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Hewitt police present 2024 racial‑profiling report showing higher search hit rate, one complaint investigated
Summary
Hewitt Police Department reported 5,157 traffic stops in 2024, a rise from 2023, and told council the department’s contraband hit rate exceeded national benchmarks; the department reported one racial‑profiling complaint that an internal investigation found unfounded.
Hewitt Police Chief McGrath told the City Council on Feb. 3 that the department submitted its 2024 racial‑profiling report to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and to the council and that the report showed 5,157 traffic stops last year.
The report, Chief McGrath said, was accepted by TCOLE on Jan. 15. “If you move to page 15, you can see our total number of traffic stops in 2024 was 5,157,” he said, summarizing the agency’s submitted data.
Chief McGrath said officers reported not knowing the driver’s race before the stop in 94.8 percent of stops, a figure he said aligns with national averages. Of the recorded stops, he said, 58.6 percent of drivers were recorded as white, 18.2 percent black and 20.2 percent Hispanic; Alaska Native/American Indian and Asian/Pacific Islander combined accounted for about 4 percent.
The chief described four metrics he uses to assess profiling risk: search percentage, consent searches, contraband hit rate and outcomes once contraband is found. He said searches of Black motorists showed a higher share that were supported by probable cause, inventory searches or searches incident to arrest. He said “over 75% of the searches on Black motorists were as a result of probable cause.”
On contraband results, Chief McGrath said Hewitt’s hit rate was strong compared with national averages (which he described as roughly 20 to 30 percent). “This year, it was between 53–64% for the three categories of drivers that we have the most stops in, white, Black and Hispanic,” he said.
Chief McGrath said the report shows differing arrest outcomes after contraband was found: whites were arrested in 14.6 percent of searches that found contraband, while Black and Hispanic drivers were arrested 7.4 percent and 7.9 percent of the time, respectively, according to the charts he cited.
The department recorded one complaint alleging racial profiling in 2024. The complaint was investigated under department policy and given an internal affairs report number; Chief McGrath told the council the investigation concluded the allegation was unfounded.
Chief McGrath concluded that the report validates Hewitt Police Department’s compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure and state reporting requirements and invited questions; none were raised.
The council received the presentation as information; no council action was recorded on the report at the meeting.
