Exploring 2023 Connecticut Traffic Stops

Every police department in Connecticut is required to collect and provide data about each traffic stop conducted by their department. This data includes details about the traffic stop, such as the reason for the stop, demographics of the driver, the outcome of the stop, and more. The traffic stops data repository is maintained by the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP) at the University of Connecticut. Each year, CTData partners with IMRP to provide the raw dataset, formatted data tables, and data analysis on our Traffic Stop Data Repository.

In 2023, there were 358,000 traffic stops in Connecticut, a 14% increase from 2022. Despite this increase, traffic stops remain below pre-pandemic levels. The 2023 figure is 30% lower than in 2019, when 513,000 traffic stops were reported. Following 2019, there were 242,000 stops in 2020, 275,000 in 2021, and 314,000 in 2022. 

Although most agencies across the state followed the overall trend in traffic stop numbers, 21% of agencies reported more traffic stops in 2023 than in 2019. 

Explore traffic stops by agency in the table below.

Traffic stop reports include demographic information about the driver, such as race, ethnicity, and sex. This data is based on the officer’s perception of the driver. Officers are legally required to make a determination for each demographic category without asking the driver to self-identify. The option for “other/unknown” is no longer available. 

These are the options officers can select from:

• Race: Asian, Black, American Indian, and White

• Ethnicity: Hispanic, non-Hispanic, and Middle Eastern. Note: Data on Middle Eastern ethnicity is not consistently collected and is treated as non-Hispanic for this analysis.

• Sex: Female and male

Because demographic data for the total population of drivers is limited, it can be difficult to compare the traffic stops data by race and ethnicity to the total population of drivers. However, we found that a noticeable 63% of traffic stops were for male drivers in 2023.

More than half of traffic stops were of white non-Hispanic drivers (58%). Black non-Hispanic drivers and Hispanic or Latino drivers each accounted for 19% of stops. Explore data by demographic category in the charts below.

A statutory authority must be cited by the officer to stop a motor vehicle. We’ve grouped reasons into four categories: Administrative, Equipment, Safety, and Other. The possible reasons within each category can be found in the table below. 

Most stops were safety-related (74%), followed by administrative (11%) and equipment-related (10%). Five percent of stops were for other reasons.

Of safety-related traffic stops, the most common reasons for the stop were speed related (35% of all traffic stops), stop sign (11%), traffic control signals (8%), and moving violations (8%). The most common equipment-related stops were for defective lights (6% of all traffic stops) and display of plates (3%). Registration was the most common reason for administrative stops and accounted for 8% of all traffic stops.

Black and Hispanic drivers were less likely to be stopped for safety-related reasons and more likely to be stopped for administrative and equipment violations than other race/ethnicity groups. Explore more details in the table below.

In 2023, a total of 5,817 vehicles were searched, representing 1.6% of traffic stops statewide. However, the search rate varied by race and ethnicity. Searches were conducted in less than 1% of traffic stops involving Asian, American Indian, and white non-Hispanic drivers. In contrast, vehicles of Black non-Hispanic drivers were searched in 2.7% of stops and Hispanic or Latino drivers experienced searches in 2.9% of stops.

Vehicle Searches by Agency

Statewide, vehicles were searched in 1.6% of traffic stops in 2023. Nine agencies searched vehicles in 5% or more of traffic stops. Waterbury searched 18% of vehicles, West Haven searched 11% of vehicles, and Bridgeport searched 10% of vehicles. State Police searched 44%, but only 18 traffic stops were coded as State Police. Other state police traffic stop data can be found under specific troop names, such as CSP Troop A. Explore more agencies in the table below.

The disposition, or outcome, of a traffic stop can be one of the following: Verbal Warning, Written Warning, Infraction, Uniform Arrest Report, Misdemeanor Summons, or No Disposition.

Overall, 62% of traffic stops resulted in verbal or written warnings, 31% resulted in infractions, and 4% resulted in a misdemeanor summons. Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic drivers were more likely to receive a misdemeanor summons than any other race/ethnicity group (7% of traffic stops). White non-Hispanic drivers received a written or verbal warning more frequently than other race/ethnicity groups (68% of traffic stops). Explore more detailed in the table below.

Changes in Disposition from 2019 to 2023

The distribution of traffic stop dispositions has shifted since the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, infractions and verbal warnings each accounted for 40% of traffic stop outcomes, while written warnings made up 13%. 

By 2023, verbal warnings decreased slightly to 38% (a two percentage point decrease), and infractions fell to 31% (a nine percentage point decrease). Meanwhile, written warnings steadily increased between 2019 and 2023, accounting for 24% of traffic stop outcomes in 2023. 

The proportion of traffic stops resulting in misdemeanor summonses, uniform arrest reports, and no disposition remained steady between 2019 and 2023.

Looking at these changes by race/ethnicity in the table below, the pattern on decreased infractions and increased written warnings holds true across all race/ethnicity groups. Asian non-Hispanic drivers had a 17 percentage point decrease in infractions, alongside a 13 percentage point increase in written warnings and a four percentage point increase in verbal warnings.

For More Information

Explore our full Traffic Stop Data Repository to download data tables and read our previous traffic stops analyses.