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22 J. Quantitative Criminology 1 (2006)

handle is hein.journals/jquantc22 and id is 1 raw text is: Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Vol. 22, No. 1, March 2006 (© 2006) DOI: 10.1007/s10940-005-9000-9 Assessing the Effect of Race Bias in Post-traffic Stop Outcomes Using Propensity Scores Greg Ridgeway' In response to community demands, case settlements, and state laws concerning racial profiling, police departments across the nation are collecting data on traffic stops. While the data collection is rapidly moving forward, there are few if any agreed upon methods for analyzing the data. Much of the attention has been on benchmarks for the race distribution of stops and searches. Little empirical work has advanced our understanding of the influence of race in the post-stop activities of police. The present study proposes a propensity score technique to determine the extent to which race bias affects citation rates, search rates, and the duration of the stop. Adjusting for confounding variables using the propensity score offers an alternative to multivariate regression that is more interpretable, less prone to errors in model assumptions, and ultimately easier to present to stakeholders in policing practices. An analysis of traffic stop data from the City of Oakland, California demonstrates the process, presentation, and interpretation of the results that the methodology produces. Ultimately, the study addresses the extent to which race plays a role in officers' use of discretion. KEY WORDS: police discretion; racial profiling; propensity scores; traffic stop outcomes. 1. INTRODUCTION Discretion is the power of free decision or latitude of choice within certain bounds imposed by law (Merriam-Webster, 1996). We expect professionals in all fields to lean on discretion regularly in the course of their practice. Decisions are rarely black and white. But when the use of discre- tion seems to side consistently against minorities, trust in the fairness of the system degrades. Racial disparities in the police's use of discretion generate police-community friction in many cities in the country, at times to the point 'RAND Corporation, 1776 Main St., Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138, USA. E-mail: gregr@ rand.org. 1 0748-4518/06/0300-0001/0 © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

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