Age matters: race differences in police searches of young and older male drivers

Citation

(2012), "Age matters: race differences in police searches of young and older male drivers", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 35 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/pijpsm.2012.18135daa.003

Age matters: race differences in police searches of young and older male drivers

Article Type: Perspectives on policing From: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Volume 35, Issue 4.

Richard Rosenfeld, Jeff Rojek and Scott DeckerJournal of Research in Crime & Delinquency2012Vol. 49Issue 1pp. 31-55

This study examined whether police searches of St. Louis motorists vary not only by race, but also by age. Past research in this area has consistently found that black drivers are more likely to be searched than white drivers; here, the authors hypothesized that race differences in police searches depend on the driver's age. In this line of research, the driver's race is typically discussed as one-dimensional influence (i.e. “driving while black”). The authors state that when race is used as a one-dimensional explanation, the given assumption is that race is the only predictor of post-stop disparate treatment. However, research has begun to focus on the cumulative effects of race, age, and gender. The general finding has been that young black males are the frequent subject of police stops and searches. Thus, the question being asked in this study is whether disparities in general search rates are actually a product of a more precise decision-making process on the part of the officer specifically directed at young minority males.

The data used in this study are from records of traffic stops of male drivers by the St. Louis Police Department in 2007. The data consist of attributes of the driver stopped, characteristics of the stop, and attributes of the officer making the stop. In the study, a total of 48,210 stops of black and white male motorists are analyzed.

Using logistic regression analyses, the authors found that young black males are subjected to discretionary searches at higher rates than are young white males. Specifically, with respect to drivers under 30 years old, the odds of a police search are 58 percent greater in stops of black drivers than in those of white drivers. By contrast, among drivers age 30 and older, a significant race difference was found in the odds of a search. Specifically, black drivers were 22 percent more likely than white drivers to be searched. Interestingly, the race difference in the odds of a search reverses when nondiscretionary searches are excluded. In these cases, the odds of a discretionary search are 22 percent lower for black drivers than for white drivers.

Overall, race differences in the probability of police searches of St. Louis motorists depend on the driver's age. Among younger drivers, blacks are more likely to be searched than whites. However, this difference disappears for older drivers and, in some analyses, reverses. Traffic stops are a primary point of contact between citizens and the police, and they have critical consequences for the nature of police-community relationships. The events of a traffic stop can impact citizen attitudes toward the police, the legitimacy of justice system, and the level citizen cooperation with the justice system. This research demonstrates that race may not be the only factor in shaping the “symbolic assailant” which often frames police-citizen encounters in traffic stops. In sum, these findings show that it is the intersection of age and race which matters in the decision to search motorists.