Category: Public Safety

  • Where the Mayoral Candidates Diverge on Racial Profiling

    By Liam Dillon Both San Diego mayoral candidates believe the police department needs more resources to combat racial profiling and plan to push for more cops and better pay if they’re elected. This is nothing different than Democratic City Councilman David Alvarez and Republican Councilman Kevin Faulconer have said throughout the campaign. Alvarez and Faulconer…

  • Police to Overhaul Racial Profiling Data Effort

    By Liam Dillon San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne said Tuesday that the department will overhaul its racial data collection policies on traffic stops. “We’ve got to build that system almost from scratch,” Lansdowne told KPBS’s “Midday Edition.” Listen to it here. Lansdowne said he’s meeting with local civil rights and neighborhood advocacy organizations to…

  • Police: ‘We Do Our Very Best to Reach Everyone’

    Police Chief William Lansdowne let a key check on racial profiling slide because he hadn’t heard it’s a concern in the community. Here’s what the department does to open lines of communication, and why some voices aren’t being heard. | Video Credit: Brian Myers, Media Arts Center San Diego By Megan Burks Assistant Police Chief…

  • The Promise, and Problems, That Come With Police Data

    An SDPD officer makes a stop along Euclid Avenue in Valencia Park. | Photo Credit: Sam Hodgson By Liam Dillon Eleven years ago, researchers examining racial data from San Diego police traffic stops found officers were more likely to pull over black and Hispanic drivers than whites. Then they ran into some problems. Too many…

  • Explainer: Why DUI Checkpoints Are Legal

    By Liam Dillon Many readers of our guide to when police can pull you over raised an interesting question. Police need to believe you’ve done something wrong before they can stop you, otherwise pulling you over could violate your Fourth Amendment rights. But what about DUI checkpoints, which allow police to stop cars and check…