Acknowledging disparities an important step for MSP | News, Sports, Jobs

There’s no way to fix a problem officials won’t admit exists.

That’s why we were encouraged by Michigan State Police Director Col. Joe Gasper’s reaction last week when an independent analysis of his agency’s traffic stop data from 2020 showed people of color were more likely to be pulled over for a traffic stop than white drivers.

The analysis, commissioned by MSP, and conducted by Dr. Scott Wolfe, a Michigan State University associate professor of criminal justice, also found African American and Hispanic drivers were “significantly” more likely to be searched and arrested after being stopped.

Wolfe’s findings were decidedly unsurprising to anybody who has spent much time examining MSP traffic stop and other policing data. In fact, the only reason the traffic stop data exists is because the ACLU, in 2017, asked the agency to begin collecting information on race and ethnicity of drivers it stops. And multiple analyses of that data since have shown the same thing: people of color are disproportionately stopped by troopers, especially during daylight hours.

That last part is really important in confirmation of the systemic problem the agency needs to address — Wolfe’s study found traffic stops were 33 percent more likely to involve African American drivers during daylight hours, when it’s easier to see into vehicles.

Yet, historically the agency’s leaders have been unwilling to listen to what the data tells them and mechanisms to address problems. That institutional inertia has impeded the agency from critical introspection.

That’s why this week’s announcement feels like a pivotal moment for MSP.

During a press conference where Wolfe explained his findings, Gasper reacted in a way we have not seen from past MSP leaders who were confronted with similar data findings from outside observers.

“Michiganders deserve unbiased policing, transparency and accountability from their state police and that’s what they’re going to get,” Gasper said.

He went on to say his agency is “doing what we can to understand the disparity and reduce it as much as possible.”

We understand looking such a significant systemic problem in the eye isn’t easy. But embracing the fact that it’s a system-wide problem is important — acknowledging that these disparities likely aren’t the result of bad behavior by a few people, but may be the product of flawed policy, practice or training.

And Gasper’s acknowledgment of the problem isn’t the only encouraging part of this week’s announcement. He also rolled out a five-point plan to begin addressing the problem, including issuing body cameras for all troopers who have public contact — the agency has only deployed about 250 body cameras in recent years and will need about 1,600 more.

MSP also will work with independent consultants to review policies and practices that may be allowing the disparity and will launch a dashboard so troopers can see realtime analysis of their traffic stop trends.

It’s clear the agency has a long road ahead, and only future data analyses will tell us if those first steps are effective.

Nonetheless, Gasper’s display of leadership last week was an important step forward for MSP.

After all, we can’t fix problems we don’t admit exist.