Allegations of Biased Police in the Context of Traffic stop data Dr. Jack McDevitt Lisa Laguerre Institute on Race and Justice Northeastern University
Transcript
Slide 1
Dr. Jack McDevitt Lisa Laguerre Institute on Race and Justice
Northeastern University
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Historical Issues Police and Race Debate over racial profiling
part of larger history of adversarial relationships between police
and disenfranchised communities. Historical events such as slave
patrols, police enforcement of Jim Crow Segregation, Police
suppression of Black voter registration, Watts, Detroit, Newark and
other urban riots of 1960s have influenced how the community of
color views the police. LA Police Search South LA Residents,
1965
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Questions of racial disparity in police enforcement were a
central feature of much of the police reform movement of the 1970s.
However, race continues to be one of the strongest predictors of
community distrust of the police. Issues of race and traffic stops
brought to the forefront by Operation Pipeline training and
tactics. Development of profile of drug courier. Popular belief
that police were using race as part of the profile. Allegations
were raised by community and media that the police were profiling
non-white drivers. A practice that was popularly labeled driving
while black.
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Attitude Formation Attitudes are based upon multiple sources of
information Personal experience Experiences of friends and family
famous incidents Popular culture Movies and TV
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Racial and Ethnic Differences in Support for Police 1998
National Survey 58% of whites had a great deal or quite a lot of
confidence in the Police 38% of African Americans had a great deal
or quite a lot of confidence in the Police 1999 New York City Poll
90% police use unnecessary force towards African Americans 2008
Poll 40% of African Americans report having been stopped by the
police because of their race 10% of Whites report having been
stopped by the police because of their race
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Definition of Racial Profiling Any police-initiated action that
relies on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the
behavior of an individual or information that lead the police to a
particular individual who has been identified as being, or having
been, engaged in criminal activity (Ramirez, McDevitt, Farrell,
2000).
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How Departments Responded to Racial Profiling Concerns 1.
Policies Many departments adopted official policies prohibiting
racial profiling 2. Training Some departments developed or
implemented new training programs to address racial profiling, 3.
Data Collection and Analysis To date, over 4,000 law enforcement
agencies nationwide have begun collecting data on the demographics
traffic stops 4. Development of Early Intervention Systems
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Making Sense of All The Data Between 1998-2008 approximately 65
reports on racial demographics of traffic stops completed Various
levels of analysis Individual agency Multi-jurisdictional Statewide
Various types of data collected Various analytical strategies
developed and shared Work by numerous individuals and agencies to
learn and share best analytic strategies Police Executive Research
Forum By The Numbers (2005) Racial Profiling Web-Based Resource
Center (2001) Conference, special editions of journals Peer
reviewed articles
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Analytic Goals of Project In-depth analysis of 49 reports
where, at a minimum, the race of drivers is compared to some
external benchmark Identify commonalities of findings Draw overall
conclusions about what we have learned from these reports Inform
field about what we know and where we need to move for future
inquiry
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Why did agencies collect data? Federal Mandate 6.4% State
Legislation48.9% Local Ordinance4.3% Voluntary46.8% Citizen Review
Requirement2.1% ** can include more than 1 reason
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How did agencies collect data? MDT System4.3% CAD8.5% PDA2.1%
New Paper Form76.6% Existing Paper Form2.1% (modified citation
form) None Specified6.4%
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How did agencies collect data?
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Types of Analysis/Benchmarks Majority of Studies Compare
Traffic Stops to A Benchmark of Drivers or Violators Census
data53.2% Traffic survey27.7% Violator survey4.3% Accident data4.3%
Modified census2.1% Licensed drivers2.1% Other6.4% Less than 10
studies utilize multivariate analyses or other techniques
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Problems with Census as Benchmark Not all people who live in
the Community drive (e.g. juveniles) Many people who drive in a
community do not live there The Census undercounts certain
groups
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Benchmarks Over Time: Are we Learning? Between 1998-2001 of all
studies used only census data By 2003-2008 less used only census
data Increasing use of traffic and violator surveys
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Search Data Only 20 of 49 reports included information on
searches In all 20 non-white drivers were searched more often than
white drivers average 2.5 times more likely to be searched 14 of
the 20 search reports included information about productivity Range
of productivity from 11% to 50% Average productivity for searches
(Hit Rates) In many studies the White Hit Rate is higher that the
rate for Blacks and Hispanics Search data very useful, may be under
utilized
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Conclusions Differ by Type of Benchmark Used Census data
studies most likely to find disparity (67%) Of those studies that
find no disparity, majority are traffic or violator surveys. Some
conclude no racial profiling occurring Mixed results with accident,
crime and modified census studies Too few studies to determine
strong trends
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Additional Sources of Data on Bias Use of Force Reports
(including Tasers) Arrest Statistics Citation vs. Warning Data
Search Data/Hit rates Interviews Surveys with Officers /
particularly officers of color (from adjacent jurisdictions )
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Additional Sources of Data on Bias Citizen Complaints ???
