Study: Minorities more likely to get tickets, have vehicles searched

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http://www.suntimes.com/news/6498710-418/study-minorities-more-likely-to-get-tickets-have-vehicles-searched.html

ART GOLAB Staff Reporter/[email protected] July 13, 2011 10:44PM

After a traffic stop, minority drivers are more likely to get handed a ticket and their vehicles are more likely to get searched, according to a study released this month by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The study of all 2010 traffic stops in the state of Illinois showed that white drivers who were stopped got tickets 55 percent of the time, while minority motorists who were stopped got tickets 63 percent of the time.

Among minorities, Hispanics fared the worst, getting tickets 65 percent of the time, with black and Asian motorists coming in at 62 percent.

However, Chicago cops appeared to be more even-handed, dishing out tickets to 65 percent of both white and minority motorists who were stopped.