The work of Butler state police in 2022 contributed to Pennsylvania having among the highest number of traffic stops resulting in drugs seized in the nation, according to statistics released Tuesday.

Through consented searches, state police from the Butler barracks found illegal substances or paraphernalia in 60% of the 285 vehicle searches done last year, according to the data.

Robin Engel, senior vice president of the National Policing Institute, said state police should be commended for the work they did in 2022.

“PSP’s rate of contraband seizures during discretionary searches is among the highest in the nation. Our review of the PSP’s criminal interdiction training also suggests that their focus on both effective and equitable practices is a promising approach and serves as a national model,” she said.

Data was collected statewide, and revealed that state police conducted 441,329 total traffic stops in the year 2022.

Of the 23,671 stops conducted by Troop D, there were 6,182 stops by Butler troopers.

Troop D covers Butler, Beaver, Lawrence, Mercer and Armstrong counties.

Officers conducted 285 vehicle searches in Butler County, and 67% of the drivers gave verbal consent for the search. A little less than 52% of the searches were conducted because officers said they were reasonably suspicious.

There were 5,225 white drivers and 503 drivers of another race stopped by Butler state police in 2022.

Of the 5,225 white drivers stopped, 209 had their vehicles searched. Of the 503 drivers of another race, 60 had their vehicles searched.

More than 60% of the time, the searches resulted in illegal products being seized by Butler state police. Drugs were seized 53% of the time, drug paraphernalia was seized 32% of the time. Weapons were discovered in an average of 5% of the searches.

In Butler, May 2022 had the highest percentage of traffic stops by state police at 12%, followed by March at 11%. Less than 5% of stops were conducted in November, according to data.

More than 50% of Butler County stops were done in the day time, and 65% of the time they were conducted on state roads. Most stops took between one and 15 minutes.

Traffic stops were most often initiated for driving violations, but speeding and vehicle violations or out-of-date inspections followed close behind.

The average age of drivers at these stops was 37.8, and 63% of the time, the driver was male. Officers mainly pulled over white drivers, represented by 85% of the data.

Officers reported in Butler that an average of 98% of interactions were civil between the driver and the officer. About 1% were viewed as non-compliant or verbally or physically resistant to officers.

Of the 6,182 stops conducted, an average of 45% resulted in citations. This proved to be the largest outcome, followed by a written warning or verbal warning. Only 7.5% of total traffic stops in Butler County ended in arrests.

Of the 5,225 white drivers stopped, 47% received citations, 42% received a written warning and 7.6% were arrested.

Drivers of non-white races received citations at an average of 42%, receive written warnings at an average of 44%, and 9.9% were arrested.