Report Finds No Statistical Proof Of Bias By Greensboro Police

A report issued by the Greensboro Police Department finds no statistical proof of racial bias by police officers. The analysis shows that disparities in traffic stops and search rates between black and white drivers remain.

Police Chief Wayne Scott presented the findings during a meeting of the City Council on Monday.

A front-page New York Times article in October said black drivers were more likely to be pulled over for routine traffic violations, and more likely to be searched.

But analysts at UNC Greensboro and N.C. A&T used additional data compiled by Greensboro police. They found the Times story to be incomplete because it didn't account for how the data was collected and sorted.

According to The News & Record, the new findings show the search disparity may be explained by the level of crime within a geographic area, and not by bias.

Councilwoman Sharon Hightower remained skeptical, saying that bias would have to be an ingredient with the high levels of disparity that have been documented.  

But the council largely praised Chief Scott and the department for taking steps to correct the problems. Those steps include more training and oversight, increased dialogue with the community, and making crime data more accessible to the public.