Do NYPD’s Pedestrian Stop Data Indicate Racial Bias?
RAND analyzed raw data from 2006 NYPD pedestrian stops to assess whether there is racial bias in police officers’ decisions to stop pedestrians, analyzing the data first in terms of external benchmarks, then in terms of internal benchmarks, and finally in terms of whether white and nonwhite suspect have different stop outcomes. The study found racial differences, but they are much smaller than the raw data indicate; the study makes a series of recommendations for improving police-pedestrian interactions.
