Police Department Stop Data
Published 1/30/23
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Overview
The Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), or California Assembly Bill (AB)953 was signed into law in October 2015. The bill requires law enforcement agencies to collect specific information on each stop, including elements of the stop, circumstances and the perceived identity characteristics of the individual(s) stopped. The information obtained by officers is reported to the California Department of Justice. This dataset includes stops that have occurred between July 2018 and September 30, 2022.
How can this dataset be best used?
This dataset includes information about police stops that occurred, including stop date, time, duration, and location, as well as some details about the person(s) stopped, why the person was stopped, and what happened during the stop. Each row is a person stopped with a record identifier for the stop and a unique identifier for the person. A single stop may involve multiple people and may produce more than one associated unique identifier for the same record identifier (e.g.: A vehicle stop with a driver and two passengers.) See below for an example of a stop involving 3 persons:
DOJ Record ID
Unique Identifier
Agency ORI
Date of Stop
Time of Stop
U0123456789
U0123456789_1
CA0380100
12/31/18
21:47:00
U0123456789
U0123456789_2
CA0380100
12/31/18
21:47:00
U0123456789
U0123456789_3
CA0380100
12/31/18
21:47:00
The information collected by officers can be used to help understand the number, location, reason for and outcomes of stops conducted by the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). Geographic information is anonymized and provided to help understand stops conducted across neighborhoods, police and supervisorial districts. Provision of date information allows for analysis of data trends over time. Reasons for stop, search, and seizure, along with outcomes of any stop, search, or seizure, allow for additional layering against time, geographic and demographic data for analysis.
What data do we collect?
The department’s stop dataset provides counts of stops by type, date, time, and location. Department officers collect perceived detailed demographic information during pedestrian and traffic stops as required by the Racial and Identity Profiling (RIPA) Act of 2015 for stop data regulations. View the stop data regulations, which guide data collection and define the elements included in the data set.
Dataset users should review the RIPA stop data categories of information an officer must collect for each stop to help assist with interpreting analysis. It is important to note that an officer’s perception of a person’s demographic identifiers (race/ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ, etc.) may differ from how the person self-identifies since officers are prohibited from asking the person stopped to self-identify their characteristics.
What transformations have been applied to this dataset?
The SFPD conducts several transformations of this data to ensure privacy, accuracy and compliance with State law and regulation. These data transformations occur after data submission to the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) via the Stop Data Collection System (SDCS), and includes data geocoding and PII cleaning processes:
By the end of each shift, officers enter all stop data into the Stop Data Collection System, which is automatically submitted to the CA DOJ. Once a quarter the Department receives a stops data file from CA DOJ.
The address fields are manually cleaned for mapping suitability. Addresses are geocoded to the nearest intersection. Instead of the uncoded free text that makes up the location in raw SDCS data, the Department has geocoded and added Location and District fields to this dataset. The location field will provide an anonymized location of the stop while the district field provides the police district of the stop location. Users are reminded that geographic information is anonymized and provided to help understand stops conducted across neighborhoods, police districts and supervisorial districts. A certain percentage of stops have stop information that can’t be geocoded. In these cases, the location of the stops is coded as unknown.
After the geocoding process is complete, the stops data file is formatted, and personally identifiable information is redacted from the narrative fields. Each narrative field is reviewed for names, addresses and juvenile terms. The data file is then returned to the CA DOJ.
The SFPD follows the CA DOJ’s release standards for RIPA data and provides the public access to almost all fields that are available for release. The LEA Record ID, Location, Reason for Stop Narrative, Basis for Stop Narrative, and personally identifiable information on officers is not published in the CA DOJ RIPA data and is also not included in this dataset. The Agency name and the K-12 School name are fields published in the CA DOJ’s RIPA report but are not provided in this dataset. The Agency name field was removed because all stops listed were conducted by SFPD officers. The K-12 School name is a field populated by the K-12 School Code field. Users may search the CA Department of Education’s School Directory for a corresponding California school by using the K-12 School Code in the dataset.
What is the Stop Data Collection System (SDCS)?
The Stop Data Collection System (SDCS) is a web based data collection tool provided by the California Department of Justice to assist departments in complying with AB953 and the RIPA Board’s data collection requirements.
How is a “stop” defined?
The Department utilizes the SDCS program definitions under AB953: The Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015; a ‘stop’ is defined as 1) any detention, as defined in regulations, by a peace officer of a person or 2) any peace officer interaction with a person in which the officer conducts a search as defined in regulation. Stops include Traffic Stops, Pedestrian Detentions, and may be Self-Initiated or Dispatched. There are some exceptions to this definition, as noted in the regulations.
Can a stop have more than one person?
Yes. During a single encounter, multiple persons may be stopped. When multiple persons are stopped during one encounter, relevant information will be submitted for each person within the single report only when (A): the passenger is observed or suspected of violating the Vehicle Code or any other applicable law or ordinance; or (B): excluding “Vehicle Impound” and “None”, the passenger is subjected to any data value actions identified in section 999.226, subdivision (a)(12)(A), “Actions Taken by Officer During Stop.”
