Do Police Maximize Arrests or Minimize Crime? Evidence from Racial Profiling in U.S. Cities

Stashko, Allison. 2022. "Do Police Maximize Arrests or Minimize Crime? Evidence from Racial Profiling in U.S. Cities." Journal of the European Economic Assocation, Forthcoming.

65 Pages Posted: 7 Mar 2018 Last revised: 31 May 2022

See all articles by Allison Stashko

Allison Stashko

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: May 4, 2022

Abstract

It is difficult to identify sources of discrimination in police stop and search data. In part, this is due to uncertainty over the objective of discretionary police stops: do officers aim to maximize arrests or to minimize crime? In this paper, I compare theoretical predictions implied by these two objectives to data from U.S. cities. Empirical evidence is consistent with a model of arrest maximization and inconsistent with a model of crime minimization. The findings support the validity of existing tests for discrimination that rely on the assumption that police officers maximize arrests.

Keywords: Law Enforcement, Discrimination, Racial Profiling

JEL Classification: K42, J15, H72

Suggested Citation

Stashko, Allison, Do Police Maximize Arrests or Minimize Crime? Evidence from Racial Profiling in U.S. Cities (May 4, 2022). Stashko, Allison. 2022. "Do Police Maximize Arrests or Minimize Crime? Evidence from Racial Profiling in U.S. Cities." Journal of the European Economic Assocation, Forthcoming. , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3132046 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3132046

Allison Stashko (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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