East Haven Police Ticket More Hispanics

[SoulSearcher]

A study by Yale brings to light some amazing data:

- More than half of the tickets East Haven police issued along two main roads went to Hispanic drivers, even though Hispanics make up less than 6 percent of the population.

- East Haven police officers substantially underreported the number of tickets issued to Hispanic drivers by reporting most of them as white. It cited one officer as reporting virtually all of his tickets were issued to white drivers and none to Hispanics, although nearly 80 percent of his tickets were issued to Hispanic drivers.

People are blaming the Chief of Police, but obviously, bigotry goes a little deeper in the department than just the chief, considering there are numerous federal investigation on police misconduct at the city.

I know bigotry to Satanic proportions was the trademark of the country's very foundation, but it is fascinating that every day, something new like this comes to light, only to remind us that the same ole Devil finds new ways of playing the same ole tricks.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/23/study-east-haven-police-t_n_549929.html

 

[poolerboy]

A study by Yale brings to light some amazing data:



People are blaming the Chief of Police, but obviously, bigotry goes a little deeper in the department than just the chief, considering there are numerous federal investigation on police misconduct at the city.

I know bigotry to Satanic proportions was the trademark of the country's very foundation, but it is fascinating that every day, something new like this comes to light, only to remind us that the same ole Devil finds new ways of playing the same ole tricks.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/23/study-east-haven-police-t_n_549929.html

Though I don't think it's the issue here, it should be noted that simply because an ethnic group comprise a small percentage of the population while having a disproportionate amount of arrests/fines does not necessarily mean it must be racism. It could very well be that more crime/infractions are committed by said group.

 

[T-Rexx]

...it should be noted that simply because an ethnic group comprise a small percentage of the population while having a disproportionate amount of arrests/fines does not necessarily mean it must be racism. It could very well be that more crime/infractions are committed by said group.

 

[JB3]

Care to elaborate? His point is sound. That 6% figure is irrelevant to the discussion. It doesn't matter what percentage of the population they make up, because that doesn't impact whether they're committing crimes or violating the law.

 

[Kulindahr]

Though I don't think it's the issue here, it should be noted that simply because an ethnic group comprise a small percentage of the population while having a disproportionate amount of arrests/fines does not necessarily mean it must be racism. It could very well be that more crime/infractions are committed by said group.

Exactly.

It's no difference than crying "age discrimination!" if a study found that the great majority of drivers with no licenses were under the age of sixteen: since people under 16 can't have licenses, any time any of them drive they're driving without a license.

There are indications that one truth here is that immigrants have no concept of what orderly driving is like: in places where immigrants have been required to get a license, which means learning the rules of the road and demonstrating the ability to follow them, traffic violations among immigrants have dropped. That's hardly proof, but... well, the times I've driven in Mexico, I've noticed that traffic behaves as if there weren't any rules except "try not to hit anyone", and "try not to get caught at a red light because kids will come try to sell you something". Transplant that into the states, and you get a large number of traffic violations.

 

[SoulSearcher]

Though I don't think it's the issue here, it should be noted that simply because an ethnic group comprise a small percentage of the population while having a disproportionate amount of arrests/fines does not necessarily mean it must be racism. It could very well be that more crime/infractions are committed by said group.

Then why is the cop falsely identifying latinos as whites in his citations reports? Even if what you say is true, it could well be true that the cops are just racist, which is not far fetched, in that just a few decades ago, cops were arresting black men and leaving them amidst lynchmobs. Not that I expect the privileged classes to readily carry posters that say that they are racist, its America's original sin, an uncomfortable topic, and one, manifested in every aspect of civil life in America.

 

[SoulSearcher]

Exactly.

It's no difference than crying "age discrimination!" if a study found that the great majority of drivers with no licenses were under the age of sixteen: since people under 16 can't have licenses, any time any of them drive they're driving without a license.

