traffic ticket

A study by the Department of Transportation found that Black and Latino drivers were more likely to be ticketed and searched by police officers during traffic stops.

The study also found that Black and Latino drivers were stopped by police at a higher rate than the rest of the state population. What is most shocking about the findings is that drugs, guns, and other illegal items were more likely to be found in vehicles driven by white drivers: 25% compared to 19% and 13% for Blacks and Latinos respectively.

The American  Civil Liberties Union has filed a complaint and as a result, the Illinois State Police will review the new statistics and findings and has made promises to revise and re-train their officers to remedy the bias.

The study, conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Law and Justice, found that white drivers received traffic tickets 55% of the time after a traffic stop while Hispanic and Black drivers received tickets 62% and 65% respectively.  The study also found that police ask to search vehicles of minority drivers twice as often as white drivers.

If you’ve been ticketed by the police for a traffic violation, charged with possession of drugs (marijuana, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy), or charged with possession of a weapon, please contact The Law Office of Purav Bhatt at 773-791-9682 to discuss your matter.

Purav Bhatt is a criminal defense attorney practicing in Cook, Lake, DuPage and Will counties.