The Impact of Race on the Police Decision to Search During a Traffic Stop: A Focal Concerns Theory Perspective

Racial profiling is an important issue in contemporary policing. Research in this area, especially in the decision to search, has relied on an outcomes test and correlates that are largely devoid of theory. Thus, the research is unable to provide a clear understanding of police decision making durin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of contemporary criminal justice 2012-05, Vol.28 (2), p.166-183
Main Authors: Higgins, George E., Vito, Gennaro F., Grossi, Elizabeth L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Criminal justice
Ethnicity
Police
Police officers
Policing
Race
Racial profiling
Search & seizure
Social control
Traffic
U.S.A
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Summary:Racial profiling is an important issue in contemporary policing. Research in this area, especially in the decision to search, has relied on an outcomes test and correlates that are largely devoid of theory. Thus, the research is unable to provide a clear understanding of police decision making during a traffic stop. The purpose of the present study was to examine this process. Using data from more than 36,000 traffic stops from Louisville, KY, the present study applies the focal concerns theory to this decision-making process. The research results indicate that blameworthiness is the primary reason that searches are performed for the entire sample of traffic stops as well as those for the Black and White subsamples.
ISSN:1043-9862
1552-5406
DOI:10.1177/1043986211425725