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Driving while black: do police pass the test?

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Author Info
Mason, Patrick L.

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Abstract

Biased policing against racial and ethnic minorities is an important public policy issue. Theoretical analysis and empirical results on this issue has been plagued by an assortment of problems which confront research on the nature and significance of police discrimination against social groups. This paper presents and applies a nonparametric test that is robust to a host of methodological difficulties. We theoretically and empirically contrast our non-parametric test with other tests that are prominent in the literature. Utilizing data provided by the Florida Highway Patrol, our empirical results strongly reject the null hypothesis that FHP troopers of different races do not engage in racially biased searches of stopped drivers. More particularly, there is evidence of police bias against African American male and Latino drivers by all officers and no evidence of police bias against white male drivers by any group of officers.

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File URL: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/11328/
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 11328.

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Date of creation: 2007
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Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:11328

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Related research
Keywords: biased policing; racial profiling; African Americans; discrimination and the law; police; evolutionary game;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities and Races; Non-labor Discrimination
C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Billy R. Close & Patrick Leon Mason, 2007. "Searching for Efficient Enforcement: Officer Characteristics and Racially Biased Policing," Review of Law & Economics, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 3(2). [Downloadable!]
  2. Mason, Patrick L, 1999. "Male Interracial Wage Differentials: Competing Explanations," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 261-99, May.
  3. Shamena Anwar & Hanming Fang, 2006. "An Alternative Test of Racial Prejudice in Motor Vehicle Searches: Theory and Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 127-151, March. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. John J. Donohue III & Steven D. Levitt, 1998. "The Impact of Race on Policing, Arrest Patterns, and Crime," NBER Working Papers 6784, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Billy R. Close & Patrick L. Mason, 2006. "After the Traffic Stops: Officer Characteristics and Enforcement Actions," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 0(1). [Downloadable!]
  6. Darity, William Jr. & Mason, Patrick L. & Stewart, James B., 2006. "The economics of identity: The origin and persistence of racial identity norms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 283-305, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Dhammika Dharmapala & Stephen L. Ross, 2004. "Racial Bias in Motor Vehicle Searches: Additional Theory and Evidence," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 0(1). [Downloadable!]
  8. David Bjerk, 2007. "Racial Profiling, Statistical Discrimination, and the Effect of a Colorblind Policy on the Crime Rate," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 9(3), pages 521-545, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. John Knowles & Nicola Persico & Petra Todd, 2001. "Racial Bias in Motor Vehicle Searches: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(1), pages 203-232, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Kate L. Antonovics & Brian G. Knight, 2004. "A New Look at Racial Profiling: Evidence from the Boston Police Department," NBER Working Papers 10634, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Nicola Persico & Petra Todd, 2005. "Using Hit Rates to Test for Racial Bias in Law Enforcement: Vehicle Searches in Wichita," PIER Working Paper Archive 05-004, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-29.

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