Racial bias in motor vehicle searches: theory and evidence
Racial bias in motor vehicle searches: theory and evidence
Police checking for illegal drugs are much more likely to search the vehicles of African-American motorists than those of white motorists. This paper develops a model of police and motorist behavior that suggests an empirical test for distinguishing whether this disparity is due to racial prejudice or to the police's objective to maximize arrests. When applied to vehicle search data from Maryland, our test results are consistent with the hypothesis of no racial prejudice against African-American motorists. However, if police have utility only for searches yielding large drug finds, then our analysis would suggest bias against white drivers. The model's prediction regarding nonrace characteristics is also largely supported by the data.
203-232
Knowles, J.
8746baa8-b940-41a4-8175-8ca27bed468d
Persico, N.
d7ef40d4-6dd0-47dc-ab73-6deb01b2c91f
Todd, P.
54a0f1b0-e8dd-4cf3-8fb0-062cd20e0ba5
February 2001
Knowles, J.
8746baa8-b940-41a4-8175-8ca27bed468d
Persico, N.
d7ef40d4-6dd0-47dc-ab73-6deb01b2c91f
Todd, P.
54a0f1b0-e8dd-4cf3-8fb0-062cd20e0ba5
Knowles, J., Persico, N. and Todd, P.
(2001)
Racial bias in motor vehicle searches: theory and evidence.
Journal of Political Economy, 109 (1), .
(doi:10.1086/318603).
Abstract
Police checking for illegal drugs are much more likely to search the vehicles of African-American motorists than those of white motorists. This paper develops a model of police and motorist behavior that suggests an empirical test for distinguishing whether this disparity is due to racial prejudice or to the police's objective to maximize arrests. When applied to vehicle search data from Maryland, our test results are consistent with the hypothesis of no racial prejudice against African-American motorists. However, if police have utility only for searches yielding large drug finds, then our analysis would suggest bias against white drivers. The model's prediction regarding nonrace characteristics is also largely supported by the data.
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Published date: February 2001
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Local EPrints ID: 55061
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/55061
ISSN: 0022-3808
PURE UUID: 59258b6f-f740-4367-a3f4-5f3d09601ca7
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Date deposited: 05 Aug 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 10:52
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Author:
J. Knowles
Author:
N. Persico
Author:
P. Todd
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