Field and Traffic Stops
We have a deep respect for the diversity of our community. We are a diverse team committed to serving and protecting our community in a fair and impartial manner that promotes respect and inclusiveness.
Part of our commitment includes public data about our field and traffic stops. Our department is committed to service through transparency.
Stopping members of the community for traffic enforcement, or any other reason, based solely on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, socioeconomic background, or gender is illegal, unconstitutional, unprofessional, and inconsistent with the values, ethics, and ideals of the police profession and the University.
The department will fully uphold its obligation to the community to fairly and impartially investigate incidents of racial profiling or other police misconduct. We also want you to know that you have the right to provide feedback about an officer’s actions. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
What type of data is collected?
We are committed to transparency by collecting, analyzing, and publishing field and traffic stop data.
Field stops
Field stop data indicates the way in which the call was initiated and the self-identified race of the individual stopped. Calls may be received in one of two ways:
- Citizen request for service – A citizen contacts NUPD either by phone or flagging down an officer and requests them to investigate a situation involving a person. Either the person is pointed out by a citizen or a physical description is provided to the officer(s) by the citizen.
- Officer initiated – An officer while on duty identifies circumstances that result in stopping an individual to conduct a further investigation of the situation. The legal standard for initiating a stop is a minimum of reasonable suspicion.
Traffic stops
Whenever a law enforcement officer issues a uniform traffic citation or warning citation for an alleged violation of the Illinois Vehicle Code, they shall record at minimum the location of the stop, date and time of the stop, gender and race of the person stopped, and the category of violation issued.
Please note: We are transitioning to the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) platform for traffic and pedestrian stop data for law enforcement agencies and anticipate the transition to be completed by December 2022. For further information, please email University Police.