Racial Profiling

The Extent of the Problem

There is a small but compelling body of literature supporting the assertion that race plays an important role in a police officer's decision to stop and/or search a motorist. Most of the evidence in support of this assertion either is anecdotal or relies on statistical comparisons of the disparity between the proportions of minorities in a population and those stopped by the police and/or subjected to a vehicle search. These studies indicate that the proportions of minorities stopped by the police are higher than their proportional representation in the community or among licensed drivers.

Even though some disparity exists between the proportions of minority drivers and those actually issued citations for bona fide violations of the traffic law, this disparity does not appear to be substantial. Comparisons between the racial proportions of licensed drivers and those actually issued tickets, convicted for violating traffic laws, or both, do not appear to indicate a wide (i.e., statistically significant) disparity. of more concern is the apparent disparity between racial groups with respect to the probability of being subjected to a vehicle search pursuant to a traffic stop. The available research indicates that minorities in general, and blacks in particular, are more likely to be searched during a traffic stop than white motorists.

Potential Explanations

The most salient question, once a disparate pattern of this nature is identified, is to ask why it is occurring so regularly and consistently. So far, three potential explanations have been proposed.