Community meetings by District Attendance at Citizen Police
Academies Diversity in Department / District / Unit Focus groups in
community (particularly with youth)
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Benefits of Triangulation Similar patterns observed from
multiple sources /information systems/ reporters make the
conclusions that much stronger In Social Science we are moving
towards triangulation based upon Quantitative as well as
Qualitative data
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Causes of Biased Policing Racist Police Officers Bad Apple
theory Institutional Racism Deployment decisions Unconscious Bias
Police are people too
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Bad Apple Theory Police agencies hire bad apples Due to
inadequate screening Lower admission standards Police officers
become bad Personal crises Professional disappointments EIS Systems
Works for substance abuse
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Institutional Racism Policies by an organizations can result in
racially disproportionate outcomes Targeting specific crime types
Targeting specific crime locations Example of previously
stopped
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Unconscious Bias Bias results from unconscious processes that
occur in our inner brain and we are totally unaware it is happening
Inner brain controls unconscious bodily functions Breathing Fight
or flight Brain make quick generalizations using stereotypes to
quickly assess the situation
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What to do if we find a disparity occurring in an agency
Comprehensive Approach Training Patrol Officers Supervisors
Diversity in Agency Fair reliable misconduct review process
Leadership Some ongoing measurement (Monitoring)
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So what do we do? The best solution to perceived disparate
treatment would be to use the information we do have to conduct a
conversation between the police and the community
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Challenges to Conducting a Community Conversation Apparent lack
of community concern Apparent lack of community concern Lack of
complaints to local police Lack of complaints to local police Many
people are too busy to come to a meeting Many people are too busy
to come to a meeting
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Identifying the Right Participants 1)Local Community Well
Respected Community Leaders Well Respected Community Leaders
Community Based & Large Anchor Organizations Community Based
& Large Anchor Organizations Local Clergy / Churches Local
Clergy / Churches Community Coalitions Community Coalitions Local
Legislators Local Legislators Police leadership & Community
Officers Police leadership & Community Officers 2)Population of
drivers who may pass through town Patrons of local neighborhood
stores Patrons of local neighborhood stores Merchants of local
business Merchants of local business Entertainment facilities
(malls, movie theater, etc.) Entertainment facilities (malls, movie
theater, etc.) Employees of local businesses Employees of local
businesses
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Appropriate Meeting Location 1) Typically, we recommend a
neutral location within the community, at least for the first
series of meetings, and to avoid initially hosting these
discussions at your police agency. 1) Typically, we recommend a
neutral location within the community, at least for the first
series of meetings, and to avoid initially hosting these
discussions at your police agency. neighborhood school neighborhood
school community based organization community based organization
neighborhood library neighborhood library local church local church
nearby university or college nearby university or college 2) It may
be best to ask for time on the agenda at a regular meeting of a
local group. (e.g. human rights council)
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Suggestions for Dealing with Challenging Topics We recommend
that police and community leadership begin this type of dialogue
process understanding that the problems that underlie race and
policing are complex issues that will not be resolved overnight.
Provide time for participants to freely express and vent their
Provide time for participants to freely express and vent their
concerns and frustrations around the issue. concerns and
frustrations around the issue. Set and define ground rules for the
conversation Set and define ground rules for the conversation If
able, select or hire a neutral facilitator to enforce ground If
able, select or hire a neutral facilitator to enforce ground rules
and move the conversation forward rules and move the conversation
forward Must make a commitment to the process as a partner to Must
make a commitment to the process as a partner to improving climate
of race and policing in their community improving climate of race
and policing in their community
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Role of leadership Community members react very positively to
police leaders honest statements about officers who engage in
disparate treatment Community members enjoy learning why police do
what they do Community members are surprised by all the policies
presently in place to deal with officer misconduct
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Benefits of Engaging Your Local Community 1) Improve Trust and
Transparency 1) Improve Trust and Transparency Community
intelligence to local crime issues Community intelligence to local
crime issues Improved collaboration for innovative crime control
strategies Improved collaboration for innovative crime control
strategies 2) Increases Transparency of Allegations of Bias Bias
Transparent and factual explanations against complaints of biased
policing Transparent and factual explanations against complaints of
biased policing