TRENTON, NJ — Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced on July 8 the launch of the New Jersey State Police Traffic Stop Dashboard, which will enable the public to view detailed information on more than six million traffic stops conducted by the NJSP over a period of more than 10 years, from Jan. 1, 2009, to Dec. 31, 2020.
Operated by the attorney general’s office and developed in partnership with software developer SAS Institute, the dashboard provides one of the most comprehensive statewide databases in the country for traffic stop information. The data is organized by a variety of metrics, including driver race, and users can download the full dataset for their own review. Researchers, reporters and members of the public can access the dashboard online at njoag.gov/trafficstops.
“The New Jersey State Police Traffic Stop Dashboard is another powerful tool to promote transparency and accountability in policing in New Jersey,” Grewal said. “It presents more than a decade of data in a format that will facilitate analysis and encourage public dialogue about this critical area of policing. Just as we are enabling law enforcement, the media, researchers and the public to better understand how force is used by police with our Use of Force portal, this new dashboard will give stakeholders an unprecedented look at how and why the state police conduct traffic stops.”
“The Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards supports the New Jersey State Police with legal advice and objective monitoring designed to ensure that their policies and procedures address evolving legal principles as well as any issues identified in reported data,” OLEPS Director Christina M. Glogoff said. “With this new public dashboard, we invite citizens, advocates and reporters to examine state police traffic stop data themselves and perhaps contribute to a public conversation about best practices in this area.”
“The New Jersey State Police is committed to providing professional and compassionate service to the public in partnership with our communities, and we are committed to promoting transparency and accountability. We hold New Jersey state troopers to the highest standards, which is why we have implemented multiple layers of oversight over the last two decades to identify potentially deficient patrol practices or behaviors before they become a problem,” said Col. Patrick J. Callahan, superintendent of the NJSP. “The dashboard will be a window through which the public can view the data that we utilize to enhance and improve our training for both enlisted members and for recruits in training, and we welcome the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue about how we conduct traffic stops.”
By statute, the attorney general’s office is required to periodically publish aggregate data of NJSP motor vehicle stops. After collecting traffic stop data for more than a decade and publishing written reports, the office has now created the dashboard to present this extensive dataset in a variety of visual and interactive displays. Throughout, the information is broken down by driver race.
The dashboard includes graphs that illustrate trends over time about the reasons a state trooper stopped a motor vehicle, and the actions, if any, the trooper took after the motor vehicle stop with respect to the driver and any other occupants, including summonses issued, warnings issued, arrests, consent searches conducted, probable cause searches conducted, uses of force, vehicle exits, frisks and canine deployments.
The dashboard continues to be a work in progress, and the attorney general’s office encourages users to complete a short survey at https://form.jotform.com/211715506927053 to offer feedback.
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