Law Commons^™

Toward A Better Benchmark: Assessing The Utility Of Not-At-Fault Traffic Crash Data In Racial Profiling Research, Geoffrey P. Alpert, Michael R. Smith, Roger G. Dunham

Faculty Publications

As studies on racial profiling and biased policing have begun to proliferate, researchers are debating which benchmark is most appropriate for comparison with police traffic stop data. Existing benchmark populations, which include populations estimated from census figures, licensed drivers, arrestees, reported crime suspects, and observed drivers and traffic violators, all have significant limitations. This article offers a new, alternative benchmark for police traffic stops, a benchmark that has not been previously applied or tested in a racial profiling research setting. The analysis presented compares traffic observation data, gathered at selected, high volume intersections during an ongoing racial profiling study in …