Police More Likely to Use Force Against Young People of Color, California Report Finds

Across California, police are significantly more likely to use force, handcuff and point a firearm when stopping Black and Native American youth, according to a report released by the attorney general’s office this week.

The findings come as the state continues to grapple with racial disparities in policing and unevenly implemented reforms prompted by high-profile police killings nationwide and locally.

The report, done by the California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board, analyzed 4.7 million vehicle and pedestrian stops in 2023 across 539 law enforcement agencies in California. The results largely mirrored prior findings from previous iterations of the annual report, showing that police are more likely to stop and use force against Black, Native American and Latino Californians.

But the latest report also found those trends persistent across age groups, with police disproportionately stopping, searching and using force against young people of color.

“The racial disparities of policing stops, searches and use of force of youth is alarming,” said Andrea Guerrero, co-chair of the RIPA Board and executive director of the community organization Alliance San Diego. “This is California’s version of stop and frisk that causes immeasurable harm to the community and erodes trust in law enforcement from a young age.”

Young Californians who are driving, biking or walking and perceived by officers to be Black, Latino or Native American are more frequently stopped, asked to consent to a search, handcuffed, sat on the curb, put in a police car and questioned for information that is recorded on a field interview card before they are released, Guerrero said.

Youth ages 18-24 experienced the highest average number of stops and actions taken by police, while those ages 12-14 were most likely to be searched, handcuffed and detained during a stop. Black and Native American youth were the most likely to be placed in handcuffs by officers or have a firearm pointed at them.

In addition, people perceived as transgender were arrested at nearly double the rate of those perceived as cisgender, meaning they identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

Advocates for public safety and racial justice say that the trends are extremely concerning because negative interactions with law enforcement from a young age are associated with lower educational outcomes and a higher likelihood of being involved in the criminal justice system as an adult.

The report makes several recommendations for local law enforcement agencies to begin to address some of the longstanding disparities and outcomes in policing. Those include working more closely with community-based organizations to find alternatives to police force when dealing with youth in particular.

“The Legislature, agencies, and municipalities should explore how limiting officer discretion in stops could reduce racial disparities and make specific findings from their study to act on,” the report recommendations read.

It also recommends tangible changes like requiring law enforcement officers to regularly complete more specialized training on racial bias and profiling, mandating body-worn cameras and using examples gathered from real cases for training, and improving local and state policies on civilian complaints.

“The annual collection of RIPA stop data is one part of our broader effort to increase public safety for all Californians,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement. “Through the analysis of stop data and recommendations for thoughtful reforms, we’re continuing to strengthen trust between local law enforcement and the communities they serve.”

Correction: In the original version of the above chart, population and police-stop data for California’s Asian population were flipped. The error has since been fixed.