Course Description

Across the country, traffic stop data is gathered when law enforcement officers make vehicle stops to be analyzed later in an effort determine if there is evidence suggesting the biased treatment of persons by race or ethnicity.  In several states these data are gathered by state statute and analyzed by a state entity, such as the attorney general’s office or human rights commission.  In other cases, these data are gathered and analyzed by individual law enforcement agencies in an effort to be transparent, or in reaction to outside accusations of racial profiling. 

But are these data being collected and analyzed in a correct manner?  Are these analyses following established best practices for social scientific research in general, and racial profiling research specifically?  Is your state or agency collecting and analyzing data in a fair and impartial manner?  What are the repercussions for your agency and community if traffic stop data is collected or analyzed inaccurately?

This webinar will be an open and honest discussion about the current state of traffic stop data analysis.  Chief Harry Dolan (ret.) and Richard Johnson, Ph.D., will discuss their respective experiences with traffic data collect projects and the current state of traffic stop data collection in law enforcement. During his 32-year law enforcement career, Chief Dolan gained extensive experience with overseeing the collection, analysis, and presentation of traffic stop data to the communities he served.  Dr. Johnson previously served as a trooper with the Indiana State Police and has 20 years of experience conducting social science research on policing. He has engaged in traffic stop data analyses projects for law enforcement agencies, and assisted law enforcement agencies in building their own in-house analysis capabilities. 

In this webinar, these two experts will discuss their experiences with traffic stop data and answer questions from webinar attendees regarding this topic.  These topics will include:     

•   What is traffic stop data and why is it collected?

  What are the wrong ways to use and analyze traffic stop data, and what are the outcomes of improper analyses?

    What are the right ways to analyze these data, and who says these are the “right ways”?

    Does it make any difference if we gather and analyze these data or not? Does it change minds?

    What about agencies in the states that gather and analyze data at the state level?

    What can a police leader do to educate the community and elected officials about this issue?


Instructor

CEO, Dolan Consulting Group

| Chief Harry Dolan (Ret.)

Harry P. Dolan is a 32-year police veteran who served as a Chief of Police since 1987. As one of the nation's most experienced police chiefs, he brings 25 years of public safety executive experience to Dolan Consulting Group. He retired in October 2012 as Chief of Police of the Raleigh (N.C.) Police Department, an agency comprised of nearly 900 employees in America's 42nd largest city.

Chief Dolan began his law enforcement career in 1980 as a deputy sheriff in Asheville, North Carolina and served there until early 1982, when he joined the Raleigh Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer. In 1987, he was appointed Chief of Police for the N.C. Department of Human Resources Police Department, located in Black Mountain. He served as Chief of Police in Lumberton, N.C. from 1992 until 1998, when he became Chief of Police of the Grand Rapids, Michigan Police Department. He served in that capacity for nearly ten years before becoming Chief of the Raleigh Police Department in September 2007. As Chief, he raised the bar at every organization and left each in a better position to both achieve and sustain success.

Harry Dolan has lectured throughout the United States and has trained thousands of public safety professionals in the fields of Leadership & Management, Communications Skills, and Community Policing. Past participants have consistently described Chief Dolan's presentations as career changing, characterized by his sense of humor and unique ability to maintain participants' interest throughout his training sessions. Chief Dolan's demonstrated ability to connect with his clientele and deliver insightful instruction all with uncompromising principles will be of tremendous value in the private sector.

Chief Dolan's unbridled passion to achieve service-excellence is a driving force behind Dolan Consulting Group. He is a graduate of Western Carolina University and holds a Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership and Management from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Chief Academic Officer, Dolan Consulting Group

| Dr. Richard Johnson

Richard R. Johnson, PhD, is a trainer and researcher with Dolan Consulting Group. He has decades of experience teaching and training on various topics associated with criminal justice, and has conducted research on a variety of topics related to crime and law enforcement. He holds a bachelor's degree in public administration and criminal justice from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University, with a minor in social psychology. He possesses a master's degree in criminology from Indiana State University. He earned his doctorate in criminal justice from the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati with concentrations in policing and criminal justice administration.

Dr. Johnson has published more than 50 articles on various criminal justice topics in academic research journals, including Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, Criminal Justice & Behavior, Journal of Criminal Justice, and Police Quarterly. He has also published more than a dozen articles in law enforcement trade journals such as the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Police Chief, Law & Order, National Sheriff, and Ohio Police Chief. His research has primarily focused on police-citizen interactions, justice system responses to domestic violence, and issues of police administration and management. Dr. Johnson retired as a full professor of criminal justice at the University of Toledo in 2016.

Prior to his academic career, Dr. Johnson served several years working within the criminal justice system. He served as a trooper with the Indiana State Police, working uniformed patrol in Northwest Indiana. He served as a criminal investigator with the Kane County State's Attorney Office in Illinois, where he investigated domestic violence and child sexual assault cases. He served as an intensive probation officer for felony domestic violence offenders with the Illinois 16th Judicial Circuit. Dr. Johnson is also a proud military veteran having served as a military police officer with the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, including active duty service after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Before that, he served as an infantry soldier and field medic in the U.S. Army and Army National Guard.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Before You Start

    • Consent Questions

    • Download Webinar Workbook

  • 2

    Webinar

    • Traffic Stop Data—An Honest Conversation for Law Enforcement | Hour 1

    • Traffic Stop Data—An Honest Conversation for Law Enforcement | Hour 2