Do you have any statistics on motor vehicle stops and citations given to people of color?

In 2019, Lexington wrote 3,503 citations, of which 6% to 7% were operators or motorists officers identified as Black. (In the Commonwealth, since the 2005 racial profiling data collection, officers are asked to put on a citation what they perceive as the operator's race).

The challenge is assessing who is the motoring public in Lexington. Approximately 70% of our citations are issued to non-Lexington residents. We are not aware of a reliable source for the demographic of our motoring/commuting public that would help to determine whether 6% to 7% is what would be anticipated based on the number of non-residents driving through Lexington.

The Captain of Operations is charged with watching for trends in citation data. Every citation is inspected by a shift commander. Inspecting by race, ethnicity, and gender is part of our processes.

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1. What statistics does the Lexington Police Department keep on race and other demographics of people that are stopped by Lexington police?
2. Do you have any statistics on motor vehicle stops and citations given to people of color?
3. Can you provide data on the number of traffic stops that occur on a daily basis?
4. When was the last time a police officer discharged their weapon in Lexington?
5. How many complaints have been filed against the Lexington Police in the last 5 years, and what is the status of those complaints?
6. How will the Lexington police change its data collection or other practices to respond to the recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision changing the standard relating to racial profiling?