A Behavioral Theory of Discrimination in Policing

Ryan Hübert and Andrew T. Little
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Ryan Hübert: University of California, Davis

No g4c8w, OSF Preprints from Center for Open Science

Abstract: A large economic literature studies whether racial disparities in policing are explained by animus or by beliefs about group crime rates. But what if these beliefs are incorrect? We analyze a model where officers form beliefs using crime statistics, but don’t properly account for the fact that they will detect more crime in more heavily policed communities. This creates a feedback loop where officers over-police groups that they (incorrectly) believe exhibit high crime rates. This inferential mistake can exacerbate discrimination even among officers with no animus and who sincerely believe disparities are driven by real differences in crime rates.

Date: 2022-08-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-law and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:osfxxx:g4c8w

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/g4c8w

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