After reading the article Cities Try to Turn the Tide on Police Traffic Stops, I gained insight on traffic stops. Traffic stops have been connected to crime in some cases. Traffic stops are an important step that leads law enforcement agencies to make arrests. These methods have been used to combat crime. Pulling an individual over for these minor infractures can lead to a more serious issue. This is where police chiefs, prosecutors, and lawmakers are rethinking the value of minor traffic stops. Law enforcement agencies believe in these methods to prevent more serious issues. These practices have discriminatory methods that have affected black and brown communities. Data has been recovered from traffic stops and reveals they do little to combat serious crime or improve public safety. The article talks about the crime surge in the early 1980s and that when crime rates were rising law enforcement agencies made pretextual stops a cornerstone of enforcement.
I think it is important for us to rethink how we enforce traffic laws in cities and suburbs. Traffic laws are vital to society because they set a line of rules to follow. If there weren’t any traffic laws, the streets would be extremely dangerous. I believe the traffic laws are fine as is but the enforcement of those laws is where the issues typically stem from. A simple traffic stop for an obstructive view can turn into a life or death situation. You see so many cases where an individual is stopped by law enforcement agencies and the stop ends deadly for some. Law enforcement agencies I think need to do a better assessment of their situation. You see more agencies using the methods of a less aggressive form of policing, which helps the community build trust within communities. Just because you may have broken a law doesn’t make you a “criminal”. “If the officer doesn’t have something more than ‘no front plate’ and he’s simply on a fishing expedition,” Chief Moore said. “We don’t want to do that.” I think this is the right mindset to have when performing justice.
I do not believe in a total banning of traffic stops. The issue is the countless cases of black and brown people being affected by these stops. Black and brown most of the time are at a disadvantage with dealing with law enforcement, there is a lingering thought of them being involved in criminal activity. This creates tension between the black and brown communities’ interactions with law enforcement. This can be combated by community engagement with law enforcement agencies and create a stronger bond with community members. The only issue I see with this banning of traffic stops is reduced deterrence. It is crucial to analyze data and continue open dialogue with related stakeholders.
