Black drivers again pulled over at higher rate in Missouri, traffic stop report says

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Black drivers were again pulled over at a rate surpassing white drivers in Missouri in 2024, according to an annual report released Thursday.

The Attorney General's Vehicle Stops Report is due on June 1 each year, but was released early with that date falling on a weekend. The report provides data related to vehicle stops statewide, including an index that measures the rate at which drivers of each race are pulled over in relation to their driving-age population.

Black drivers statewide were 58% more likely to be pulled over than white drivers, according to the index. The disparity was higher in Columbia, with Black drivers more than three times as likely to be pulled over as white drivers. Black drivers made up about a third of all Columbia traffic stops.

Despite the disparity in stops, white drivers had a higher rate of being found with illegal items than Black drivers in Columbia.

Black drivers in Jefferson City were about twice as likely to be pulled over as white drivers, according to population.

Information from the Cole County Sheriff’s Office shows that Black drivers were stopped at a slightly higher rate than white drivers and the contraband hit rate was about the same. The arrest rate for Black drivers was more than twice of white drivers in Cole County and the citation rate was also higher for all minority groups.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office pulled over Black drivers more than four times the rate of white drivers, and that rate also held true in the resident stop rate. The contraband hit rate was higher for white drivers in Boone County, but the arrest rate for Black drivers was almost twice that of white drivers.