Officers with the Redding Police Department and Shasta County Sheriff’s Office deputies are more likely to stop Black people than White people on the road, according to state data compiled in 2024.
The data, required by law to be submitted to the California Department of Justice, was analyzed by the San Francisco Chronicle in a report released this week.
Redding Police Department officers were 3.6 times more likely to stop Black people than White people based on stops per 10,000 residents. Officers stopped people 14,283 times in 2024, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
Shasta County Sheriff’s Department officers were 1.9 times more likely to stop Black people than White people based on stops per 10,000 residents. The report said officers stopped people 2,504 times in 2024.
And in Siskiyou County, officers from the Sheriff’s Department were 3.4 times more likely to stop Black people than White people based on stops per 10,000 residents. Officers stopped people 727 times in that county in 2024, according to the newspaper’s story.
Those findings echoed earlier conclusions from a Shasta County criminal justice watchdog group saying that people of color in Shasta County face more ‘adverse interactions’ with police, according to a report released in November 2025.
The Shasta Equal Justice Coalition released the information as part of its first-ever report examining Shasta County’s criminal justice system.
The report examined available data for the period stretching from January 2022 through December 2023 “for evidence of equity of outcomes, particularly with respect to race” and sought to “highlight areas for potential reform.”
Data from 2022–23 was the most recent data available at the time the report’s analysis was being done.
Some of the areas examined included traffic or pedestrian stops by police and calls to law enforcement for service; arrest data from Redding and Anderson; the population census from the Shasta County Jail and Juvenile Rehabilitation Facility; and police surveys of residents in Redding and Anderson.
Kalie Brisbon, president and CEO of United Way of Northern California, said in a release at the time that the report “serves as an opportunity for us to learn and work together. By examining these findings collectively, we can build bridges between law enforcement, nonprofits and community members to create a safer, more equitable Shasta County for everyone.”
Redding Police Chief Brian Barner said via email that he worked with the coalition on data collection and reviewed the report before its release.
Barner said that the department is “very proactive” and encourages its officers “to make traffic/pedestrian stops.”
Barner added that the department’s officers began using body-worn cameras in August 2023 “and has been beneficial in transparency that our officers are doing great work for the community.”
The report was made public the day before the Shasta Equal Justice Coalition was to present its findings at a state-sponsored community forum on hate crime in rural Northern California on Nov. 19, 2025 in Redding.
That forum was convened by the California Commission on the State of Hate, formed to “stop hate and promote mutual respect among California’s diverse population,” according to the organization’s website. The commission is part of the California Civil Rights Department.
Here are some findings from the nonprofit SEJC’s 175-page report, written by organization members Sharon Brisolara and Lori McNeill.
Racial differences in outcome of traffic, pedestrian stops
People perceived as Black had the highest rate of traffic and pedestrian stops in Shasta County, but the lowest rate of contraband discovery.
For Black residents, local agencies reported a combined 529 traffic and pedestrian stops per 1,000 individuals. However, during searches conducted after those stops, Black people were found to be the group who had the lowest rate of contraband or evidence, at 27.1% of searches, the report said.
The Anderson Police Department made far fewer arrests overall compared to the Redding Police Department due to the smaller population of the Anderson area. But among individuals arrested there, Black people had the highest arrest rate per 1,000 people of 243.7 (or 29 arrests,) compared to 147.1 for White individuals.
Hate crimes
An analysis of hate crimes recorded by Redding police between 2022 and March 1, 2024 , found the biggest reason was anti-Black or anti-African American bias (45.5% or 10 cases), followed by anti-LGBTQ+ (31.8% or 7 cases), anti-Hispanic (18.2% or 4 cases), and anti-Arab bias (4.5% or 1 case).
In this category, the bias could be registered as incidents against people, businesses or other establishments, according to the report.
Redding’s trend mirrors California state data concluding that racial bias motivations were among the top category of hate crimes reported by the state, and anti-Black crimes were the largest category.
Where people were the victims of a hate crime, 20 were Black (40% or 8), followed by White (30% or 6) and Hispanic (20% or 4). Five percent (1) were recorded as Asian Indian and 5% (1) were recorded as unknown race, the report said.
The majority of hate crime perpetrators (80% or 16) were White, the report found.
Racial breakdown of individuals who get arrested
Black/African American and American Indian individuals are overrepresented in arrests made, according to the coalition’s analysis of Redding police arrest data.
While both Black and American Indian people accounted for less than 2% of the area’s population, the report states that Black individuals accounted for 5.9% of arrests in 2022 and 2023, while American Indian people accounted for 4.4% of arrests in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023.
Both groups also had high arrest rates per capita, or per 1,000 population. In 2022, for example, the rate for Black individuals was 554.5 and for Native Americans it was 348.1, while the rate for White individuals was 140.9.
Updates on local hate-motivated incidents in Shasta County
According to the Redding Police Department’s website, 17 hate crimes had been reported in 2025 through November. The vast majority of those incidents were reported by Black residents.
In Shasta County’s most recent hate-motivated incident, reported in late October 2025, a racial slur was spray-painted on the front of a Cottonwood house and is still being investigated. A statement from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office at the time said the agency “wants to reiterate to the public that crimes motivated by bias, hatred, or bigotry generate fear, division, and pain, and will not be tolerated.”The Shasta Equal Justice Coalition also released a statement about the Cottonwood incident that said in part that the organization “is committed to continuing to work to create the conditions for mutual respect and collaboration among all citizens in our county and building trust between law enforcement and the community.”
In another Shasta County case, Timothy Ray Thompson is facing hate crime and other charges after he allegedly fired on a Spanish-speaking family, including children, while they were outside their Igo home in July 2025.
In a third incident, Redding police investigated a hate crime involving several preteens suspected of yelling racially derogatory remarks and throwing tortillas and rocks at a Hispanic resident’s house in Redding in July 2025. The case was reported to the Shasta County Probation Juvenile Division after the homeowner declined to press charges and is now being considered vandalism.
As part of a broader report on crime in the state in 2024, the California Department of Justice said hate crimes statewide have risen.
The agency said that 2,023 hate crimes were reported in the state in 2024, a rise of nearly 3% from 2023.
In particular, hate crime directed against LGBTQ+ and Jewish people showed an increase, according to the state attorney general’s office.
The coalition said resources for all crime victims can be found at https://oag.ca.gov/victimservices and the Shasta County Crime Victims Assistance Center can be reached at 530-225-5220.
This story has been updated to include new information.
Michele Chandler covers public safety, reports on trials in Shasta County Superior Court, writes about restaurants and foodies and handles whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at mrchandler@gannett.com. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding, Shasta police stops show racial disparity, data finds
Reporting by Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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