Cornerstone Research provided pro bono analytical support for the LCCRSF’s report on racial disparities in non-traffic infractions.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF) published a report that assesses how non-traffic citations, such as loitering or jaywalking, are distributed with respect to demographics and geography. The report shows that police across California assign Black, Latinx, and unhoused people a disproportionate number of non-traffic citations. In support of LCCRSF’s report, Cornerstone Research analyzed data on non-traffic police citations in California.
The report shows that police across California assign Black, Latinx, and unhoused people a disproportionate number of non-traffic citations.
We partnered with LCCRSF to compile a unique dataset of non-traffic citations from various cities and counties, obtained from police departments through public record requests, alongside other public data. We produced several charts, tables, and descriptive statistics, including.
- The frequency of non-traffic citations in each location
- The demographic distributions of non-traffic citations in each location
- Felony and misdemeanor rates in California
Our analyses are featured in LCCRSF’s report, “Cited for Being in Plain Sight: How California Polices Being Black, Brown and Unhoused in Public.” By comparing the non-traffic citation demographic breakdowns to the overall demographics in each city and county, the report demonstrates the racial and socioeconomic disparities in non-traffic citations across California. LCCRSF discusses its findings in detail and provides recommendations to reform California’s policing and justice system in the report.