Citation

Craig MO, Reid JC, Kramer KL. J. Contemp. Crim. Justice 2022; 38(4): 411-431.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/10439862221110996

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Missouri has been a part of the national discussion on racial profiling for several years--most recently with the NAACP's issuance of a statewide travel advisory warning Black motorists of high disproportionality in vehicle stops. In their annual reports of stop data, agencies can submit a response to explain their numerical data. This study inductively analyzes the content of these written responses (N = 806), which were submitted between 2001 and 2019.

FINDINGS indicate that agency responses contain rationales in accordance with a sense of group position, with explanations for stops, searches, and arrests of motorists of color framed in terms of outsiders as a problematic influx upon insider spaces. The responses also show that the explanations are more about policing place than a legitimate effort at maintaining safety of the jurisdiction. The results of this study have several important implications for research, theory, and policy.

Language: en