Photo by Tony Webster/Minnesota Reformer.
Imagine a law that could make Minnesota’s roadways safer, reduce the number of dangerous interactions between the public and police, and help understaffed police departments.
It seems too good to be true — but it’s not.
In fact, a bill to do all of those things — by limiting when police can make traffic stops for low-level offenses — was introduced earlier this year by Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope.
But the Legislature didn’t pass that bill, just like it didn’t pass similar bills in 2023, 2022 and 2021. Each delay has denied Minnesotans the benefits of safer roadways and communities.
The way police enforce traffic laws right now isn’t working. Police make an estimated 20 million stops across the country annually, and far too many are for low-level equipment violations that have nothing to do with traffic safety. These stops persist in large part because they’re a way for police to conduct fishing expeditions looking for evidence of more serious crimes. But officers almost never find weapons when they search cars pulled over for minor violations, and increasing these stops in high-crime areas doesn’t appear to impact crime rates either.
Communities pay a high price for these typically ineffective stops. Around 80 unarmed motorists are killed every year during a traffic stop, and police officers report that traffic stops are one of the most dangerous parts of their jobs. Stops for low-level traffic offenses are also racially unfair, with Black drivers much likelier to be stopped than white drivers.
There is a better way. Instead of wasting time on equipment violations, officers could focus on real safety concerns, like finding and stopping drunk or dangerously distracted drivers. Experiences from other states that have already made this shift show that it works. In Newington, Connecticut, for example, after officers deprioritized equipment violations, they were able to more than triple their drunk driving arrests.
But one can also look closer to home to see the benefits of telling officers to pull people over for minor traffic offenses only when it creates a serious safety risk. In Ramsey County, where several agencies are already operating under policies that limit low-level traffic stops, research is showing that these policies are driving down racial disparities in traffic policing without any negative impact to overall crime rates or recovery of contraband.
There are plenty of reasons why 2025, when the Legislature returns, is the right time to finally pass this kind of law.
First, reducing these stops will likely save lives; every delay increases the chances that another tragic killing will happen during a traffic stop. In addition, the Legislature recently approved funding for a working group to study how registration and tab violations can be addressed without traffic stops. This working group’s recommendations will be an ideal starting point for broader traffic enforcement reforms.
Encouragingly, traffic stop reform has drawn support from a wide coalition. Civil liberties advocates see reducing low-level stops as a way to achieve equity while reducing citizen interactions with police. Traffic safety advocates know that crashes aren’t caused by a single busted headlight or taillight, but rather by the serious driving offenses that police will be able to prioritize.
These measures have likewise drawn support from law enforcement. Prosecutors like Ramsey County’s John Choi have seen that low-level traffic stops don’t lead to evidence of more serious crimes and have encouraged deprioritizing enforcement of equipment violations. Even police leaders, like Seattle Police Department Chief Adrian Diaz and recently retired Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore — some of whom were once hesitant about making these changes — have come to recognize that restricting low-level traffic enforcement is a win for public safety and resource-strapped police departments.
While reducing low-level traffic stops is critically important, the benefits will be magnified if it’s passed with data collection requirements. During every traffic stop, officers should be required to record a basic, standardized set of data points about the stop. With this data, researchers could measure the impact of the traffic stop policy, and policymakers could build upon early successes and quickly address any challenges or shortcomings. More than 20 states already do this, as do four of Minnesota’s five largest police departments.
If the Legislature takes action in 2025 by prioritizing traffic safety, civil liberties and racial justice, Minnesota may finally make headlines for good policing practices.
The post Banning most low level traffic stops would deliver benefits to people, police and communities appeared first on Minnesota Reformer.