What is not captured in this dataset?
This dataset does not include any potentially identifiable information of officers conducting stops or suspects stopped. This dataset may not capture other law enforcement agency stops within San Francisco (BART PD, US Park Police, for example.) Demographic information pertaining to individual identity is based on officer perception rather than self-identification, and includes race/ethnicity, gender, age, LGBT identity, English fluency, and disability.
What privacy controls are this data set subject to?
The release of this data must balance the need for disclosure to the public against the risk of violating the privacy of those individuals present within the dataset. All incident locations are shown at the intersection or 100 block level only. Some cases are referred from outside SFPD districts. These will be marked as “Out of SF” or “Unknown”. Per AB 953, law enforcement agencies are prohibited from reporting unique identifying information on persons stopped. Per CCR 999.226, officer ID numbers are Unique Identifying Information and are withheld from the dataset.
What are CJIS offense codes?
Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) offense codes are a table of all state level offenses maintained by the California Department of Justice. These codes are used across multiple criminal justice applications, including SDCS, to standardize data entry for some data fields. Copies of the latest CJIS offense code tables can be found here: Law Enforcement Code Tables | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General.
Juvenile Data
The release of de-identified stop data on juveniles is included and is consistent with CA DOJ RIPA data releases.
Data field definitions
The full list of data field definitions is also available here and CJIS offense codes here.
Data field
Description/ Definition
Data values
DOJ Record ID
A unique system- generated incident identification number.
Alpha-numeric
Unique Identifier
DOJ Record ID and the system-generated person identification number
Alpha-numeric
Agency ORI
The number for the reporting Agency
Nine digit alpha-numeric
Date of Stop
Date of stop
Date format
Time of Stop
Time of stop
24-hour time clock
Duration of Stop
Duration of stop in minutes
Minute format
Is Stop Made in Response to Call for Service
Stop made in response to a call for Service
No Yes
Location
Location of stop
Alpha-numeric
District
Location of stop district
Alpha-numeric
City
City location of stop
Alpha-numeric
Is Location a K-12 Public School
Stop on K-12 school grounds
No Yes
K-12 School Code
School code
Fourteen-digit alpha-numeric Blank
Perceived Race or Ethnicity Desc
Perceived Race or Ethnicity of Citizen. Individuals perceived as one or more races/ethnicities (columns Q – W) are counted as “Multiracial” for this variable.
Asian Black/African American Hispanic/Latino(a) Middle Eastern or South Asian Native American Pacific Islander White Other or Unknown
Perceived Gender Desc
Perceived gender description of person stopped.
Male Female Transgender Man/Boy Transgender Woman/Girl Unknown
Is LGBT
Person stopped perceived to be LGBT
No Yes
Perceived Age
Perceived age of person stopped
Alpha-numeric
Perceived Age Group
Perceived age of person stopped categorized into groups
0 - Under 18
18 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 or over
Person had Limited or No English Fluency
Person stopped has limited or no English fluency
No Yes
Perceived or Known Disability
Perceived or known disability of person stopped. Individuals perceived as having one or more disabilities (columns AK – AQ) are counted as “Multiple Disability” for this variable.
1 Deafness or difficulty hearing,
2 Speech Impairment or limited use of language,
3 Blind or limited vision,
4 Mental Health Condition,
5 Intellectual or developmental disability, including dementia,
6 Other,
7 Hyperactivity or impulsive behavior,
8 None
If K-12 School, Is Stop of a Student
Stop of student
No Yes
Reason for Stop
Reason for stop: description
1 Traffic Violation 2 Reasonable suspicion 3 Parole/probation/PRCS/mandatory supervision 4 Knowledge of outstanding arrest warrant/wanted person 5 Investigation to determine whether person was truant 6 Consensual encounter resulting in search 7 Possible conduct under Education Code 8 Determine whether student violated school policy
Traffic Violation Type
Type of traffic violation
1 Moving 2 Equipment violation 3 Non-moving, including registration Blank
Traffic Violation - CJIS Offense Code
Code section related to traffic violation
CJIS offense table code Blank
Suspicion CJIS Offense Code
If known, code for suspected reason for stop violation
CJIS offense table code Blank
Suspicion Sub-Type
Reasonable suspicion/Basis of Suspicion
1 Officer witnessed commission of a crime 2 Matched suspect description 3 Witness or victim identification of suspect at the scene 4 Carrying suspicious object 5 Actions indicative of casing a victim or location 6 Suspected of acting as a lookout 7 Actions indicative of a drug transaction 8 Actions indicative of engaging in a violent crime 9 Other reasonable suspicion of a crime
