Division of Governmental Studies and Services Final Report Montana
Division of Governmental Studies and Services Division of Governmental Studies and Services Final Report June 30, 2016 Montana Highway Patrol MHP Traffic Stop Data Analysis Michael Gaffney, J.D. Director, Division of Governmental Studies & Services Washington State University Christina Sanders, MPA Associate Director, DGSS Season A. Hoard, Ph.D. Research Coordinator, DGSS John S. Snyder, J.D. Community Outreach Specialist, DGSS 1 Division of Governmental Studies and Services Executive Summary The Division of Governmental Studies and Services (DGSS), jointly sponsored by WSU Extension and the College of Arts and Sciences, has served as a link between Washington State University resources and the population of the Pacific Northwest for over 50 years. DGSS serves the University’s land grant mission through applied social science research, program evaluation, technical assistance and training, which provides University resources for public benefit. Our extensive experience in program evaluation, survey research, data analysis, and community engagement extends to several analyses examining biased policing in the region, with experience analyzing secondary data as well as collecting primary data on this important subject area. The Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) contracted with DGSS for annual assessments of traffic stop data for evidence of biased policing. The contract, executed in January 2016, requires 5 annual assessments of MHP traffic stop data collected from traffic enforcement activities conducted from 2015 to 2019 to assess for possible evidence of systemic bias in the decisions of MHP troopers to stop motorists in the state of Montana. The first analysis, which is the subject of this report, examined all traffic stops occurring from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2014.
[Show full text]