ACLU Report Claims Boston Police More Likely To Stop Blacks
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — An American Civil Liberties Union report that says black residents of Boston are more likely to be stopped, questioned or searched by police has drawn condemnation from police leadership, who said it was based on old data.
The ACLU of Massachusetts report released Wednesday said between 2007 and 2010, 63 percent of more than 200,000 "civilian-police encounters" involved black residents, who make up just 24 percent of the city's population.
The study also found blacks were 8 percent more likely to be involved in a police encounter multiple times and 12 percent more likely to be stopped and frisked.
Commissioner William Evans said the data is old and doesn't take into account new training.
He also said police do not focus on race, but concentrate their efforts in high-crime areas of the city.
Boston Police pointed out that 5-percent of the people stopped account for 40-percent of the total encounters.
They say that's because they stop known gang members and people with criminal records over and over.
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