Police Free Traffic

   Move enforcement to mcdot

Police Free Traffic: Support the STEP Act! 

Remove Police from Traffic Enforcement 

2023 Update: Upcoming Hearing on the STEP Act


In late February, Councilmember Jawando introduced The Safety and Traffic Equity in Policing Act (STEP Act): a bill to ban minor traffic stops. Minor traffic stops are for violations such as tinted windows or expired license/registration. The bill aims to prohibit minor traffic stops because they do not improve public safety.


YPP supports the STEP Act because Black and Latine drivers are disproportionately targeted by these stops and they are used as an unfair pretext to search for drugs. This builds upon a long-standing history of racial discrimination in the county. Over 20 years ago, the NAACP filed a complaint with the US Department of Justice alleging that the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) engaged in discriminatory traffic enforcement. That complaint led to a memorandum of agreement that ordered MCPD to collect and report data so that their discriminatory practices could be tracked.


According to a recent report by the County Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO), disparities in traffic enforcement persist and have even worsened in recent years! From 2018 - 2022, Black and Latinx drivers were stopped, cited, searched and arrested at rates far exceeding their representation in our population, while White and Asian drivers were stopped at rates far below their population numbers.

Black Hispanic White
Population 18% 19% 43%
Stops 30% 21% 35%
Citations 34% 29% 28%
Searches 43% 31% 21%
Arrests 38% 35% 21%

Jurisdictions and police departments around the country have passed a range of laws and policies similar to the STEP Act. This includes the states of Virginia and Oregon, as well as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Seattle, West Hollywood, Memphis and several police departments in Connecticut. Other jurisdictions are in the process of considering legislation like the STEP Act now. To read about St. Paul's success with nearly eliminating all racial disparities in traffic stops, click here. 


If you would like to learn more about the STEP Act, click here.

Take Action on the STEP Act Now!

Over the last few months, YPP has met with a number of councilmembers to assess their support for the bill, gather their concerns, and share our proposed amendments for the legislation. But we need your help!


Contact your County Councilmember: Have you had an adverse experience with police? Did you feel that you were discriminated against in a traffic stop? Do you care about racial justice in your community? If so, email and/or call your County Councilmember to tell them why you support the STEP Act.


To find out who your County Councilmember is and how to contact them, click here. You can also read more information on the STEP Act here.


If you would like help writing your email or contacting your Councilmember, please email danielle@ypforprogress.org.



Move Enforcement to Montgomery County Department of Transportation 

Why Should We Remove Police From Traffic Enforcement? Something is not working: With nation-wide conversations on reimagining policing, Young People for Progress (YPP) believe there are better, less discriminatory ways to protect public safety on our streets. Despite decades of police presence in traffic enforcement, hundreds of people die in traffic crashes every year in Maryland. We can do better! By focusing resources downstream before traffic enforcement is needed, the County can make significant improvements to driver, bicyclist, and pedestrian safety. Doing more harm than good: Combined with the fact that police in traffic enforcement cannot police our streets every minute of every day, Montgomery County (MoCo) in particular, faces tremendous racial bias in police traffic enforcement. Black and Brown residents are more likely to pulled over, twice as likely to be given a traffic citation, and more than twice as likely to have police force used against them during a stop than white residents. This creates distrust among communities of color, making it even more difficult for police to do their job. It’s also just wrong! 

What Are Our Alternatives? 
Move enforcement to the Montgomery County Department of Transportation 
YPP urges moving traffic enforcement duties from police to a civilian unit within the MoCo Department of Transportation (MCDOT). MCDOT would take on duties such as camera ticket enforcement and responding to crash incidents. We continue to advocate for as few traffic enforcement encounters as possible, as racial biases do not exist in only the police department. 

Use more automated enforcement 
YPP supports using more automated red light and speed cameras throughout the county. These efforts will reduce the need for traffic encounters while also significantly decreasing speeding and red light running. YPP would require new automated enforcement to be placed at high-crash locations and ensure they do not target minority communities. And according to the MoCo Office of Management and Budget (MoCo OMB), red light and speed camera costs are fully paid for by fees and fines generated by the cameras and would not increase net costs for Montgomery County. 

Download Fact Sheet

73%
of Black and Hispanic residents are searched during a traffic stop in Montgomery County

53%
of Black and Hispanic residents are stopped by police in Montgomery County

80%
 of Montgomery County Police are dealing with traffic stops instead of violent crimes 

How can police-free traffic safety keep us safer?

Moving responsibility for traffic safety and enforcement from the police to the department of transportation will:


  • Reduce harm to drivers during traffic stops
  • Reduce racial disproportionality of traffic stops
  • Create more effective driver, cyclist, and pedestrian safety. 



Minimizing traffic stops will also keep police and traffic patrols safer by reducing their risk of being struck by oncoming traffic, while moving traffic safety to MCDOT will unburden police and allow them to focus more exclusively on serious crime. 


Bottom line: Moving traffic safety and enforcement to MCDOT will allow it to use a combination of street design, automated enforcement, and traffic patrols for more effective and less police-centered traffic safety.

Plan in Brief:



  1. No traffic stops for minor traffic violations.
  2. Unarmed Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) patrols perform traffic stops for major traffic violations. 
  3. Police may only perform a traffic stop when there is reckless, negligent, or imparied driving that poses clear and  immediate danger to others. 
  4. If an MCDOT traffic patrol performs a traffic stop in which there is clear evidence that a driver is committing a crime (e.g., drunk driving) they may call the police during or after the stop. 
  5. A new traffic safety section of the MCDOT  Division of Traffic Engineering and Operations will house MCDOT traffic patrols and the functions currently in the Police (MCP) Traffic Division.

Plan in Detail:

Common Questions

  • How does police-free traffic safety benefit police officers and departments?

    Minimizing traffic stops will keep police and traffic patrols safer by reducing their risk of being struck by oncoming traffic, while moving traffic safety to MCDOT will unburden police and allow them to focus more exclusively on serious crime. 

  • Aren’t these stops dangerous for police? What would unarmed civilians do?

    Police officers are extremely unlikely to be assaulted while on the job, according to several studies, though policing remains a dangerous profession. During traffic stops, police are most likely to be injured and killed by other drivers, not from felonious assault.  By moving to automated enforcement and safer street designs and removing as much human interaction from traffic enforcement, police are no longer put in the dangerous environment and can focus on more meaningful policing efforts. 

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