I read the study. They published the raw data, so that is a big plus. This allows reproducibility, to some extent. The subjective weighting of some of the data may produce slightly different results. The last paragraphs discuss the traffic stops and searches of Washington State and Colorado, after the legalization of marijuana. It noted that a precipitous decrease in traffic stops among all three of their categories of ethnicities. It is interesting to note that only whites, blacks and latino people were culled from all the stops. I would be very curious to see any analysis of asian and middle eastern people. I suspect that these ethicities would have a much lower occurrence of stops and searches than the other three. The interesting take away is the number of white drivers that are stopped and subsequently searched have a higher rate of "hits" I.e. contraband is located and seized. Throughout the study of the data, there are numerous mentions of how the data could be misinterpreted and reveal a racial bias when none would necessarily be true. I particularly like the conclusions that by removing activities or particular items from being considered contraband would reduce the effects of policing on ethnic minorities. This particular statement stuck out like a sore thumb to me. "Our results, however, also point to the power of policy interventions—specifically, legalization of recreational marijuana—to reduce these racial disparities." & "Similarly, enforcement of minor traffic violations, like broken tail lights—even if conducted uniformly and without animus—can place heavy burdens on black and Hispanic drivers without improving public safety". These two statements in the conclusion/discussion portion of the study are clearly implying that traffic stops have been affected by actual valid reasons and are not simply because the officer had racial animus against the drivers. This leads to a possible conclusion that the people being stopped are selected for reasons other than ethnicity and that actual violations occurred that many be related to ethnicity, but not because of bias.
I'm not going to draw any conclusions from the "hits" datapoint, but it sounds like if there are more "misses" on the other side, that they're more likely to be stopped for baseless reasons, no? Would require a little more digging through the data I suppose.
Your possible conclusion could have an impact on the data, but I have reservations that it would make up the entire disparity.
It also raises questions that can't be answered by the available data -- are blacks & hispanics with a broken taillight more likely to be pulled over than whites with a broken taillight?
I honestly think that if all things are equal, there would be an insignificant delta between ethnicity. For example; two separate vehicles commit the same violation. Both vehicles are late models in good repair, both the same model and make, both drivers are dressed respectably. I don't believe ethnicity is as significant a factor as we are being led to believe. I am fairly certain that appearance and attitude have more to do with interactions. The more the hype about ethnic bias is pimped out, the more likely a citizen is likely to speak with an attitude and create an escalation. Where I work, we have a very diverse workforce. Almost all are electrical engineers or another engineering discipline. None of my coworkers dress or act like thugs or low class trash. There doesn't seem to be any issues with law enforcement. In our location, we have approx 3000 employees with an additional 2000 contractors. I obviously don't know everyone personally, but it would be big news if someone got in any trouble. They would definitely lose their job.
Would be great if all things were equal, and if everyone had the same opportunities and starting place in the race.. but I think we can see that's a whole other can of worms ;)
Actually, I believe in adversity creating stronger and more capable people that push themselves to achieving great goals. The people that we celebrate as heroes are the ones that demonstrate perseverance in the face of impossible odds. No one celebrates the child of a millionaire graduating an Ivy League school, but someone that came from an impoverished and broken home from a gang ridden ghetto is a hero and celebrated for their motivation and exceptionalism for doing the same. This is what distinguishes people from one another. Anyone can succeed when you hold all the cards, but greatness is found when you are dealt a shitty hand and you succeed regardless. It is hard to be spoiled when you grew up in a trailer park with a single parent that worked two and three jobs to support her children. Especially when she was an immigrant that came here without speaking english and with a 3rd grade education. The reason why America is so great is because she had a chance to come here and succeed. In her home country, there was no opportunity for success. No matter how hard she would've worked, there was no path possible. My mother is my hero and I celebrate her because she defied the odds. I wouldn't change anything from my upbringing, it has made me who I am.
