Driving While Black and Brown in Vermont: Can Race Data Analysis Contribute to Reform?

Abstract

Many states now require law enforcement to collect race data on traffic stops, but there has been little research on the use of that data to inform public policy or reform efforts at the agency level. This article addresses that lacuna by presenting results from the first statewide analysis of Vermont traffic stop data. Racial threat theory, a subset of stratification theory, would predict that policing in a predominantly white state like Vermont would exhibit lower racial disparities than states with a more racially diverse population because the “threat” to white dominance is less. The results contradict that prediction. Vermont, despite its reputation as a liberal state, is not different from other states in exhibiting wide racial disparities in policing. And yet, analysis and dissemination of race data in policing, by providing an evidentiary basis for citizen claims of racial bias, contributed to action on the part of the state legislature and government to address racial discrimination not only in policing but also in the broader criminal justice system. We report on those reform efforts and on the actions taken by three reform-minded law enforcement agencies to reduce and eliminate unjustifiable racial disparities in policing.