Pittsburgh residents are reacting to the abrupt cessation of traffic

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The annual report of the Pittsburgh Police Bureau for 2021 shows that drivers in the city are stopped less often.

According to data, the number of stops has halved from 20,562 in 2019 to 10,243 last year.

Residents shared with KDKA-TV their views on what it means whether the police are going in the right direction or not.

“It’s good, little tickets, it’s all hurting people, poor people in the neighborhood, in any neighborhood,” Hill County resident Paul Harris said.

In zone 1, which covers the North, there was a decrease of 81 percent: in 2019 there were 3933 stops and 749 stops in 2021. In Zone 2, which covers the Hill area, the number of stops decreased from 2,850 to 808. This is a 72 percent decrease. In Zone 5, which covers Homewood, the number of stops fell from 2,474 to 865, up 65 percent.

The data show traffic stops have fallen sharply in minority neighborhoods.

Many people KDKA-TV spoke to in Hill and Homewood counties said they were grateful to police for lowering those numbers, especially when it comes to minor traffic violations.

“It’s good, especially for black people. This is our most important thing when it comes to our black people being stopped by the police without knowing it, especially with the brutality of the police and all that,” said Michelle Martin, who spoke to KDKA-Television in the county. Hill on Wednesday.

Residents also said it was difficult to say whether fewer stops could affect public safety.

“I feel it depends on the summer. So far with the filming, it can be good, it can be bad,” Martin said.

“They still have to patrol the area, so you can catch something while patrolling. We need them one way or another,” said Stephen Johnson, who lives in Homwood.

In December, city council deputies approved a bill that would not allow officers to pull drivers for secondary violations such as tinted windows and burned taillights.

The report provoked mixed reactions from the city authorities. Some welcome this, saying it is a sign that the bureau is changing its methods. Others said it endangered public safety.

If you compare the figures for 2021 with five years ago, the city has a 65% drop in traffic stops.