Racial Profiling: They Stopped Me Because I'm ------------! PDF
Preview Racial Profiling: They Stopped Me Because I'm ------------!
FORENSICS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE Birzer Racial Profiling They Stopped Me Because I’m ! Many racial minority communities claim profiling occurs frequently in their neighborhoods. Police authorities, for the most part, deny that they engage in racially biased police tactics. A handful of books have been published on the topic, but they tend to offer only anecdotal reports offering little reliable insight. Few use a qualitative methodological lens to provide the context of how minority citizens experience racial profiling. Racial Profiling: They Stopped Me Because I’m ! places minority citizens R who believe they have been racially profiled by police authorities at the center of the a data. Using primary empirical studies and extensive, in-depth interviews, the book draws c on nearly two years of field research into how minorities experience racial profiling by i police authorities. a l The author interviewed more than 100 racial and ethnic minority citizens. Citing 87 of P these cases, the book examines each individual case and employs a rigorous qualitative r o phenomenological method to develop dominant themes and determine their associated f meaning. Through an exploration of these themes, we can learn: i l i n • What racial profiling is, its historical context, and how formal legal codes g and public policy generally define it • The best methods of data collection and the advantages of collecting racial profiling data • How certain challenges can prevent data collection from properly identifying racial profiling or bias-based policing practices • Data analysis and methods of determining the validity of the data • The impact of pretextual stops and the effect of Whren v. United States A compelling account of how minority citizens experi ence racial profiling and how they ascribe and give meaning to these experi ences, the book provides a candid discussion of what the findings of the research mean for the police, racial minority citizens, and future racial profiling research. K13325 6000 Broken Sound Parkway, NW Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487 711 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 an informa business 2 Park Square, Milton Park www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN, UK www.crcpress.com Racial Profiling They Stopped Me Because I’m ! Racial Profiling They Stopped Me Because I’m ! Michael L. Birzer Boca Raton London New York CRC Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2013 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Version Date: 20120719 International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4398-7226-0 (eBook - PDF) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmit- ted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright. com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. 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Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com I dedicate this book to my loving wife, Gwynne, and my precious son, Michael Jr. Contents Preface xiii Acknowledgments xxi About the Author xxiii 1 Stylin’ n’ Profilin’ 1 Introduction 1 Richard’s Story 1 David’s Story 3 Purpose of the Book 4 The Cambridge Incident 4 Scope of the Problem 8 Defining Racial Profiling 13 Criminal Profiling 15 What’s in a Name? 16 Experience Is Powerful 17 Discussion Questions 19 References 19 Cases Cited 21 2 Putting Racial Profiling into Context 23 Introduction 23 Vigilante Justice? 24 Experience Matters 26 A History of Disparate Treatment 27 Color by the Numbers 27 A Legacy of Racialized Justice 28 The Thin Blue Line 34 The War on Drugs 34 Intensified War Efforts 36 Collateral Damage 38 Policing and the War 40 Discussion Questions 41 References 41 vii viii Contents 3 What about Congress, Data Collection, and the Court? 45 Introduction 45 Congressional Mandates 46 Missouri 50 Texas 50 Kansas 51 Washington State 52 Connecticut 53 New York 53 Police Stop Data 54 Data Collection Methods 60 Benchmark Data 60 External Benchmark Data 62 Traffic Surveys 63 Internal Benchmarking 64 Search Data 65 Final Thoughts on Data Collection 66 Did the Supreme Court Sanction Racial Profiling? 66 The Whren Decision 66 Would Have, Could Have, Should Have 70 What Would a New Test Look Like? 71 Discussion Questions 74 References 74 Cases Cited 75 4 Phenomenology as Method in Racial Profiling Research 77 Introduction 77 Framing the Study 78 Alternative Epistemology 79 The Paradigm Divide 79 Qualitative Research 81 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning 83 Multiple Data Sources 84 The Discovery of Meaning 84 Phenomenology 85 Selecting Participants 86 Advertising 87 Screening 87 A Portrait of the Participants and Setting 88 Contents ix Treatment of Data 91 Analyzing Phenomenological Data 92 Discussion Questions 94 References 94 5 Experiencing Racial Profiling 97 Introduction 97 Constructing the Stop 97 Theme 1: Emotional/Affective 98 Theme 2: The Symbolic Vehicle 105 Theme 3: Nature of the Traffic Violation 110 Theme 4: Officer Demeanor 113 Theme 5: Normative Experiences 117 Theme 6: Race and Place 118 Coercion and Appearance 121 Feeling Compelled 122 Symbolic Appearance 122 Unifying Experience 125 Berry’s Story 125 Discussion Questions 128 References 129 6 Trusting the Data 131 Introduction 131 Validity 131 Internal Validity 132 External Validity 132 Face Validity 132 Content Validity 133 Construct Validity 133 Reliability 133 Trustworthiness 134 Member Checks 136 Triangulation 136 Collaboration 137 Rich, Thick Descriptions 137 Researcher Reflexivity 138 Interview Memo 139 Setting 139 The Interview 139 Descriptive Notes 139 Reflective Notes 140
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