The following report is provided in accordance with Article 2.132 (7) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedures.  The Code requires that the police department annually report, to both its governing body and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, data collected on the race or ethnicity of individuals stopped for traffic violations and subsequently cited, searched and/or arrested. Reporting must take place on or before March 1^st of each year. 

The following report meets this requirement by providing a detailed analysis of the La Porte Police Department’s policies, training, and statistical information on racial profiling for the year 2011. To assist City Council in their examination of the included data, detailed demographic data has also been provided relating to the City of La Porte, Harris County, and the State of Texas.

For the purposes of this report and analysis, the following definition of racial profiling is used: racial profiling means a law enforcement-initiated action based on an individual's race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the individual's behavior or on information identifying the individual as having engaged in criminal activity (Texas CCP Article 3.05). 

-          La Porte Police Department Policy/ Training on Racial Profiling

A review of La Porte Police Department regulation 2.400 provides evidence that the department has adopted policies in compliance with Article 2.132 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (see Appendix A).  There are several specific requirements mandated by Article 2.132 that a law enforcement agency’s Racial Profiling Policy must address. Each of these requirements are covered in the La Porte Police Department’s Racial Profiling Policy, which provides clear direction that any form of racial profiling is prohibited and that officers found engaging in inappropriate profiling may be disciplined up to and including termination. The regulations also provide a very clear statement of the agency’s philosophy regarding equal treatment of all persons regardless of race or ethnicity.   All members of the La Porte Police Department have received formal training required by the State of Texas relating to Racial Profiling and have been provided, and signed for copies, of the departmental policy in question.  Additionally, the policy is required to be reviewed with all employees by supervisors on a bi-annual basis.

-          La Porte Police Department Statistical Data on Racial Profiling

In accordance with Departmental Policy, Officers of La Porte Police Department submitted statistical information on all citations issued in 2011 and accompanying information on the race of the person cited.  This data has been aggregated and is presented in the below tables, accompanied by relevant information on searches, arrests, and demographic information.

LPPD Citations Compared with Overall Race Representation in Population  

Race	La Porte PD Citations Issued	LPPD (Percent Cited by Race)	La Porte Population Representation	Harris County Population Representation	Texas    Population Representation
Asian	124	1.2%	0.9%	5.0%	3.7%
Black	1,271	12.7%	6.2%	18.9%	11.8%
Caucasian	5,493	54.8%	50.7%	15.8%	32.8%
Hispanic	3,007	30.1%	29.4%	40.8%	37.6%
Mid. East	37	0.4%	0.3%	1.2%	1.0%
Native Am	12	0.1%	0.6%	0.7%	0.7%
Other	76	0.7%	11.9%	17.6%	13.3%
Total	10,020	100%	100%	100%	100%

LPPD Searches Compared with Overall Race Representation in Population 

Race	LPPD Searches	Without Consent	With Consent	La Porte (Percent Searched by Race)	La Porte Population Representation	Harris County Population Representation	Texas    Population Representation
Asian	0	0	0	0.0%	0.9%	5.0%	3.7%
Black	56	23	33	14.6%	6.2%	18.9%	11.8%
Caucasian	234	119	115	60.8%	50.7%	15.8%	32.8%
Hispanic	95	39	56	24.6%	29.4%	40.8%	37.6%
Mid. East	0	0	0	0.0%	0.3%	1.2%	1.0%
Native Am	0	0	0	0.0%	0.6%	0.7%	0.7%
Other	0	0	0	0.0%	11.9%	17.6%	13.3%
Total	385	181	204	100%	100%	100%	100%

LPPD Arrests Compared with Overall Race Representation in Population 

Race	LPPD Arrests	La Porte PD (Percent Arrested by Race)	La Porte Population Representation	Harris County Population Representation	Texas         Population Representation
Asian	2	0.2%	0.9%	5.0%	3.7%
Black	126	12.9%	6.2%	18.9%	11.8%
Caucasian	536	55.3%	50.7%	15.8%	32.8%
Hispanic	307	31.6%	29.4%	40.8%	37.6%
Mid. East	0	0.0%	0.3%	1.2%	1.0%
Native Am	0	0.0%	0.6%	0.7%	0.7%
Other	0	0.0%	11.9%	17.6%	13.3%
Total	971	100%	100%	100%	100%

Overall involvement by Race for LPPD Citations and Arrests

(In Comparison to La Porte Population)

Race	% of Race Involvement	% of Race in La Porte Population
Asian	0.5%	0.9%
Black	12.8%	6.2%
Caucasian	55.1%	50.7%
Hispanic	30.8%	29.4%
Mid. East	0.2%	0.3%
Native Am	0.1%	0.6%
Other	0.5%	11.9%
Total	100%	100%

The above statistics seem to indicate that Black and Caucasian drivers were cited and arrested incident to traffic violations at a rate that is notably higher than the percentage of their respective residency within the City of La Porte.   While noticeable, easy determinations regarding whether or not La Porte officers have “racially profiled" a given motorist are impossible given the fact that the included census data represents established 2010 U.S. Census population figures according to Demographic Profile Data of General Population and Housing Characteristics representing all age groups, yet does not take into account a specific combination of age and race regarding the percentage of the drivers who were actually stopped. Additionally, while the 2010 population figures are represented, updates of the projected demographic statistics for 2011 are not yet available.  Further interpretation problems exist in regard to the police officers themselves who are currently forced to make subjective determinations regarding an individual's race based on his or her personal observations because the Texas Department of Public Safety does not provide an objectively based determination of an individual's race/ethnicity on the Texas driver's license.

The absence of any verifiable race/ethnicity data on the driver's license is especially troubling given the possibility of citizens who are of mixed racial decent. As such, the validity of any racial/ethnic disparities discovered in the aggregate level data becomes threatened in direct proportion to the number of subjective "guesses" officers are forced to make when trying to determine an individual's racial/ethnic background.  It is also important to note that these variations appear less significant when examining statistics relating strictly to residents of the City of La Porte.  This may indicate that minority drivers traveling through the City from other areas of the county/state/country, which are much more highly represented by minority populations, may account for larger percentages of non-resident traffic offenders, making comparisons relating strictly to La Porte area populations difficult.  Still, the La Porte Police Department is committed to providing public safety without bias of any type and will continue to closely track, monitor, and regulate employee activities in order to ensure that biased-based policing does not occur. 

Note:  Enforcement statistics relating to Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Native American, and Other drivers either closely mirror or are below population ratios within the City of La Porte.   

In summary, the foregoing analysis shows that the La Porte Police Department is fully in compliance with all relevant Texas laws concerning racial profiling, including the existence of a formal policy prohibiting racial profiling by its officers, officer training, and the collection of data in compliance with the law. Additionally, a review of internal administrative records indicated that during 2011 the department received no complaints that could be categorized as involving some type of racial profiling.  As a result of this analysis, and the listed statistics, it is my belief that the officers of the La Porte Police Department are operating appropriately and without bias relating to individual violator race, ethnicity, or national origin.