The Police View of Bias-Based Policing

Abstract

Bias-based policing is an issue that police departments all across the country are addressing. Considering that bias-based policing undermines relationships between the police and the public, a considerable amount of research has been conducted to uncover and prevent the occurrence of bias-based policing. Past research has primarily focused on traffic stops to assess the level of bias-based policing. However, traffic stops are only one of the many ways police interact with the public. As a result, this research project sought to broaden the approach to assessing bias-based policing beyond traffic stop data by surveying police officers to determine if they are aware of bias-based policing practices occurring in police departments, either theirs or others. This research found that 21% of survey respondents believed that bias-based policing is presently practiced by officers in their department, and 25.9% believed that bias-based policing is practiced by officers in other Virginia police departments.

Paraphilia and Antisociality: Motivations for Sexual Offending May Differ for American Whites and Blacks

“…First, the apparent difference could be attributed to the differential response of the criminal justice system and not on differences in the actual behavior. For example, racial bias and prejudice toward Blacks might directly or indirectly lead police officers to be more likely to stop, search, or arrest Black individuals than Whites in the same circumstances (e.g., racial profiling; Esqueda, 1997; Ioimo, Tears, Meadows, Becton, & Charles, 2007; Weitzer & Tuch, 2002). Supporting this position is research demonstrating that, compared with Whites, Blacks are far more likely to be arrested, and prosecuted, and to receive harsher and longer sentences (Bales & Piquero, 2012; Barnes & Kingsnorth, 1996; Hartney & Vuoung, 2009).…”

Ethnic profiling as negotiating: Traffic law enforcement in the Republic of Tatarstan (Russia)

“…Despite claims about discrimination against Since Lamberth's studies, the research on ethnic profiling has been extensive. Researchers have been examining the reasons for profiling, public perceptions of profiling, its consequences, procedural aspects, and ways of dealing with it (see, for example, Ioimo et al 2007;Liederbach et al 2007;Gilliard-Matthews, Kowalski, and Lundman 2008; Barnum and Perfetti 2010;Tillyer, Klahm IV, and Engel 2011;Higgins, Vito, and Grossi 2011;Lundman 2012;Tillyer and Engel 2013). For the most part, research was conducted in the field of traffic safety, apparently because of the availability of data.…”

Perceptions of African American Police Officers on Racial Profiling in Small Agencies

“…Now more commonly referred to as bias-based policing, it is an issue that has consistently undermined attempts to build better relationships between police and the community, particularly communities of color. Studies have indicated that as many as 21% of serving police officers believe that it is actively practiced, and likely condoned, by members of their agency (Ioimo, Tears, Meadows, Becton, & Charles, 2007).…”