Hispanic drivers compared to white drivers. This included metrics such as stop length, citation rate, search rate, arrest rate, and post-search seizures (hit rate). Similarly, the report found no statistically significant differences between Black and white drivers in 2023.

This finding is similar to that in the previous year’s report in which documentation and technical issues
were the most common reasons for extended stops. — This finding is similar to that in the previous year’s report in which documentation and technical issues were the most common reasons for extended stops.

Since 2014, MCSO has operated under three court orders resulting from the Melendres lawsuit (see below for details). As part of the First Order, MCSO is required to perform analyses at both the organizational and individual levels to identify any racial or ethnic disparities in traffic stop outcomes. The report identified only two disparities: a 19-second longer stop length and a 2.50 percentage point higher citation rate for minority drivers as a whole.

This table presents the stop outcomes when considering the race or ethnicity of the driver.

“These findings are a testament to the dedication and professionalism of our staff in serving our community,” stated Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner. “MCSO will continue to use this annual report, along with quarterly and monthly reports, to monitor and refine our enforcement activities, policies, and operational procedures. We remain committed to ongoing training and community outreach to better equip our staff in delivering essential services throughout our county and ensuring necessary interventions when warranted.”

Seizures during non-incidental searches by the race or ethnicity of the driver.

What is the Melendres lawsuit?

The Melendres lawsuit, officially known as Ortega Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, et al., was a class-action lawsuit against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and its former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The lawsuit was filed in 2007 by several Latino individuals who claimed that the MCSO had engaged in racial profiling and unlawful detentions during traffic stops and immigration patrols.

In 2013, the US District Court for the District of Arizona found that MCSO's practices constituted racial profiling and violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. As a result, the court issued an injunction requiring MCSO to implement numerous reforms, including training officers on constitutional policing practices, installing a court-appointed monitor, and improving data collection on stops and detentions to ensure compliance with anti-discrimination laws.

More statistics from the report

Over the 12-month period from January 2023 to December 2023, MCSO deputies performed 18,632 traffic stops. The rate of traffic stops per month was relatively steady throughout the year. The total number of stops in 2023 was approximately 6 percent less than in 2022. Within the 18,632 traffic stops, deputies perceived approximately 62 per cent of drivers as White, approximately 25 per cent as Hispanic, and approximately 8 per cent as Black. The remaining 4 per cent of stops involved individuals from other historically marginalized groups, including Asian and Native American individuals.

In the dataset, more than 60 per cent of the stops were less than 14 minutes. Approximately 52 per cent of stops ended with a citation, 48 per cent ended with a warning, and 5 per cent ended with an arrest (including custodial and non-custodial arrests). Less than 1 per cent of stops resulted in a nonincidental search of a driver or vehicle, meaning the search was a discretionary decision by the deputy.