Under the Veil of Darkness: Assessing Racial Discrimination In Milwaukee Traffic Stops

• In Event: Informing Policy and Practice: The Influence of Race in Police Work

Abstract

Data from 28,872 drivers stopped by Milwaukee police from 2019 through 2022 were analyzed to test for racial discrimination using the “veil of darkness” (VOD) method. Using time of day as a natural experimental condition, the VOD method allows researchers to test for racialized policing by determining the likelihoods of people of color being stopped in daylight (when officers likely can see a driver’s race) versus in darkness (when officers likely cannot see a driver’s race). A three-pronged analysis was used: (1) proportions of drivers stopped were compared by driver race and whether the stop occurred in daylight or darkness, (2) a logistic regression model was used to test the effect of daylight on the likelihood of the driver being Black, and (3) mapping techniques were utilized to examine relationships between traffic stops and neighborhood-level variables. Findings did not support the VOD hypothesis, rather the likelihood of the driver being Black increased by 9.3% if the stop occurred in darkness (vs. daylight). Mapping analyses uncovered a potential relationship between community racial distribution and the concentration of traffic stops. These findings indicate that racialized policing may be occurring at the neighborhood level, but further research is necessary to confirm this hypothesis.

Author

• Hannah Smith, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee