Socorro Police submits 2024 motor-vehicle stop data to Texas; chief reports decline in stops and one profiling complaint

Socorro Police Chief Robert C. Rojas presented the department's 2024 motor-vehicle stop data and the required racial-profiling report to the City of Socorro City Council on March 6.

"The Code of Criminal Procedure states that peace officers may not engage in racial profiling," Rojas told the council, explaining the department's reporting requirements and the data submitted to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Rojas said the department conducted 4,568 traffic stops in 2024 and provided charts showing the demographic breakdown of drivers, searches and stop outcomes.

According to Rojas's presentation, about 80% of drivers stopped were recorded as Hispanic or Latino, 18% as white and 2% as Black; the department recorded searches in 4% of stops and said that 30% of searches were by consent, less than 10% were for contraband in plain view, and roughly half were based on probable cause. Rojas said drugs accounted for the largest share of contraband recovered from searches.

Rojas also reported a decline in stops from previous years and said the department had moved from verbal to written warnings so people receive documentation. "We had 4,568 traffic stops during the year of 2024," Rojas said, and added that the department received one racial-profiling complaint in 2024; an internal affairs investigation found the claim unfounded.

Council members praised the department's reporting and the shift to written warnings, and Rojas described internal processes such as monthly body-camera audits and automatic post-stop surveys for people who receive e-tickets. He said the department expects the reporting process to be easier next year with new computer systems for data export.