There were more stops conducted in 2022 than were reflected in the data provided to the state Department of Justice.
"Data is important, but that is not always what meets the eye," Gillespie told the board.
A day before the meeting, The Bee had published an article analyzing MPD's 2023 Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) data. The data analysis showed that traffic stops had tripled compared to 2022, rising from 3,528 to 9,703.
A week before publication, The Bee had contacted the Police Department seeking clarification on the increase but did not receive a response in time for the article's release. "Even though they reached out to us for comment, it takes time for us to look at data and things like that, too. We don't always work on their timeline," Gillespie said.
In 2022, MPD was using a new application that encountered issues with data submission, Gillespie explained. After transitioning to the new system, Gillespie said he sent a letter to the DOJ clarifying that the low number of reported entries was due to system-related problems during the transition.
He noted that MPD maintains its own traffic stop records for 2022, which he believes are more accurate and could be shared.
Gillespie said traffic stops likely increased in 2023 due to an expanded police force and the city's traffic patterns, but he does not believe they tripled from the year before.
"Traffic behavior and driving is pretty darn horrible in our city, so I expect our traffic unit to make traffic stops. So there's no doubt, I'm sure there is an increase," he said.
RIPA data was first brought up at a CPRB meeting in September. During the meeting, Lt. Brian Kleiber presented statewide data for 2022 but did not provide any specific data for MPD, citing the lack of a "user-friendly way to gather that data."
At that meeting, there was no mention of the software or system issues MPD had experienced with the RIPA system.
The Bee went on to analyze the 2022 RIPA data provided by the DOJ, but Gillespie has since said, "There's inaccuracy there of what was reported because of a software system that we have since transitioned away from."
© 2025 The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
