Faculty Publications

The Impact Of Population Selection On Examinations Of Discretionary Searches In Traffic Stops

Document Type

Article

Keywords

discretion, ethnicity, police, race, Racial profiling, traffic stops

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice

Volume

11

Issue

3

First Page

133

Last Page

149

Abstract

The current study explores whether inconsistent findings in published research regarding the relationship between driver race and discretionary searches can be explained by variation in methodology. A review of published research reveals a consistent pattern between the populations of drivers included in analyses-all drivers or searched drivers-and the relationship between driver race and discretionary searches. This methodological explanation is tested using data from a large municipal agency and confirms that variation in the association between driver race and discretionary searches is based on the population used in analyses. The results and implications are further discussed. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Department

Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology

Original Publication Date

7-1-2013

DOI of published version

10.1080/15377938.2013.739455

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