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Traffic Stop Data

The MSP is committed to unbiased policing and the equitable treatment of all persons. Department policy prohibits stopping or detaining anyone based solely on their race or ethnicity. 

Beginning Jan. 1, 2017, the MSP modified its reporting system to capture the race of persons encountered during traffic stops. Enforcement members record race/origin information from visual observation. If the enforcement member cannot determine the driver's race, the enforcement member may enter the race as unknown.

In 2021, the MSP began a research partnership with the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University (MSU) to explore racial and ethnic disparities in our traffic stop data. In 2023, the MSP reinforced this commitment by pledging reviews of its traffic stop data for the next five years to further our understanding of the data and possibly begin to identify trends over time.