In CAJM’s annual Listening Process in the fall of 2015, over 800 people gathered across the county in small house meetings and shared many different community problems. One of the primary concerns shared by our congregations was racial discrimination. Racial discrimination was experienced in many areas; housing, medical care, education and the workforce however, hundreds of stories were told about racial discrimination in policing practices.
Our research revealed that Charleston and North Charleston lead the state in discriminatory police stops. In fact, African Americans are stopped nearly three times as often as Whites in our community. These stops are proven to erode community trust, make it difficult and unsafe for our officers to do their jobs well creating a less safe community for all.
One of the most alarming statistics that we learned is that the Lowcountry actually leads the state in the amount of stops the police conduct for minor violations that then don’t result in a ticket or a citation. In a five-year period, North Charleston had 130,000 of these stops and Charleston had 127,000 – Columbia, comparable in size, only had 33,000 of these stops during that same time period. That means that police in Charleston and North Charleston stop people nearly four times as often as police in Columbia and in our community African Americans and other minorities are stopped at a rate of two and three times that of Whites. These discriminatory practices erode community trust, make it difficult for police officers to do their job well and create a less safe community for all of us.
Our research went on to reveal that other cities across the country have implemented practices in police transparency and accountability that deal effectively with this problem and are proven to build community trust and improve community-police relations. One of those best practices involves hiring an external, independent Police Auditor to conduct an audit of bias-based policing in stops, searches, questioning and frisks that would result in a public report.
At our annual Nehemiah Action Assembly on April 18, 2016, nearly 2,100 CAJM members gathered and gained commitments from Charleston and North Charleston City Council Members to begin the process to hire an external, independent police auditor to audit bias-based policing in stops, searches, questioning, and frisks. It will allow the community to see what is happening within our police departments, improving transparency and offer constructive, proven to work recommendations on how to address discriminatory police practices.
Charleston Police Department Racial Bias Report
In 2019, external firm CNA was hired to conduct an audit for racial bias in the Charleston Police Department. They held over 75 meetings with officers in the department and met with over 290 community members to better understand the policing problems in the city. A preliminary report was issued on Sep. 31, 2019 by CNA. A final report was issued Nov. 7, 2019.
The audit found significant racial disparities in several policing practices, including traffic stops, use of force, searches, and arrests. For instance, 61 percent of Charleston Police’s use-of-force incidents involved Black people, compared to 37 percent involving White people.
In 2023, CAJM called for an external assessment of CPD’s progress toward implementing recommendations from the audit. This External Review Assessment found that CPD has made progress in non-disparities/organizational areas and significant improvement in data collection. However, CPD has made no progress on community engagement or transparency, nor have they made progress in reducing racial disparities– the reason for the audit.
This is troubling, particularly because the ERA also uncovered disparities in more detail. The ERA found that Black drivers are stopped more frequently than White drivers despite being only 30 percent of drivers, 56 percent of stops of Black drivers result in a warning vs. 40 percent for White drivers, and Black drivers are more likely to receive multiple citations than White drivers.
In 2024, CAJM held two events at St. Patrick Catholic Church’s Parish Hall to raise community awareness around racial disparities in CPD’s policing practices, and the need for CPD to work to reduce these disparities. More than 250 people attended the first forum, hosted in January. The second event, held in September, welcomed just over 100 guests, who heard testimonies of persons who have been pulled over by police, and potential solutions for reducing disparities.
North Charleston Police Department Racial Bias Report
In late 2020, the City of North Charleston finally agreed to an audit and hired CNA to conduct a racial bias assessment of the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD). Beginning in March 2021, CNA undertook a comprehensive assessment of NCPD’s policies and practices, focusing on assessing racially biased practices and procedures. The report’s findings include:
■ Racial disparities are present in many of NCPD’s interactions with the community, indicative of potential systemic, organizational, or individual bias, and these disparities are deeply felt by the community.
■ Community members have substantial concerns regarding NCPD’s police presence and perceived over-enforcement of certain individuals, community groups, and neighborhoods.
■ NCPD’s School Resource Officer Program has room to improve to better serve the youth of the North Charleston community.
■ NCPD lacks proper translation services and information for Spanish-speaking residents in the community.
■ Although NCPD emphasizes community-oriented policing practices, not all officers in the department have embraced the importance of community policing.
■ Members of the North Charleston community have expressed a desire to better understand the roles, responsibilities, policies, practices, and operations of the department.
■ Many community members have not filed complaints even after negative experiences with NCPD personnel, and the complaint process is confusing to most.
■ NCPD has a strong commitment to hiring and retaining personnel that reflect the ethnic, racial, and gender composition of the North Charleston community. They have an established plan to specifically recruit women and people of color.
■ NCPD’s officers have not been consistently trained in topics of critical importance for 21st Century policing.
■ Community members expressed high confidence in Chief Burgess and his abilities to meaningfully engage with the community.