Police Traffic Stop Bias: A Longitudinal Study - 1999-2011

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

The phenomenon of “Driving While Black” (DWB) is the event in which African-Americans experience a disproportionately high proportion of traffic stops relative to their proportion of the total population of drivers (Harris, 1997; Kowalski & Lundman, 2007). Most research has focused on the scope and magnitude of this discrepancy. This study will add to our knowledge about bias in traffic stops by tracking how this event has changed over time (1999-2011). It is hypothesized that minority drivers will be stopped by officers more often than white drivers, however, this trend will show a decrease over time. It is also hypothesized that there will be a lower hit rate in vehicle searches for minorities than whites with an overall trend towards less bias or similar hit rates over time due to less bias in traffic stops. We will use Subjective Uncertainty Reduction Theory to attempt to explain why police bias-training may reduce racial disparities in traffic stops over time. Through the use of the Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS) (a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey), this study will examine the change in this phenomenon over time.

Authors

• Jordan Papp, University of Cincinnati

• Amanda Graham, University of Cincinnati