NCJ Number
195840
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 249-273
Date Published
June 2002
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This article reviews recently published studies of racial profiling by police, critiquing both the studies' research methods and conclusions.
Abstract
The article begins with a brief discussion of racial prejudice and racial profiling, distinguishing between the two and framing the problem. The authors then review 13 recent studies on racial profiling and critique both their methods and conclusions. They then present a conceptual framework for police research based on a recent approach to criminal justice theory presented by Bernard and Engel (2001). Within the context of this conceptual framework, the authors review a number of general theories that may explain racial disparities in the rates of police stops, identifying the specific intervening variables involved in each case. The authors' overall assessment of research that has been conducted on racial profiling is that it is misleading, fails to include crucial explanatory variables, and provides a limited understanding of the phenomenon. Accordingly, no firm policy implications can be derived from this research. Once researchers properly use theoretical frameworks and conduct their studies at one of the levels of analysis described by Bernard and Engel, clearer policy implications will result; for example, examination of individual officers' decision-making that test specific hypotheses generated from theoretical frameworks may suggest that recruitment and hiring procedures should be more stringent; similarly, racial sensitivity training should be mandatory for all officers. Thus, explanations for police behavior require that theoretical models guide future data collection efforts. 1 table and 78 references