UCPD Traffic Stop Summary & Description of Electronic Databases

Published July 31, 2015

Updated Sept. 8, 2015

Robin S. Engel, Ph.D.

Murat Ozer, Ph.D.

The data captured in the electronic files are pulled from two sources: 1) UCPD Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) database (Jan 1, 2012 – Jul 21, 2015), and 2) the UCPD Automated Records Management System (RMS) database (Jan 1, 2012 – Jul 27, 2015). The CAD data are captured when officers indicate to dispatchers that they have made a traffic stop. The UCPD does not capture demographic information of the driver during a traffic stop. Demographic information is only available if formal action is taken (e.g., citation or arrest). If formal action is taken, information is captured through RMS. However, the RMS cannot distinguish between citations issued for pedestrian and traffic violations. The RMS database is captured by different tables to house relevant information.

The Institute of Crime Science (ICS) has linked the RMS tables through incident numbers. The data provided here are connected from different UCPD data tables that include: Master Name, Name Contacts, Name Demographics, Involvement, Case Log, Case Log Crimes, Location, Crime Codes and Employee.

These initial nine databases were merged into seven different Excel spreadsheets based on their unit of analysis. There are three distinct units of analysis in these data: 1) stops, 2) individuals, and 3) charges. A single pedestrian or traffic stop may result in the arrest or citation of multiple individuals. Additionally, a single individual who is arrested or cited may receive multiple arrest charges or multiple citations during a single stop. Thus, there will be a larger number of charges than there are individuals, and there will be a larger number of individuals than there are stops.

For example: If “Officer A” stopped a car with “Citizen B” (driver) and “Citizen C” (passenger), and “Citizen B” received 2 citations, while “Citizen C” received 1 citation, the following counts would be reflected in the data: 

• # of Stops with Citation Issued = 1
• # of Individuals Cited = 2
• # of Citations Issued = 3 

The first Excel spreadsheet (labeled Traffic Stops) lists all traffic stops that UCPD Officers reported to dispatch and were recorded in the CAD. These data cannot be linked to specific citation or arrest data.

The second Excel spreadsheet (labeled # of Stops with Arrest) includes information related to all stops (pedestrian or traffic) made by the UCPD that resulted in an arrest.

The third Excel spreadsheet (labeled # of Stops with Citation) includes information for all stops (pedestrian and traffic) made by UCPD officers that resulted in a citation.

The fourth Excel spreadsheet (labeled # of Individuals Arrested) lists all individuals that have been arrested by UCPD Officers during a single incident, and may include multiple individuals arrested during a single stop. 

The fifth Excel spreadsheet (labeled # of Individuals Cited) lists all individuals that have been issued a citation by UCPD Officers during a single stop, which may also include multiple people cited during a single stop.

The sixth Excel spreadsheet (labeled # of Citations Issued) lists all citations made by UCPD Officers, which may include more than one citation per incident and/or per person.

The seventh and final Excel spreadsheet (labeled # of Arrest Charges) lists all arrest charges issued by UCPD, which may include multiple charges during a single in-custody arrest and multiple in-custody arrests during a single incident.

Because citizens could be of different race, gender, or age, there is no demographic information included in the number of stops (spreadsheets 1, 2, and 3). Note that the data summary sheet (attached) has changed slightly from the original distributed on 7-31-15 based on the above updated definitions and descriptions. 

The number of traffic stops was collected from the UCPD Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. These data are captured when an officers indicate to dispatchers that they have made a traffic stop. The UCPD does not capture demographic information of the driver during a traffic stop. Demographic information is only available if formal action is taken (e.g., citation or arrest).

The number of stops with citations was collected from the UCPD Automated Records Management System (RMS). It is unknown if these citations resulted from a traffic or pedestrian stop. The number of stops with citations is a count of the stops, not people cited or citations issued (as multiple individuals can be cited and/or multiple citations can be issued in a single stop).

The number of stops with arrests was collected from the UCPD Automated Records Management System (RMS). It is unknown if these arrests resulted from a traffic or pedestrian stop. The number of stops with arrest is a count of the stops involving an in-custody arrest, not the number of arrest charges or number of people arrested (as multiple charges can result in a single in-custody arrest and/or multiple individuals can be arrested during a single stop).

The number of individuals arrested was collected from the UCPD Automated Records Management System (RMS). It is unknown if these arrests resulted from a traffic or pedestrian stop. The number of individuals with arrest is a count of the persons, not arrest charges or stops resulting in arrest (as an individual can have multiple arrest charges, and multiple individuals can be arrested during a single stop).

The number of individuals cited was collected from the UCPD Automated Records Management System (RMS). It is unknown if these citations resulted from a traffic or pedestrian stop. The number of individuals with citations is a count of the persons, not of citations issued or stops resulting in citation (as multiple individuals can be cited during a stop, and a single individual may be issued multiple citations).

The number of citations issued was collected from the UCPD Automated Records Management System (RMS). It is unknown if these citations resulted from a traffic or pedestrian stop. The number of citations includes stops where multiple citations were written to the same individual.

The number of arrest charges was collected from the UCPD Automated Records Management System (RMS). It is unknown if these arrests resulted from a traffic or pedestrian stop. This is the number of arrest charges, and includes multiple charges for single in-custody arrests.