Police Stop and Frisk and the Impact of Race: A Focal Concerns Theory Approach

The findings of this study outline the racial differences in stop and frisk decisions by Illinois officers in consent searches and those based upon reasonable suspicion within the context of the elements of focal concerns theory. The analysis for this study was performed using propensity score matching (PSM) and allowed the researchers to create a quasi-experimental design to examine the race of the citizen and police decision making. According to our analysis of official Illinois law enforcement data, Black citizens, particularly males, were less likely to give their consent to a stop and frisk search. Black male citizens were also more likely to be stopped and searched due to an assessment of reasonable suspicion by the officer. Elements of focal concerns theory were also factors in pedestrian stops under conditions of consent and reasonable suspicion. Citizens judged as blameworthy were more likely to be stopped and frisked under conditions of consent and reasonable suspicion. The effect of a verbal threat and the officer’s prior knowledge about the citizen had even more significant impacts.

Willingness to Pay for Police Reform

Consent decrees, authorized by Section 14141 of the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act, represent one of the most powerful governmental tools used to encourage—and possibly force—police reform. The consent decree process, however, carries a significant fiscal burden; in some cases, the cost of police reform inhibits agencies’ cooperation with the decrees. One possible solution to this problem calls for the creation of a public-supported police reform fund, whose monies are reserved strictly for consent decrees. Guided by focal concerns theory, this study reports on a factorial survey experiment used to assess variation across individuals’ willingness to pay for police reform. Results indicate that the seriousness of a police reform issue and the agency’s ability to pay for reform act as significant drivers of endorsement of a police reform fund.

Consent searches: understanding the role of race and what occurs during the traffic stop

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply focal concerns theory as a theoretical explanation for police officer decision making during a traffic stop that results in a consent search. The study uses coefficients testing to better examine the issue of racial profiling through the use of a race-specific model. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study come from traffic stops conducted by the Louisville Police Department between January 1 and December 31, 2002. Findings The results show that the three components of focal concerns theory can explain police officer decision making for consent searches. Yet, the components of focal concerns theory play a greater role in stops of Caucasian male drivers. Research limitations/implications The data for this study are cross-sectional and self-reported from police officers. Practical implications This paper shows the utility of applying focal concerns theory as a theoretical explanation for police officer decision making on consent searches and how the effects of focal concerns vary depending on driver race. Social implications The findings based on focal concerns theory can provide an opportunity for police officers or departments to explain what factors impact the decision making during consent searches. Originality/value This is the first study (to the researchers’ knowledge) that examines the racial effects of focal concerns on traffic stop consent searchers using coefficients testing.

Analyzing racial profiling from traffic searches

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the issue of racial profiling when the traffic stop outcome is a search using focal concerns theory as a theoretical explanation for police officer decision making and propensity score matching (PSM) as a better analysis to understand the race of the driver. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study come from traffic stops conducted by the Louisville Police Department between January 1 and December 31, 2002. Findings The results show that the elements of focal concerns theory matter most when it comes to if a traffic stop that resulted in a search even though racial profiling was evident. The use of PSM provides evidence that it is a better statistical technique when studying racial profiling. The gender of the driver was significant for male drivers but not for female drivers. Research limitations/implications The data for this study are cross-sectional and are self-report data from the police officer. Practical implications This paper serves as a theoretical explanation that other researchers could use when studying racial profiling along with a better type of statistical analysis being PSM. Social implications The findings based on focal concerns theory could provide an explanation for police officer decision making that police departments could use to help citizens understand why a traffic stop search took place. Originality/value This is the first study of its kind to the researcher’s knowledge to apply focal concerns theory with PSM to understand traffic stop searches.

The Processing of Homicides in the Courts: An Examination of Multiple Case Outcomes

The current study employs focal concerns theory to address the role that race/ethnicity plays on various court dispositions of homicide offenders in Newark, NJ, a location where the majority of residents are African American and Latino. Two research questions are examined: (1) Does ethnicity play an important role in the decision to dismiss a case against a homicide offender, convict via a plea deal, convict via trial, acquit via trial, and sentence length? and (2) Which legal and extralegal factors play a role in these decision points during the processing of homicide offenders? The findings suggest that when there is little ethnic variation of defendants, victims, and the citizenry, other extralegal variables take precedence in informing the focal concerns of court actors. The results also suggest that different legal and extralegal variables affect the odds of distinct court outcomes. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.

The Issue of Racial Profiling in Traffic Stop Citations

This study addresses racial profiling when the traffic stop outcome is a citation. This study uses focal concerns theory as a theoretical explanation for police officer decision-making while using propensity score matching to provide similarly situated drivers based on race and/or gender. This study uses traffic stop data (N = 48,586) collected by the Louisville Police Department between January 1 and December 31, 2002. The statistical results show that focal concerns theory components matter the most for traffic stop data even though racial profiling is still an issue. Propensity score matching is a statistical technique that provides a better way to determine whether racial profiling was evident. Gender was not significant for female drivers. This study advances our understanding of race and traffic stop citations using a theoretical explanation.