Native American drivers in Arizona were more likely than Whites to be searched during traffic stops, according to a study by the University of Cincinnati's Policing Institute.
Based on data from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Native drivers were 5 percent of all police stops in 2006. Native Americans are about 4.5 percent of the state population.
According to the study, vehicles driven by Hispanics were searched 7.7 percent of the time, followed by Blacks (7.1 percent) and Native Americans (6.2 percent). White drivers were searched 3.2 percent of the time.
Native drivers appeared to get off easy in other areas. They received fewer tickets and more warnings than any other group, according to the study.
A different analysis of state data by the Social Research Lab at Northern Arizona University found that
Native American drivers were 2.5 times more likely to be searched than White drivers.
Get the Story:Racial trends found in DPS traffic stops (The Arizona Republic 11/7) $rl Arizona Department of Public Safety - http://www.azdps.gov
University of Cincinnati Policing Institute - http://www.uc.edu/Policing
