Race, local context, and traffic stops: an examination of racial profiling in traffic stops in rural and non-rural places
Abstract
Purpose
The current study examines the effects of race, agency and environment on traffic stops in rural and non-rural spaces.
Design/methodology/approach
Using traffic stop data collected in a Midwest US County from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021, the current study uses logistic regression to examine racial disparities in traffic stops.
Findings
The results indicate that police decision-making in traffic stops may be influenced by other factors besides a driver’s race or ethnicity. In other words, the police officer’s decision making in a traffic stop varies between small and large agencies as well as rural and non-rural places.
Originality/value
This study provides one of the few examinations of racial disparities in traffic stops in rural places.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper was based on a study conducted under the direction of Principal Investigators (PI) Jack McDevitt and Janice Iwama and funded by the Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC). The author thanks the members and staff of the CJCC and local police agencies for their efforts in collecting and reporting on the data used in the study. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in the article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agency or police agencies.
Citation
Iwama, J. (2024), "Race, local context, and traffic stops: an examination of racial profiling in traffic stops in rural and non-rural places", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-12-2023-0167
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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