Citation

Barnum C, Perfetti RL. Police Q. 2010; 13(2): 180-208.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1098611110365690

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study introduces a statistical estimator that can be used to examine disproportionate traffic stop behavior of police officers. This estimator can be employed in concert with internal benchmark data and a tree diagram algorithm to identify and classify disproportionate behavior. These methodologies are multilevel and can be used (a) at the macrolevel to examine disproportionality of a police department as an organization and (b) at the microlevel to draw inferences about reasons for individual officers' disproportionate behavior. These statistical routines were tested using data from a medium sized midwestern community. Results suggest that the models are effective in detecting disproportionality in both a police organization and an individual officers' traffic stop activity. Moreover, the methods may serve as an initial step in pointing toward the sources of the officers' behavior.

Language: en