POLICY, POLICING, & IDENTITY
SUSPECT CITIZENS:
WHAT 20 MILLION TRAFFIC STOPS TELL US ABOUT POLICING AND RACE
Frank Baumgartner, Derek Epp, & Kelsey Shoub
Using information on over 20 million traffic stops, we explore: 1) the extent of racial disparities in traffic stop outcomes in North Carolina; 2) their political sources; & 3) potential policy responses. For additional information, click here. Here are links to some of the press focused on the book:
What data on 20 million traffic stops can tell us about ‘driving while black’, an interview in the Monkey Cage about our book with John Sides
Is It Time to Reconsider Traffic Stops?, City Lab, by Tanvi Misra
New Books Network Interview with Frank Baumgartner about our main findings
The fears of Driving While Black in NC are true. The data prove it., News and Observer Op Ed
Additionally, it was reviewed in Perspectives on Politics, the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, and the American Journal of Sociology.
ARTICLES ON POLICING & POLICY
Peer Reviewed Articles
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Kevin Morris & Kelsey Shoub. 2023. "Contested Killings: The Mobilizing Effects of Community Contact with Police Violence." American Political Science Review.
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Morgan Lowder, Anthony Hoebert, & Kelsey Shoub. Forthcoming. "Institutional Legacies and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Spending Decisions: The Case of the Freedmen's Bureau." Journal of Public Policy.[Paper][Replication Materials]
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Katelyn Stauffer, Miyeon Song, & Kelsey Shoub. 2022. "How Police Agency Diversity, Policies, & Outcomes, Shape Citizens Trust & Willingness to Engage." Policy Studies Journal.
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Kelsey Shoub and Leah Christiani. 2022. "Context Matters: The Conditional Effect of Black Police Chiefs on Policing Outcomes." Urban Affairs Review.
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Leah Christiani and Kelsey Shoub. 2022. "A Light Brush with the Law: Linking Traffic Tickets & Political Participation." Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics.
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Kelsey Shoub. 2022. "Comparing Systemic and Individual Sources of Racially Disparate Traffic Stop Outcomes." Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 32(2): 236-251. Online: 14 June 2021.
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Roach, Kevin, Frank Baumgartner, Leah Christiani, Derek Epp, and Kelsey Shoub. 2022. "At the Intersection: The Amplifying Effects of Gender and Stop Purpose on Race in Determining Traffic Stop Outcomes." Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Vol. 7, No. 2: 239-261. Online: 11 November 2020.[Paper] [Online Appendix] [Replication Materials: Code, CT, MD, IL, NC]
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Kelsey Shoub, Katelyn Stauffer, and Miyeon Song. 2021. "Do Female Officers Police Differently? Evidence from Traffic Stops." American Journal of Political Science. 65(3): 755-769. Online: 24 May 2021.
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2021 Herbert Kaufman Best Paper Award, APSA Section on Public Administration
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"Would having more female officers improve policing?" on the Monkey Cage at the Washington Post
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Referenced in "This Police Chief is Hiring Female Officers to Fix 'Toxic' Policing" by Robert Klemko at the Washington Post
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Referenced in "The Hiring Practice That Could Dramatically Improve Policing" by Cari Shane at Slate
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Leah Christiani, Kelsey Shoub, Frank Baumgartner, Derek Epp, and Kevin Roach. 2021. "Descriptive Representation and the Reduction of Racial Disparities in Traffic Stop Outcomes." Politics, Groups, and Identities.
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Shoub, Kelsey, Leah Christiani, Frank Baumgartner, Derek A. Epp, and Kevin Roach. 2021. "Fines, Fees, Forfeitures, and Disparities: A Link Between Municipal Reliance on Fines and Racial Disparities in Policing." Policy Studies Journal. 49(3): 835-859. Online: 7 August 2020.[Paper] [Online Appendix] [Replication Materials]
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Shoub, Kelsey, Derek Epp, Frank Baumgartner, Leah Christiani, and Kevin Roach. 2020. "Race, Place, and Context: The Persistence of Race Effects in Traffic Stops Outcomes in the Face of Situational, Demographic, and Political Controls." Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. 5(3), 481-508. Online: 27 August 2020.
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Baumgartner, Frank R., Derek A. Epp, Kelsey Shoub, and Bayard Love. 2017. Targeting Young Men of Color for Search and Arrest during Traffic Stops: Evidence from North Carolina, 2002-2013. Politics, Groups, and Identities. Vol. 5, No. 1: 107-131. [Paper]
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Black Dignity Matters: Research shows that police do subject African Americans to much greater unwarranted scrutiny and harsher treatment, Reason.com, by Ronald Bailey, July 15, 2016
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Color-Conscious Drug Warriors Breed Mistrust: Two recent studies confirm anecdotal evidence of racial disparities in police treatment of drivers and pedestrians, Reason.com, by Jacob Sullum, August 1, 2016.
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Reprinted in The Politics of Protest: Readings on the Black Lives Matter Movement edited by Nadia Brown, Ray Block Jr., and Christopher Stout
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Other Article
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Baumgartner, Frank R., Leah Christiani, Derek A. Epp, Kevin Roach, and Kelsey Shoub. 2017. Racial Disparities in Traffic Stop Outcomes. Duke Forum for Law and Social Change, 9: 21-53. [Paper]
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Cops in Cook County among worst, huge study of traffic stops across U.S. finds, InjusticeWatch.org, by Sam Hart, February 28, 2017.
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Study reveals racial discrepancy in Evanston police searches following traffic stops, by David Fishman, The Daily Northwestern, March 7, 2017.
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Public Scholarship
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Shoub, Kelsey. 20 March 2023. "Traffic stop data shows that police reform should focus on remaking the barrel, not just addressing 'bad apples'." London School of Economics' Blog on United States Politics and Public Policy.
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Shoub, Kelsey, Katelyn Stauffer, and Miyeon Song. 16 January 2023. "Diversity – as well as perceptions of performance – can increase trust in the police." London School of Economics' Blog on United States Politics and Public Policy.
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Stauffer, Katelyn, Kelsey Shoub, and Miyeon Song. 15 June 2021. ``Would having more female officers improve policing?" The Monkey Cage on the Washington Post. June 15, 2021.
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Shoub, Kelsey, Katelyn Stauffer, and Miyeon Song. ``Do Female Officers Police Differently? Evidence from Traffic Stops." AJPS Blog. June 1, 2021.
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Frank R. Baumgartner, Derek Epp, and Kelsey Shoub. "Op-Ed: Why traffic stops can be deadly for people of color." LA Times. April 18, 2021.
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Frank R. Baumgartner, Leah Christiani, Derek A. Epp, Kelsey Shoub, and Kevin Roach. "Ten Years of Study and the Protesters are Right. What traffic stops tell us about racial bias in policing." 3Streams on Medium. June 25, 2020.
Research in Progress
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Kelsey Shoub & Cody Drolc. "The Particular and Diffuse Affects of Negative Interactions on Coproduction: Evidence from Responses to Police Killings." Under review.
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Kelsey Shoub, Miyeon Song, and Katelyn Stauffer. Pink Policing: Officer Gender, Policing Outcomes, and Citizen Trust in Democracy. Book project in preparation.