Study: San Francisco Blacks Disproportionately Arrested On Traffic Warrants
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Almost half of those arrested in San Francisco for traffic warrants were black, yet African-Americans only make up about 5 percent of the city's population, according to a new study by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Whites, which account for 41 percent of San Francisco's population, had only 23 percent of traffic arrests.
The group looked at census data, DMV records, and reports from about a dozen police and sheriff's departments.
Black and Latino Californians are also more likely to lose their drivers' licenses or be arrested because of unpaid tickets than people from other ethnic groups, the group found.
The civil rights group issued a report last year showing that more than 4 million Californians had their licenses suspended (.pdf) since 2006.