A new study from the Rockford police department shows racial profiling is becoming less common in traffic stops within the city. But many local minorities still feel they're targeted unfairly and it lowers their trust towards police.

Traffic stops are an important piece of how Rockford police keep our streets safe. But within the city limits, you're more likely to hear sirens pulling you over if you're a minority.

"There's more likelihood that you'll be stopped as a non-white driver as opposed to a white driver," says Rockford Police Chief Chet Epperson.

But Epperson says that's changing. The department measures how many minority drivers it stops and compares that to the overall minority driving population. Recently released 2008 results show non-white drivers are 54 percent more likely to be stopped than Caucasians. That's down from 70 percent in 2007. But for many minorities, the decrease offers little comfort.

"When I first came back to Rockford, the vehicle I was driving was a luxury vehicle and within my first three months, I was stopped four times," says Rockford resident Danny Harris.

Harris adds there has been progress, but he believes racial profiling persists and is now based on socio-economics, instead of strictly skin color.

Mario Simms says he was pulled over last week because the tint on his windows was too dark, but the officer let him go after running his license.

"He was like alright you're clean, like he was looking for something else," says Simms.

Simms believes he fits the bill that makes police look twice. He says, "I had a hat on, I had it on backwards, I had my seat leaned all the way back."

Chief Epperson says appearance has nothing to do it. He says it's about deployment of resources. Sixty-nine percent of Rockford's minority drivers live in areas of the city that are also crime hot spots.

"That's where the crime's occurring, that's where we deploy our resources, that's where we see traffic violations, that's where we stop cars," says Epperson.

Still, Epperson says the department is working to reduce the disparity and he wants anyone who feels they've been unfairly stopped to report the problem to his office.

The department carries out ongoing sensitivity and diversity training and whenever an officer exceeds his or her benchmark for the number of minority drivers pulled over, administrators hold a meeting to determine the cause of the disparity. Epperson says no officer has been found to deliberately racially profile.

Epperson also says racial profiling reports are rare. Minorities we spoke to say that's an issue of trust. One said why report an incident to the same agency that carried out the alleged profiling. Another man said outright he does not trust the police. Those we talked to want more interaction from police on a daily basis, not just in an emergency. Epperson says his officers are working to form relationships and build trust.