SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Racial and Identity Profiling Board released its 2025 report containing an analysis of police stops in 2023 under the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) – noting racial profiling in interactions between perceived youth and law enforcement.
The Sacramento Bee wrote the RIPA Board is composed of members from diverse backgrounds, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, representatives appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, and other legislative leaders.
According to the report, Black individuals were disproportionately more likely to be stopped by police than other racial demographics, as they were stopped 126.46 percent times more than expected based on their proportion of the state’s population.
The RIPA report found similar trends in Hispanic/Latine(x) individuals, who made up 43.07 percent of all stops, despite accounting for about 30 percent of the state’s population.
Among stops with the same reported outcome, the data from the RIPA report highlighted significant differences in the length of stops across racial and ethnic demographics.
Individuals perceived to be Native American and Pacific Islander were stopped approximately twice as long as other groups who also ultimately received a warning, stated the RIPA report.
Although being perceived as Hispanic/Latine(x), Native American, or Black significantly increased the likelihood of youth being searched by the police, these demographics were less likely to lead to contraband discovery than searches of individuals perceived to be white, as observed in the data by the RIPA report.
The RIPA data also showed the use of force was not uncommon in youth stops, especially within the 12-14 age category, with Black and Native American youth experiencing the highest rates.
Within this category were reports of lethal force, including discharging firearms, as well as limited force—forms of physical contact such as handcuffing and/or physical removal from a vehicle, highlighted the RIPA report.
The report noted law enforcement arrested youth perceived to be under 25 and Native American or Black at higher rates than other racial groups.
The RIPA report also stated youth perceived to have a disability were more likely to be handcuffed than youth with no perceived disability.
In a statement, RIPA Board co-chair Andrea Guerrero said, “The racial disparities of policing stops, searches, and use of force in youth is alarming.”
Guerrero added, “Young Californians who are driving, biking, and walking and perceived to be Black or Brown are regularly stopped, asked to consent to a search, handcuffed, sat on the curb, put in a police car, and questioned for information that is recorded on a field interview card before being released.
“This is California’s version of stop and frisk that causes immeasurable harm to the community and erodes trust in law enforcement from a young age.”
