HARRISBURG, Pa. — An analysis released Friday found no substantive racial or ethnic disparities in Pennsylvania State Police traffic stops for the third consecutive year, officials say.
The report examined 423,007 traffic stops conducted in 2025 across Pennsylvania, according to the PSP Communications Office.
The analysis was conducted by a research team from the University of Cincinnati, led by Dr. Robin Engel, a senior research scientist at the Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
“The independent analysis by nationally recognized policing expert Dr. Engel and her team confirms, once again, that Pennsylvania State Police members initiate traffic stops based on legitimate legal violations,” Lt. Col. George L. Bivens, PSP acting commissioner, said. “Decisions regarding warnings, citations, searches and arrests are driven by the facts of each encounter — including the reason for the stop, investigative findings and a driver’s behavior — not by race or ethnicity. Our commitment to fair and impartial policing is supported by transparent, independently reviewed data.”
“For more than 15 years, the Pennsylvania State Police have partnered with independent researchers to strengthen transparency and build public trust through rigorous traffic stop data collection and analysis,” Dr. Engel said. “The 2025 findings show high-quality data, stable patterns over time and no substantive racial or ethnic disparities in traffic stop enforcement outcomes after relevant legal and situational factors are considered. This sustained commitment to evidence-based policing positions PSP as a national leader in accountability and continuous improvement.”
According to the report, almost 60% of traffic stops involved moving violations, while the remaining stops resulted from registration, equipment, inspection or driver’s license violations. Speeding remained the most common reason for a stop, with stopped drivers exceeding the speed limit by an average of 21.7 mph.
The vast majority of traffic stops resulted in either warnings or citations. Arrests occurred in only 3.7% of stops, while searches were conducted in just 4.5% of cases.
The strongest predictors of all post-stop outcomes were legal factors — such as the initial reason for the stop, observed evidence of criminal activity, the driver’s compliance and any criminal history, such as outstanding warrants.
The state police’s discretionary searches resulted in the seizure of contraband in nearly 67% of cases.
PSP was among the first state law enforcement agencies in the nation to voluntarily collect comprehensive traffic stop data, officials say. The department first partnered with Dr. Engel and her research team in 1999 and continued voluntary data collection through 2010. The state police reinitiated contact data collection for trooper-initiated traffic stops in 2021.
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