Ticketgate: Unveiling Racial Profiling in Connecticut State Police

Probing Racial Profiling: Connecticut State Police Under Scrutiny

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Connecticut State Police after an audit revealed widespread falsified traffic tickets. The review showed that more than 1,000 state troopers issued at least one fake ticket between 2014 and 2021.

A racial profiling board examined 800,000 tickets and compared them with records in the court system. Their findings showed that between 26,000 and 58,000 tickets were falsified. One trooper alone created almost 1,400 fake tickets in three years.

These false entries made it appear as if more white drivers were being pulled over than Black or Hispanic drivers. Because of this, analysts cannot create accurate reports on the race and ethnicity of the drivers stopped by Connecticut State Police. Previous data already showed that Black and Hispanic drivers were pulled over at disproportionate rates.

The falsified information suggests that racial profiling may be even worse than earlier reports indicated. The audit began after a separate investigation found that four troopers intentionally created hundreds of fake tickets to boost their productivity numbers.

Despite the findings, state police unions oppose releasing the names of the officers involved, citing health and safety concerns.

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