Over the past few years, there has been an increased amount of discourse on pretextual traffic stops in the United States and whether they increase racial disparities in the justice system. In Ramsey County, Minnesota, an empirical study was conducted in which the Ramsey County Attorney decided to decline prosecution of non-public-safety stops and then share the data collected on these types of stops. The study found that, when these stops were eliminated, crime rates did not increase and the number of firearms seized by police did not decrease. Therefore, the data demonstrates that a policy change like Ramsey County’s on non-public safety stops may help decrease racial inequalities in the justice system and strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and civilians without causing an increase in crime.
