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

Allison Stashko

Journal of the European Economic Association, 2023, vol. 21, issue 1, 167-214

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.

Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jeurec:v:21:y:2023:i:1:p:167-214.

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