Southern Illinois University Carbondale Police traffic stops, by the numbers

If you've ever wondered about policing patterns in your community, you can use this app as a reference.

Traffic stops, the most common interaction between police and the public, have been a matter of public record in Illinois since 2004, when a state law began requiring police to log key details every time they pull over a car: the race of the driver, the reason for the stop, the outcome and many other points of info.

Twenty years and 40 million-plus stops later, WBEZ and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity have assembled a comprehensive database of traffic stop records spanning two decades and more than 1,000 law enforcement agencies across Illinois. Our reporting has revealed increasing racial disparities, declining police compliance and limited oversight from the state.

Matt Kiefer and Andjela Padejski are data journalists with WBEZ.

Claire Kurgan and Zahid Khalil contributed to this interactive.



Traffic stops over time
Latino
White
Black
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Asian
Southern Illinois University Carbondale Police started participating in the Illinois Traffic Stop Study in 2004, the first year the state began collecting data. The median number of annual traffic stops is 477.0. The percentage share of drivers stopped who are Black has increased from 30.7% in 2004 to 49.1% in 2023. 

With this tool, you have access to the entire database — including your local police department's records. Here's how you can use it: