Report: East Valley Black arrests higher than Ferguson

In cities across the Valley, Black people were more likely to be arrested than non-Black people in 2011 and 2012.

But only Tempe, Mesa and Scottsdale police arrested Black people at a rate higher than in Ferguson, Mo., during that same time frame, according to a USA Today analysis of data that police departments report to the FBI each year.

The disparity between Black and non-Black arrests was twice as high in Scottsdale as it was in Ferguson, a flashpoint for a national conversation about police tactics and interactions with minorities.

Local police officials say there are nuances to looking at such data.

Of the 3,583 police agencies examined nationally, only 173 arrested Black people at a rate equal to or lower than other racial groups.

In Ferguson — where a White police officer killed an unarmed Black teen in August, unleashing a series of protests — police arrested Black people at a rate nearly three times higher than people of other races. The African-American population in Ferguson was 14,297 out of a total population of 21,203, according to the 2010 census data USA Today used.

In Scottsdale, which had an African-American population of 3,652 out of a total population of 217,385 in the 2010 census, Black people were 6.3 times more likely to be arrested than non-Blacks. In Tempe, Black people were 3.4 times more likely to be arrested.

Mesa trailed Tempe at 3.1, while Phoenix's 2.8 rate mirrored Ferguson's 2.8 rate.

The USA Today analysis compared the number of Black people arrested during 2011 and 2012 with the number of Black residents in the area whom the police department protects. The rates were factored per 1,000 residents. (The FBI tracks arrests by race. It does not track arrests of Hispanics.) The review did not include thousands of smaller departments or agencies that serve areas with only a small Black population.

Nationally, at least 70 police departments arrested Black people at a rate 10 times higher than people who are not Black.

Experts say the data on its own does not prove police departments are discriminating. Police and legal experts point to socioeconomic, education and unemployment factors that contribute to crime rates.

Rather than conveying clear-cut bias, the disparity begs closer scrutiny, University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris, a national expert on racial profiling, told USA Today.

"That (disparity) does not mean police are discriminating, but it does mean it's worth looking at," Harris said. "It means you might have a problem, and you need to pay attention."

A call for change and reflection

Nationally, civil-rights protests have revealed a simmering distrust of police officers, especially among Black people and other minorities who fear they are being racially profiled.

Ferguson and New York grand-jury decisions not to indict police officers who killed unarmed Black men have stoked those fears.

In Phoenix, some Valley residents joined protests when a Phoenix police officer shot and killed Rumain Brisbon, an unarmed Black man, on Dec. 2. Police have said Brisbon did not cooperate, but witnesses have offered differing accounts of the incident in media reports.

Similar concerns have been raised in the past. A federal judge in 2013 found the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office engaged in racial profiling against Latinos.

Some Valley residents' frustrations have mirrored a national outcry to stem overly aggressive policing, investigate disparities in arrest rates, mandate the use of body cameras to monitor police interactions and launch training to improve police and community relations.

Last summer, Tempe residents attended a City Council meeting to address concerns about heavy-handed policing.

And in December, the Phoenix City Council heard from civil-rights leaders and residents who chastised the city leaders for failing to act on a 4-year-old initiative to improve police and community relations. Some residents demanded justice for Brisbon. Others wanted a cultural shift in the department.

Cloves C. Campbell, chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, called on Phoenix leaders to act on behalf of a dismayed community.

"Police are here to serve and protect, not incarcerate and eliminate," he said. "We have to work together."

The Phoenix council directed city officials to document progress on a 2010 initiative to improve relations.

"Basically, we'll find out whether we followed through with the 34 recommendations," Councilman Michael Nowakowski said. "And if not, we need to ask the question, 'Why?' "

Stereotyping, not racism?

Jack Glaser, a University of California-Berkeley public-policy professor who wrote "Suspect Race: Causes and Consequences of Racial Profiling," said he believes the disparity in police department arrests is often tied to unconscious stereotyping, not a malicious intent to be racist.

"The psychological, scientific evidence shows people in general, police included, have strong associations between Black people and crime," Glaser said, adding that this is because of historical racial stereotypes that have inaccurately connected minorities with aggression and crime.

"So it shouldn't come as a surprise that police are being influenced by that, and they are not even aware they are being influenced by that. So what feels like a legitimate (police) hunch is something that is actually being reflected through a prism of race."

The problem, he said, is that stereotypes can contribute to the decisions police make about who to suspect, stop, search, use force on or arrest. It also contributes to minority communities not trusting police officers, he said.

Glaser is working with a team on a national study partnering with public-safety agencies to collect arrest data that would help better identify when stereotyping may be contributing to arrest disparities.

He hopes the data will help develop better policies and programs to aid public-safety agencies in shielding against stereotyping in policing.

Police agencies react

Police officials in Scottsdale, Phoenix and Tempe cautioned against assuming that the disparity in arrest rates underlies police bias or racial profiling.

"Just comparing arrest demographics to Scottsdale's demographics creates a skewed picture of the arrest rate," said Officer Kevin Watts, a Scottsdale police spokesman.

Tempe and Scottsdale police officials pointed to the large spike in population from visitors to their cities that may factor into the cities' higher arrest rates.

The cities both have popular entertainment districts, and Tempe is home to one of the nation's largest college campuses.

Brenda Buren, Tempe police director of support services, said the arrest rates used U.S. census population data for Blacks and non-Blacks, but didn't account for Tempe and Scottsdale's visitor population.

Regardless, Buren said the disparity data warrants review. She said Tempe police analyzed the data by comparing its rates against other Valley police departments.

"We try to compare ourselves to the other agencies regionally to see if we're sort of in the same place or are we an outlier?" she said. "It's not trying to minimize (arrest statistics). It's trying to understand it."

Tempe found it was on par with comparable Valley police departments, she said, adding that it's important to understand how the rates break down at the individual level. In Tempe, for example, of the 1,042 arrests in October, 193 were Black individuals, she said. Some people may misconstrue the rates and assume the number of arrests are larger than they actually are, she said.

Buren said police agencies are reviewing their programs and policies amid national concerns about policing.

"We do want to really fully understand the issue," she said. "There's a lot of complex things that we're all paying attention to."

Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump in a statement said Phoenix does not calculate crime statistics in the same manner as the USA Today analysis, which looked at arrest figures over a two-year period.

Crump said that Black individuals, based on 2010 U.S. census data, make up about 6.5 percent of the Phoenix population but accounted for an estimated 17 percent of arrests in 2012 and 2013.

"However, we don't expect an exactly equal proportion of race in population to proportion being arrested due to a variety of other factors that influence whether or not an individual is likely to be involved in a crime, including poverty level, educational attainment, and other social-economic status indicators," he said.

Mesa police officials said they needed more time to respond to arrest data.

Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe police officials said they use community policing and outreach programs to foster relations with residents.

In Scottsdale, police recruits receive diversity training, which covers issues such as bias-based profiling. Scottsdale police officers receive an annual update on this issue.

Watts, the Scottsdale police spokesman, said that in an effort to be transparent Scottsdale also posts its weekly arrest report online.

"Bottom line — the Scottsdale Police Department is committed to fair and equitable treatment for everyone in our community — residents and visitors," he said.

While police officials say that bias is not the cause for disparity, officers are acutely aware of their community's fears and frustrations amid the national civil unrest that has mounted since the police shooting in Ferguson, said Tempe police Lt. Mike Pooley.

"We are human," Pooley said. "We look at things around the entire country that are happening, and think, 'What if something like that would happen in the city of Tempe?' "

Pooley said he believes the majority of police officers recognize their role to serve and protect and build ties with their community.

"I understand the importance of wearing this uniform, the importance of my role as a police officer," he said. "If you don't understand that (as a police officer), you're going to have it cause pain for everybody. That's the last thing that we want."

USA Today reporter Brad Heath and Republic reporter Megan Cassidy contributed to this article.

Southeast Valley arrest rates

The USA Today analysis compared the number of Black people arrested during 2011 and 2012 with the number of Black residents in the area whom the police department protects. The rates were factored per 1,000 residents.

Scottsdale

-- Black arrest rate: 571.5

-- non-Black arrest rate: 90.4

Tempe

-- Black arrest rate: 405.5

-- non-Black arrest rate: 120

Mesa

-- Black arrest rate: 333.7

-- non-Black arrest rate: 107.4

Ferguson, Mo.

-- Black arrest rate: 186.1

-- non-Black arrest rate: 66