BLOOMFIELD -- A mostly suburban township of about 47,000 residents in the northeastern portion of New Jersey, Bloomfield could be considered a typical New Jersey municipality. Demographically, it has a diverse population, and it borders both urban centers, Newark and East Orange, and upscale towns like Montclair and Glen Ridge.

That, a group of researchers at the Seton Hall University School of Law Center for Policy and Research, said is what made Bloomfield a perfect location for its study on racial profiling among N.J. police departments.

The report - the subject of a VICE News documentary, "Driving While Black" that airs online Monday afternoon - analyzed appearances at Bloomfield municipal court and a year of ticketing data to determine where in the township, and to whom, the most tickets were given.

THE STUDY'S FINDINGS

Based on student observations of 70 hours of Bloomfield municipal court and an analysis of tickets handed out in the township between Sept. 1, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015, the Seton Hall report found that a "disproportionate number" of tickets were given to people who appeared to be black and Latino.

The study found:

78 percent of residents who answered tickets at Bloomfield municipal court over a month-long period last year were black or Latino, and 20 percent were white. Those numbers, the study found, sharply contrasted the

Based on an analysis of 9,715 tickets that were given out in Bloomfield over the year prior to the study, the researchers found that about 88 percent of tickets were given out in the southernmost third of the township, which borders Newark and East Orange.

Ticket distribution "shows that the Bloomfield Police target specific areas within Bloomfield, acting as a de facto 'border patrol.' By stopping and ticketing those who crossover into Bloomfield from East Orange and Newark, the police are effectively functioning as a deterrent to African American and Latino residents."

According to the student observations, 28 percent of the tickets were given to Bloomfield residents; 30 percent to people from majority "black-border" towns; 11 percent to people from majority "white-border" towns; and 31 percent to people from elsewhere.

The township is making a "significant" amount of money off of the tickets. At an average of $137 per ticket, the report estimates that over the course of a year, tickets to African Americans and Latinos brought in more than $1 million to municipal court.

"There is overwhelming data that they are pulling people over based on race," said Professor Mark Denbeaux, the director of Seton Hall Law's Center for Policy and Research who lead a group of 21 law students in the yearlong study.

"We didn't (start out) thinking we would find something so blatant and obvious ...(but) it's pretty ugly racial profiling."

Denbeaux called the practices in place in Bloomfield "profiling for profit."

'IRRESPONSIBLE' STUDY?

Seton Hall researchers said they selected Bloomfield randomly. It had a few qualifications they were looking for - a suburban town with "black border" towns, and most importantly, it was near the university.

But, municipal leaders in Bloomfield question why the study singled out the township, the methods it used to track the alleged racial profiling, and why the university did not consult with the township on its research.

DeMaio in a file photo. (John O'Boyle | The Star-Ledger)

"Their entire analysis is based on 70 hours sitting in a courtroom," Bloomfield Police Director Samuel DeMaio said in a phone interview. "To issue a scathing report of the entire police department (based on that) seems irresponsible."

According to DeMaio, the police department implemented several technological elements in 2015 - such as license plate readers, e-ticketing systems, and GPS tracking devices - that led to an uptick in ticketing overall. At the end of 2015, when reviewing the ticket increases, the department started tracking the races of people who are pulled over in the township - something it is not required to do by the state.

"We are one of the only departments that tracks racial data," DeMaio said.

Since the beginning of 2016, DeMaio said the department has given out 678 tickets to Latinos, 672 tickets to whites, and 684 to blacks.

"We are virtually even across the board," he said. And, though DeMaio said officers are not required to hit racial quotas matching the demographics of the town, "we look for a (racial) balance, because this is a very diverse (area)."

DeMaio also took issue with the conclusion that police are acting as a "border patrol." The bottom third of the township, which includes where busy thoroughfare Bloomfield Avenue cuts through the township, is where about 75 percent of the crime takes place, DeMaio said. So, about 75 percent of the police department's resources are deployed there, and more tickets are handed out there as a result, he said.

"That's police work 101," said DeMaio, a former Newark police director who moved into the Bloomfield job in 2014. "If 75 percent of crime is in that part of town, that's where you put your resources."

METHODS?

Township officials and researchers are also at odds over some methods used in the study. The township questioned the following methods used by the researchers:

When analyzing ticket data, the researchers compared the tickets to Latino surnames identified by the U.S. Census to count which ticket recipients were Latino. The actual race of the recipients was not tracked until 2016.

The researchers did not ask people in court their ethnicities, but recorded races based on visual cues. The study claims this was a valid method, because racial profiling would be based only on officers visually seeing drivers.

The courtroom analysis did not take into account people who received tickets and chose to pay them online, or otherwise not contest them in court, which DeMaio said is a "large number" of people.

In a statement, Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia pointed to "new procedures, reforms and technologies that have contributed to a 28% overall reduction in crime (since January 2014) -- a statistic we can all be very proud of -- as well as measures designed to enhance community policing and build trust between officers and residents of all racial and ethnic backgrounds."

He said the town was "disappointed" in the way the college conducted the study, and that "(we) do not believe that it reflects a complete and accurate assessment of our police department."

But, a team of consultants who fact-checked the methods and data compiled by the study says it meets academic standards.

"The data speaks for itself," said consultant Rich Rivera, a retired West New York police officer who now works as a police practice expert.

All of the components of the study were randomly chosen and statistically sound, he said. "This is a case study that is cautionary. ... It's readily evident that there is a huge racial disparity ... going unchecked."

STATEWIDE?

Denbeaux said given the outcome of this study, he is now planning to carry out similar studies in other New Jersey towns. His hope, he said, is that other research universities take on similar studies to reveal police practices in many other towns across the country.

The consultants say they are hoping for a fix at the state level. Though about three dozen states across the U.S. have mandated municipal police departments track racial data from traffic stops, New Jersey is not one of them. Racial tracking by the New Jersey State Police after a 1990s racial profiling scandal has made a difference in that department, they say.

Professor Mark Denbeaux. (Sean Sime)

"The state police have been in check, because they know they are being watched," said Ed Correa, a civil rights advocate who consulted on the study. "It's time to prohibit this type of behavior and data collection is going to help us get there."

In their documentary, the "Driving While Black" co-producers Simon Ostrovsky and Claire Ward said they felt that the study revealed not necessarily a racist police department in Bloomfield, but a systemic policing problem.

"It's really because of where the police are deployed, that's why this is happening," Ostrovsky said. "It's a systemic issue that is in place even if individual police officers are not racist."

When the 15-minute documentary goes live on VICE's website Monday, the producers said they hope the data will help lead to systematic changes.

"Anecdotally, these stories come up a lot," Ward said. "But, they are actually creating new data. That's something."

As for Bloomfield, though DeMaio and Venezia both deny many of the study's findings, they do say they would be open to talking with the university and advocates to determine whether or not reforms are necessary.

"We would welcome the authors to meet with members of our local government, police department and our African American and Hispanic communities to discuss their findings and look for common ground and opportunities to keep improving," Venezia said.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.