Vehicle Stops and Group Position: How Missouri Agencies Use Place and Race to Explain Disparities

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 t...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Craig, Miltonette O. (Author) ; Reid, Jonathan C. (Author) ; Kramer, Kelsey L. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
In: Journal of contemporary criminal justice
Year: 2022, Volume: 38, Issue: 4, Pages: 411-431
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
out of place
group position
Racial Profiling
Race/ethnicity
Policing
Description
Summary: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.
ISSN:1552-5406
DOI:10.1177/10439862221110996