Exploring Drivers’ and Police Officers’ Verbal and Physical Actions in Traffic Stops: Do They Affect Dispositions?

• In Event: Reimagining the Frontlines: Institutional Practices, Officer Perspectives, and Local Legitimacy

Abstract

Few studies have explored how the demeanor of drivers and police officers impact traffic stop outcomes and how drivers are treated by the police. In the current study, we combine a series of police-public contact surveys (PPCS) conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) over the course of the past 20 years. All of these periodic surveys contain a set of questions related to drivers’ and police officers’ verbal and physical actions during traffic stops. Regression analyses are conducted to examine if there is an association among these actions, and whether such an association impacts traffic stop dispositions such as citations, arrests and vehicle searches. Implications for public policy, police training, and study limitations are also discussed in some detail.

Authors

• Xiaochen Hu, Fayetteville State University

• Nicholas Lovrich, Washington State University