How do police use race in traffic stops and searches? Tests based on observability of race
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When a police officer decides whether to initiate a traffic stop, the
driver’s race is less likely to be known during darkness, but always
observed after the stop takes place. If officers use information optimally,
this flow of information about race leads to specific empirical
predictions, which are tested using data on traffic stops in Minneapolis.
The prediction about stops is supported, but those concerning
searches are not. This pattern of results implies that police choices
were inconsistent, which is evidence against both statistical discrimination
and optimizing with a taste for discrimination. The results
may reflect cognitive biases present in the time-sensitive decision to
initiate a stop.