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Race, Place, and Context: The Persistence of Race Effects in Traffic Stop Outcomes in the Face of Situational, Demographic, and Political Controls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2020

Kelsey Shoub Open the ORCID record for Kelsey Shoub [Opens in a new window] ,
Derek A. Epp ,
Frank R. Baumgartner ,
Leah Christiani  and
Kevin Roach
Kelsey Shoub*
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina
Derek A. Epp
Affiliation:
University of Texas
Frank R. Baumgartner
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina
Leah Christiani
Affiliation:
University of Tennessee
Kevin Roach
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kelsey Shoub, University of South Carolina, Columbia. E-mail: KSHOUB@mailbox.sc.edu
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Abstract

Evidence that racial minorities are targeted for searches during police traffic stops is widespread, but observed differences in outcomes following a traffic stop between white drivers and people of color could potentially be due to factors correlated with driver race. Using a unique dataset recording over 5 million traffic stops from 90 municipal police departments, we control for and evaluate alternative explanations for why a driver may be searched. These include: (1) the context of the stop itself, (2) the characteristics of the police department including the race of the police chief, and (3) demographic and racial composition of the municipality within which the stop occurs. We find that the driver's race remains a robust predictor: black male drivers are consistently subjected to more intensive police scrutiny than white drivers. Additionally, we find that all drivers are less likely to be subject to highly discretionary searches if the police chief is black. Together, these findings indicate that race matters in multiple and varied ways for policing outcomes.

Keywords

policingrace and public policytraffic stops
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics , Volume 5 , Special Issue 3: Race and Criminal Justice , November 2020 , pp. 481 - 508
Copyright
Copyright © The Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2020

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