I read the study. They published the raw data, so that is a big plus. This allows reproducibility, to some extent. The subjective weighting of some of the data may produce slightly different results. The last paragraphs discuss the traffic stops and searches of Washington State and Colorado, after the legalization of marijuana. It noted that a precipitous decrease in traffic stops among all three of their categories of ethnicities. It is interesting to note that only whites, blacks and latino people were culled from all the stops. I would be very curious to see any analysis of asian and middle eastern people. I suspect that these ethicities would have a much lower occurrence of stops and searches than the other three. The interesting take away is the number of white drivers that are stopped and subsequently searched have a higher rate of "hits" I.e. contraband is located and seized. Throughout the study of the data, there are numerous mentions of how the data could be misinterpreted and reveal a racial bias when none would necessarily be true. I particularly like the conclusions that by removing activities or particular items from being considered contraband would reduce the effects of policing on ethnic minorities. This particular statement stuck out like a sore thumb to me. "Our results, however, also point to the power of policy interventions—specifically, legalization of recreational marijuana—to reduce these racial disparities." & "Similarly, enforcement of minor traffic violations, like broken tail lights—even if conducted uniformly and without animus—can place heavy burdens on black and Hispanic drivers without improving public safety". These two statements in the conclusion/discussion portion of the study are clearly implying that traffic stops have been affected by actual valid reasons and are not simply because the officer had racial animus against the drivers. This leads to a possible conclusion that the people being stopped are selected for reasons other than ethnicity and that actual violations occurred that many be related to ethnicity, but not because of bias.
I appreciate the analysis.
I'm not going to draw any conclusions from the "hits" datapoint, but it sounds like if there are more "misses" on the other side, that they're more likely to be stopped for baseless reasons, no? Would require a little more digging through the data I suppose.
Your possible conclusion could have an impact on the data, but I have reservations that it would make up the entire disparity.
It also raises questions that can't be answered by the available data -- are blacks & hispanics with a broken taillight more likely to be pulled over than whites with a broken taillight?
I honestly think that if all things are equal, there would be an insignificant delta between ethnicity. For example; two separate vehicles commit the same violation. Both vehicles are late models in good repair, both the same model and make, both drivers are dressed respectably. I don't believe ethnicity is as significant a factor as we are being led to believe. I am fairly certain that appearance and attitude have more to do with interactions. The more the hype about ethnic bias is pimped out, the more likely a citizen is likely to speak with an attitude and create an escalation. Where I work, we have a very diverse workforce. Almost all are electrical engineers or another engineering discipline. None of my coworkers dress or act like thugs or low class trash. There doesn't seem to be any issues with law enforcement. In our location, we have approx 3000 employees with an additional 2000 contractors. I obviously don't know everyone personally, but it would be big news if someone got in any trouble. They would definitely lose their job.
Would be great if all things were equal, and if everyone had the same opportunities and starting place in the race.. but I think we can see that's a whole other can of worms ;)
Thanks for the discussion and the insights
Actually, I believe in adversity creating stronger and more capable people that push themselves to achieving great goals. The people that we celebrate as heroes are the ones that demonstrate perseverance in the face of impossible odds. No one celebrates the child of a millionaire graduating an Ivy League school, but someone that came from an impoverished and broken home from a gang ridden ghetto is a hero and celebrated for their motivation and exceptionalism for doing the same. This is what distinguishes people from one another. Anyone can succeed when you hold all the cards, but greatness is found when you are dealt a shitty hand and you succeed regardless. It is hard to be spoiled when you grew up in a trailer park with a single parent that worked two and three jobs to support her children. Especially when she was an immigrant that came here without speaking english and with a 3rd grade education. The reason why America is so great is because she had a chance to come here and succeed. In her home country, there was no opportunity for success. No matter how hard she would've worked, there was no path possible. My mother is my hero and I celebrate her because she defied the odds. I wouldn't change anything from my upbringing, it has made me who I am.