The Center for Policing Equity (CPE) and the Fines & Fees Justice Center (FFJC) announce the publication of a new white paper titled, “Beyond Enforcement: Prioritizing Safety in Federal Transportation Funding.” This white paper examines the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) prioritization and funding of traffic enforcement measured by frequency rather than safety – an approach shown to repeatedly increase racial disparities for Black and Latine drivers – and the risks of continuing to prioritize and fund such enforcement. The paper also provides recommendations for federal officials to clarify what a successful multifaceted systemic approach looks like in order to truly improve traffic safety outcomes.
“For decades, law enforcement agencies have been quietly incentivized by grant funding structures to make as many stops and write as many tickets as possible – resulting in policing for profit over safety,” says Scarlet Neath, Policy Director at CPE. “We are grateful to have partnered with the Fines and Fees Justice Center, a leading voice in showing how fines and fees disrupt our justice system and harm individuals, on this project. We hope it will be useful as the DOT considers much-needed reforms to better align this grant funding with its intended goals.”
Traffic stops are the most common form of police contact with community members, and growing use of automated traffic enforcement means that exponentially larger numbers of people are being ticketed and fined. Despite this extensive focus on enforcement, traffic fatalities reached a 16-year high in 2021.
Recognizing a need to shift from a traditional traffic enforcement approach, DOT has promoted their Safe System approach, which focuses on safer speeds, cars, and road designs rather than primarily arresting and citing drivers to reduce traffic crashes. This report highlights the benefits of such a change, but notes DOT is undermining it by funding grants that prioritize high-volume citations. The DOT has also provided conflicting and outdated guidance to law enforcement agencies around what enforcement measures to prioritize.
Six key recommendations from the Beyond Enforcement: Prioritizing Safety in Transportation Funding white paper encourage the prioritization and funding of alternative approaches that increase safety and efficacy for all:
- Ensure that a Safe System approach is integrated across DOT grants.
- Revise the “Traffic Safety Performance Measures for States and Federal Agencies” guidance in Section 402 grants to remove language that incentivizes quota-like practices and collect a broader scope of law enforcement metrics.
- Clarify and communicate that nontraditional enforcement options like driver feedback signs and warning notices are eligible and encouraged for grant funding.
- Regularly review, revise, and reconcile all safety guidance DOT currently uses or references to ensure that they are evidence-based and be clear that enforcement activities aimed at improving road safety must be executed as part of a comprehensive Safe System approach.
- Expand the focus of DOT’s Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity to include a mandate of ensuring racial and economic equity in enforcement.
- Require greater data recording, reporting, and analysis on racial and economic metrics related to traffic enforcement activities.
The white paper can be found on the CPE website.