How is that analogy sensible to a case where cops give tickets more often to Latinos than to whites? Could it be so that cops don't keep their radars on white drivers as often? Maybe they give warnings without citations to whites more often? Maybe they turn a blind eye to whites more often? Maybe they target Latinos more often for infractions that they would normally not be so strict on? Maybe the pulling over rate is similar across all ethnicities, but Latinos are given citations more often than other races? Considering America's history and race relations, could we put it beyond the cops?

There are indications that one truth here is that immigrants have no concept of what orderly driving is like: in places where immigrants have been required to get a license, which means learning the rules of the road and demonstrating the ability to follow them, traffic violations among immigrants have dropped. That's hardly proof, but... well, the times I've driven in Mexico, I've noticed that traffic behaves as if there weren't any rules except "try not to hit anyone", and "try not to get caught at a red light because kids will come try to sell you something". Transplant that into the states, and you get a large number of traffic violations.

Would you care to cite or provide background to this granddaddy analysis? Who said the 6% of Latinos in E Haven were immigrants?

 

[JB3]

Then why is the cop falsely identifying latinos as whites in his citations reports? Even if what you say is true, it could well be true that the cops are just racist, which is not far fetched, in that just a few decades ago, cops were arresting black men and leaving them amidst lynchmobs. Not that I expect the privileged classes to readily carry posters that say that they are racist, its America's original sin, an uncomfortable topic, and one, manifested in every aspect of civil life in America.

The point was that the percentage of the population that is latino is irrelevant to the story. It quite simply doesn't matter.

 

[JB3]

How is that analogy sensible to a case where cops give tickets more often to Latinos than to whites? Could it be so that cops don't keep their radars on white drivers as often? Maybe they give warnings without citations to whites more often? Maybe they turn a blind eye to whites more often? Maybe they target Latinos more often for infractions that they would normally not be so strict on? Maybe the pulling over rate is similar across all ethnicities, but Latinos are given citations more often than other races? Considering America's history and race relations, could we put it beyond the cops?



Would you care to cite or provide background to this granddaddy analysis? Who said the 6% of Latinos in E Haven were immigrants?

Why do you insist that, because of compromises made over 200 years ago, that somehow that means that the default position in situations like this is that the police are racist? Its disturbing.

 

[jackoroe]

The roads in East Haven are available to every person in the United States who operates a motor vehicle and not just residents, so the statistic as it relates to the population of East Haven is meaningless.

Secondly, each ticket is measured on it's own merit and not as a larger population. What percentage of these offenses were adjudicated as being guilty? If everybody is guilty of the offenses, it makes no difference as to their ethnicity. Grouping people together based on their race and claiming they are not guilty is as bad as grouping them together and saying they are.

In terms of "under reporting" hispanic isn't a race, last I checked. The Priest cited in the article, didn't have a hispanic sounding surname. What exactly are the criteria for being hispanic?

 

[Kulindahr]

The roads in East Haven are available to every person in the United States who operates a motor vehicle and not just residents, so the statistic as it relates to the population of East Haven is meaningless.

Not entirely. The residents of a place tend to use its roads more often than non-residents, in general. But a look should be taken at the whole population within a commuting distance that crosses East Haven; that would be far more useful than the statistics from East Haven itself.

Secondly, each ticket is measured on it's own merit and not as a larger population. What percentage of these offenses were adjudicated as being guilty? If everybody is guilty of the offenses, it makes no difference as to their ethnicity. Grouping people together based on their race and claiming they are not guilty is as bad as grouping them together and saying they are.

The tickets may be judged on their merits once they reach court -- that's not necessarily so, either, but I'll grant it for the sake of argument -- but that's not the question here. The question is why the police on patrol issue so many more tickets to Hispanics, proportionately. That they single out Hispanics and let the gringos slide is one possibility; that for some reason the Hispanics are just worse drivers is another; that the "white" population which drives in and through East Haven are just fantastic, law-abiding drivers is another.

In terms of "under reporting" hispanic isn't a race, last I checked. The Priest cited in the article, didn't have a hispanic sounding surname. What exactly are the criteria for being hispanic?

On the census, it's if you feel like one.