Clinton, CT - Today, the Center for Policing Equity (CPE) joins the Clinton Police Department (CPD) to announce the release of the CPD Justice Navigator Assessment, a data-driven analysis that identifies racial disparities in police interactions with the community. This assessment was born out of a continued partnership that began in 2020 when CPD proactively joined CPE’s National Justice Database. CPD shared data with CPE in order to receive analyses intended to support community and law enforcement collaboration on data-informed efforts to enhance equity in public safety. This assessment is the third in a series of publications of policing data from departments serving jurisdictions across the state of Connecticut.
All assessments are housed within CPE’s Justice Navigator, an interactive digital platform that provides streamlined access to public safety analyses, policy insights, and community resources. The analysis is a step in a collaborative process between municipal leaders and community members in an effort to build and support more equitable public safety systems.
“The Clinton Police Department is dedicated to providing the highest quality public safety services to all who live, work and visit Clinton,” said Clinton Police Chief Vincent DeMaio. “We have partnered with the Center for Policing Equity to demonstrate our commitment to fair and equitable policing practices and to improve public safety and the overall quality of life here in our community.”
"Our partnership with the Clinton Police Department has been productive,” said Niles Wilson, CPE’s Sr. Director of Law Enforcement Initiatives. “Chief DeMaio and his staff have been transparent with their data, and they have demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that the policies, procedures, and culture of the Clinton Police Department help achieve equitable outcomes. We look forward to presenting this assessment to the public and discussing it with the community."
CPD’s assessment is the result of a thorough analysis of the department’s vehicle stop data from 2018-2020 and calls for service and officer activity data from 2018 - 2020. A few key findings from Clinton PD’s assessment include:
- Of all drivers stopped, 7.2% were Black; 11% were Latinx; 78% were White; 2.8% were Asian; and 0.4% were recorded as “Other.” The population of Clinton, Connecticut, is 0.4% Black, 9.3% Latinx, 88% White, 1% Asian, 0.6% Other, 1.1% Multiple Racial Groups, and less than 0.05% Native.
- The total number of vehicle stops recorded each year varied from a high of 1,970 in 2019 to a low of 809 in 2020. Once stopped, Black drivers were searched 2.6 times as often as White drivers and arrested 2.3 times as often as White drivers. Latinx drivers were searched 2.1 times as often as White drivers and arrested 1.7 times as often as White drivers.
- Clinton police officers recorded 38,302 total events from 2018-2020, including both Officer-Initiated Activities and police responses to Calls for Service. Only 5.3% of these events involved reports of Bodily Harm, Property Harm, or Threats. Officers recorded 242 of these events as involving individuals experiencing mental health crises.
CPE will present key findings from Clinton’s assessment and discuss areas for further exploration in a public event on Wednesday, June 7th, at 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. Register for the presentation event: Clinton Justice Navigator Public Rollout.
CPE will also host a Community Roundtable on Thursday, June 8th, from 6:00 - 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time at the Henry Carter Hull Library in Clinton, Connecticut. Register for the Community Roundtable: Clinton Community Roundtable.