By SDCN Staff
Oakland, CA–The California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board announced the release of its ninth annual report on police stops across California.
The report analyzes 5.1 million vehicle and pedestrian stops conducted in 2024 by 533 law enforcement agencies and 13,000 complaints made by civilians in California under the Racial and Identity Profiling Act.
The 2024 stop data shows an increase in the number of stops as compared to 2023, with most stops being officer-initiated and due to traffic violations. Consistent with past years, the report finds that racial and identity profiling in California remains a concern that must be properly addressed. The report observes, for example, that individuals perceived to be Black were stopped 128% more often than expected, and individuals perceived to be Pacific Islander were stopped 58% more often than expected.
“California remains on the cutting edge of stop data collection and analysis, which the RIPA Board has used to make recommendations to address racial and identity profiling,” said Andrea Guerrero, Co-Chair of the RIPA Board and Executive Director of Alliance San Diego. “The work of the board would not be possible without the robust input and conversations with community members, law enforcement, and additional stakeholders in the state.”
This year, the board’s report examines how racial and identity profiling by law enforcement impacts public safety. Research shows that discretionary investigative stops can contribute to negative health consequences, create feelings of mistrust in communities that lead to the underreporting of crimes, and result in increased public costs due to a larger police presence. Each of these consequences can reduce public safety, particularly in communities of color. The board’s report contains a wide array of policy recommendations related to policing and public safety. In light of recent federal actions, the board’s report also reasserts its commitment to support state and local law enforcement in protecting California’s diverse population, more than a quarter of whom are immigrants.
“The ninth annual RIPA report reflects California’s tireless dedication to addressing racial and identity bias in policing. The information obtained through stop data and civilian complaints provide invaluable insight into systemic issues present in the state, enabling the RIPA Board to recommend constructive reforms to improve public safety in California,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “In light of the federal government’s ongoing mass deportation campaign and discriminatory, unconstitutional stop practices, it is more important than ever that we continue to take action to strengthen the trust between local law enforcement and the communities they serve.”
Key findings from the 2026 RIPA Report include:
Disparities by Perceived Race/Ethnicity: Overall, Black and Native American individuals had more actions taken by officers per average stop than other racial and ethnic groups. Officers reported using force most often in stops of individuals perceived as Native American, Black, or Hispanic/Latino. Racial disparities were also noted in the outcome of stops. Officers reported the highest arrest rates for individuals perceived to be Native American and Black, compared to the other perceived races or ethnicities.
Disparities by Perceived Housing Status: 2024 stop data showed notable disparities of individuals who are perceived as unhoused. In particular, people perceived as unhoused were stopped for reasonable suspicion more than any other demographic group, and officers also reported taking more actions during stops, including use of force, of individuals perceived as unhoused compared to other demographic groups. Officers also reported that nearly half of stops of individuals perceived as unhoused ended in arrest, more than any other demographic group.
Regional Differences in Stops: Individuals perceived as Black were stopped at a higher rate than their share of the population would predict most often in the Bay Area, while officers in Southern California tended to stop a disproportionately high number of individuals perceived as Hispanic/Latino.
Search Rates: Overall, only 20% of consent-only searches discovered contraband compared to a 26% discovery rate for non-discretionary searches. These searches occurred most frequently in stops involving individuals perceived as Hispanic/Latino and Asian, and least frequently in stops involving individuals perceived as Native American and Black. Consent-only searches of individuals perceived as Black and Native American yielded lower discovery rates than individuals perceived as Pacific Islander and White.
Civilian Complaints: The number of civilian complaints that contained allegations of racial or identity profiling rose significantly in 2024 to 17.5%, compared to 9.7% of complaints in 2023, with 79% of those complaints alleging profiling on the basis of race or ethnicity. Overall, profiling complaints continue to be recorded at a much lower rate than general civilian complaints.
Officer Decertification: From January 1, 2023, to December 1, 2025, POST received 41,586 reports of officer misconduct from law enforcement agencies and public complaints submitted directly to POST. Of those, approximately 31% pertained to a demonstration of bias. As of December 1, 2025, POST has initiated certification actions against 651 officers, including temporary suspensions that were later withdrawn. Since last year’s report, there has been significant progress in closing these cases.
Approximately 90% of cases have been assigned to POST investigators, 78% percent of which have been closed. By comparison, in 2023, only 21% of assigned cases had been closed.
