Intersectionality at the Intersection: An Examination of Race, Sex, and Traffic Stop Outcomes

• In Event: Sociology of Law Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Sociology of Law Section Roundtables: Table 1 — Policing, Misconduct, and Reform

Abstract

Procedural justice, which posits that individuals are concerned with the fairness of the procedures criminal justice actors use to make decisions, has been commonly utilized to assess the nature of interactions between the police and the public. Traffic stops have been a focal point of inquiry when assessing this sentiment. Studies examining procedural justice perceptions of traffic stops commonly use retrospective survey data but do not consider how distributive justice (i.e., perceptions of the fairness of the outcome) and the outcome received may influence these views. Additionally, these studies seldom utilize intersectionality theory as a conceptual framework for understanding race and sex differences in procedural justice views. Utilizing an intersectional procedural justice approach, the present study examines whether procedural justice views of traffic stops are influenced by distributive justice perceptions and the outcome received (i.e., receiving a traffic ticket). This study also examines how these outcomes vary by race and sex. The present study uses data from the 2022 Police Public Contact Survey (PPCS), a National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) supplement to examine outcomes using multivariable logistic regression. Preliminary results suggest that higher levels of distributive justice were related to higher procedural justice views and receiving a ticket was negatively related to procedural justice. This relationship varied among race and sex groups, with Black females being most likely to report negative perceptions and White and Hispanic Females being more likely to report positive perceptions.

Author

• Marshae Capers, University of Maryland, College Park