Exploring 2024 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 2024, there were 413,000 traffic stops in Connecticut, a 15% increase from 2023. Despite this increase, traffic stops remain below pre-pandemic levels. The 2024 figure is 19% 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, and 358,000 in 2023. 

Although most agencies across the state followed the overall trend in traffic stop numbers, 37 agencies reported more traffic stops in 2024 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. These categories refer to non-Hispanic.

• 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. These categories include all races.

• 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 64% of traffic stops were for male drivers in 2024.

More than half of traffic stops were of White drivers (58%), followed by Hispanic (20%), and Black (18%). 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 (73%), followed by administrative (13%) and equipment-related (9%). Five percent of stops were for other reasons.

Of safety-related traffic stops, the most common reasons for the stop were speed related (36% of all traffic stops), stop sign (11%), traffic control signals (9%), and moving violations (8%). The most common equipment-related stops were for defective lights (6% of all traffic stops) and display of plates (2%). 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 window tint violations than other race/ethnicity groups. Explore more details in the table below.

In 2024, a total of 7,065 vehicles were searched, representing 1.7% 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 drivers. In contrast, vehicles of Black drivers were searched in 2.7% of stops and Hispanic drivers experienced searches in 3.2% of stops.

Vehicle Searches by Agency

Statewide, vehicles were searched in 1.7% of traffic stops in 2024. Seven agencies searched vehicles in 5% or more of traffic stops. CSP Troop H searched 18% of vehicles, Madison searched 11% of vehicles, and Groton searched 11% of vehicles. 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, 63% of traffic stops resulted in verbal or written warnings, 33% resulted in infractions, and 3% resulted in a misdemeanor summons. Black and Hispanic drivers were more likely to receive a misdemeanor summons than any other race/ethnicity group (5% of traffic stops). White 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 2024

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 2024, verbal warnings decreased to 35% (a five percentage point decrease), and infractions fell to 33% (a seven percentage point decrease). Meanwhile, written warnings steadily increased between 2019 and 2024, accounting for 26% of traffic stop outcomes in 2024. 

The proportion of traffic stops resulting in misdemeanor summonses has decreased slightly, and uniform arrest reports and no disposition remained steady between 2019 and 2024.

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 drivers had a 17 percentage point decrease in infractions, alongside a 15 percentage point increase in written warnings and a three 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.