The Need

The City of Reno, Nevada had been litigated against and forced to settle cases previously for arresting too many minority youths during special events, particularly Hot August Nights (HAN).  This event draws hundreds of classic cars and trucks to Reno for a series of cruises through the downtown area during the week.  On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, there are cruises through the downtown area that end around 9:00 pm.  During the last decade, the event has drawn an increasing number of minority youths from Northern California.

The Solution

The police department asked us if we could help them deal with the problem of developing a proper benchmark for HAN.  The solution that we proposed was to benchmark the downtown area during HAN to establish the population of minorities in specific areas during the celebration.  The situation was somewhat more complex than that, however, as the population changes radically in the before and after cruise time slots.  Furthermore, the crowds on the streets are so dense that is was necessary to carefully design the surveying method to assure an accurate count.

The design was developed so that teams of observers systematically proceeded from one observation location to the next. The viewing locations, times and method were constructed so that an accurate count of all individuals in the dense crowd could be made.

Outcomes

This is an ongoing process in Reno.  It was not possible for the police to provide stop data as well as arrest data during HAN in 2003. Therefore the first round of benchmarking of the population was completed this past August.  It is clear that in this first step there are substantially more minorities in the downtown area of Reno than would be suggested by the population of the city.  During HAN in 2004, police will record the race/ethnicity of those individuals they stop and the race/ethnicity of those who violate laws will be provided in the benchmarking effort.  This analysis will provide the Reno PD with factual, not anecdotal information that can be used in litigation, and by command staff to assess agency performance during HAN.