By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – A study released Tuesday finds black drivers in Missouri are still much more likely to be stopped by police than whites.
The 2004 data compiled by Attorney General Jay Nixon's office showed blacks were 38 percent more likely to be pulled over. That's just two percentage points less than the year before.
President of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Jim Buford, says without action against police departments that racially profile the study does little more than serve as a warning.
"Driving while black is a dangerous thing and you have to be cautious in everything you do in terms of the way you drive and the vehicle you drive and also the way you react once you're stopped," Buford said.
Buford says state and federal money should be withheld from police departments guilty of profiling.
A state statute passed in 2000 requires Missouri's attorney general to gather and release data on police traffic stops annually.