According to the latest data released under California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), law enforcement agencies in the Inland Empire and Inland Valley stop Black individuals at disproportionately higher rates compared to other racial groups.
RIPA, passed in 2015, requires all California police agencies to document detailed information on every stop, including the perceived race, gender and identity of individuals.
The law aims to combat identity-based profiling and mandates the annual publication of stop data by the California Department of Justice.
Although the data reflects officers’ perceptions rather than individuals’ self-identified demographics, it highlights significant disparities across several Inland Empire law enforcement agencies.
Stops include both traffic and pedestrian interactions, with traffic stops constituting the majority.
Among the agencies analyzed, the La Verne Police Department demonstrated the highest disparity.
Black individuals were 5.1 times more likely to be stopped than white individuals per 10,000 residents in 2023. The department recorded 1,535 stops that year.
Similarly, Redlands Police Department officers stopped Black people 4.4 times more often, with 9,503 stops in 2023.
In Claremont, Black individuals were stopped 4.1 times more frequently than white individuals, while Chino Police Department officers were 2.2 times more likely to stop Black people.
Montclair, Pomona and Menifee Police Departments each reported that Black individuals were at least twice as likely to be stopped compared to white individuals.
Fontana Police Department, one of the busiest agencies with 14,464 stops in 2023, recorded Black individuals being 1.6 times more likely to be stopped.
Meanwhile, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which conducted the highest number of stops overall with 65,346 in 2023, showed Black individuals were 1.8 times more likely to be stopped.
Notably, Rialto Police Department recorded the lowest disparity among analyzed agencies, with Black individuals only 1.1 times more likely to be stopped than white individuals, based on stops per 10,000 residents.
The RIPA Board continues to analyze the data annually, seeking to uncover trends and make recommendations for reducing racial bias in policing.
As discussions over policing practices grow louder, the Inland Empire’s law enforcement agencies face increasing pressure to implement reforms aimed at reducing racial discrimination in stops and use-of-force incidents.
