Native drivers 5x more likely to be searched by WA State Patrol [View all]

https://www.cascadepbs.org/indigenous-affairs/2025/01/native-drivers-5x-more-likely-be-searched-wa-state-patrol

Native drivers 5x more likely to be searched by WA State Patrol

Though disparities have decreased for other races compared to white counterparts, rates have continued to rise for Indigenous motorists since 2020.

by Wilson Criscione & Melanie Henshaw InvestigateWest / January 23, 2025

This article was originally published by InvestigateWest.

Ever since the Washington State Patrol began keeping a database on all its traffic stops, one troubling point has stood out: Troopers search the cars of Native American drivers much more often than the cars of drivers who are white.

It was clear when Washington State University researchers studied the data in 2003, in 2005 and in 2007. It was clear in 2019, when InvestigateWest found that the search rate for Native Americans was five times higher than for whites. And it was clear when WSU researchers followed up one more time in 2021, at the request of the state Legislature, and found similar results.

Advocates have called for change. Lawmakers have pressed for answers. And the state patrol has acknowledged it’s a problem.
But traffic stop data from 2018-2023 reveals that none of it has reduced the gap between Native American search rates and that of other groups, according to a new InvestigateWest analysis. Troopers continue to search Native Americans at a rate five times higher than whites. In fact, the disparity has increased since 2020.

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