Education Code section
Section Code
1 48900 - Suspension or expulsion (select subsection) 2 48900.2 - Suspension or expulsion for sexual harassment 3 48900.3 - Suspension or expulsion for hate violence 4 48900.4 - Suspension or expulsion for harassment, threats or intimidation 5 48900.7 - Suspension or expulsion for terroristic threats Blank
Education Code Subdivision
When EC 48900 is selected, specify the subdivision
1 48900(a)(1) - Caused/ attempted/ threatened to cause injury 2 48900(a)(2) - Used force or violence upon person 3 48900(b) - Possessed/sold/furnished a firearm, knife, explosive, etc. 4 48900(c) - Possessed/used/sold/furnished/under influence of intoxicant 5 48900(d) - Offered/arranged/negotiated to sell an intoxicant 6 48900(e) - Committed or attempted to commit robbery/extortion 7 48900(f) - Caused or attempted to cause damage to property 8 48900(g) - Stole or attempted to steal property 9 48900(h) - Possessed or used tobacco, or nicotine products 10 48900(i) - Committed an obscene act or engaged in profanity 11 48900(j) - Possess/offer/arrange/negotiate to sell drug paraphernalia 12 48900(k)(1) - Disrupted activities or willfully defied authority 13 48900(l) - Knowingly received stolen property 14 48900(m) - Possessed an imitation firearm 15 48900(n) - Commit/attempt sexual assault or sexual battery 16 48900(o) - Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a witness 17 48900(p) - Offered/arranged/negotiated to sell, or sold Soma 18 48900(q) - Engaged in, or attempted hazing 19 48900(r) - Engaged in bullying Blank
Actions Taken
Action taken by officer during stop:
1 Person removed from vehicle by order 2 Person removed from vehicle by physical contact 3 Field sobriety test 4 Curbside detention 5 Handcuffed or flex cuffed 6 Patrol car detention 7 Canine removed search 8 Firearm pointed at person 9 Firearm discharged or used 10 Electronic device used 11 Impact projectile discharged or used (e.g. blunt impact projectile, rubber bullets, bean bags) 12 Canine bit or held person 13 Baton or other impact weapon used 14 Chemical spray use (pepper spray, mace, tear gas, or other chemical irritants) 15 Other physical or vehicle contact 16 Person photographed 17 Asked for consent to search person,
Y = Yes/ N = No 18 Search of person was conducted 19 Asked for consent to search property
Y= Yes / N= No
20 Search of property was conducted 21 Property was seized 22 Vehicle impound 23 Admission or written statement obtained from student 24 None
Basis for Search
Basis of Search Description
1 Consent given 2 Officer safety/safety of others 3 Search warrant 4 Condition of parole/probation/PRCS/mandatory supervision 5 Suspected weapons 6 Visible contraband 7 Odor of contraband 8 Canine detection 9 Evidence of crime 10 Incident to arrest 11 Exigent circumstances 12 Vehicle inventory (for search property only) 13 Suspected violation of school policy
Basis for Property Seizure
Basis for Property Seizure Description
1 Safekeeping as allowed by law/statute 2 Contraband 3 Evidence 4 Impound of vehicle 5 Abandoned property 6 Suspected violation of school policy
Type of Property Seized
Type of Property Seized Description
1 Firearm 2 Ammunition 3 Weapon other than firearm 4 Drugs/narcotics 5 Alcohol 6 Money 7 Drug paraphernalia 8 Stolen property 9 Cellphone 10 Vehicle 11 Other contraband
Contraband or Evidence
Contraband or Evidence Discovered, if any
1 None 2 Firearm 3 Ammunition 4 Weapon 5 Drugs/narcotics 6 Alcohol 7 Money 8 Drug paraphernalia 9 Stolen property 10 Cell phone or electronic device 11 Other contraband or evidence
Results of Stop
Results of Stop
1 No action 2 Warning (verbal or written) 3 Citation 4 In field cite and release 5 Custodial pursuant to outstanding warrant 6 Custodial arrest without warrant 7 Field interview card completed 8 Noncriminal transport or caretaking transport (including transport by officer, transport by ambulance, or transport by another agency) 9 Contacted parent/legal guardian or other person responsible for minor 10 Psychiatric hold 11 Referred to US Department of Homeland Security (ICE) 12 Referral to school administrator 13 Referral to school counselor or other support staff
Warning CJIS Offense Code(s)
Result of stop: warning code
Five digit alpha-numeric Blank
Citation CJIS Offense Code(s)
Citation for infraction codes
Five digit alpha-numeric Blank
In-field cite and release CJIS Offense Code(s)
In field cite and release codes
Five digit alpha-numeric Blank
Custodial arrest CJIS Offense Code(s)
Custodial arrest without warrant codes
Five digit alpha-numeric Blank
X
Longitude coordinate
Numeric
Y
Latitude coordinate
Numeric
Stop data record status
Status of stop data record in SDCS system
1 In-progress
2 Pending Review
3 Returned for Edits
4 Re-submitted to Reviewer
5 Completed – Successful Submission
6 Submitted with Errors/Incomplete
7 No Further Information Available
8 Deleted
9 Ready for Submission
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