Boone County Sheriff's Dept
The population used for analysis of the 2021 BCSO traffic stop data was 147,343, which is roughly about 36,000 less than the actual population of Boone County. The U.S. Census Bureau states Boone County's 2020 population was 183,610 and estimates that increased to 185,840 in 2021. Within Missouri, Boone County is the 8th most populated county and the City of Columbia, the County seat, is the 4th most populated city. Boone County, the regional employment hub in mid-Missouri, is also the home to MU, Stephens College, Columbia College and several satellite college campuses. With numerous hospitals, medical clinics, businesses, sporting events, and entertainment venues, visitors from around the state and country are drawn to Boone County and the population increases dras- tically on weekends and during daytime hours with commuting workers, students, and visitors. Boone County has the convergence of two major highways (Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 63). In 2021, deputies did not know the race of the driver prior to the stop during 85% of the traffic stops. Additionally, 23% of motorists stopped in 2021 were non-residents simply visiting or passing through Boone County. Racial disparity based on raw traffic stop data in comparison to the local population is not indicative of any underlying issues absent consideration of other socio- economic factors. As a CALEA accredited agency, we continually train our staff on unbiased policing and recognizing bias. We also continually evaluate enforcement activities, disparity numbers, and complaints to determine if there are areas in which we need to improve.