Research Papers

We attempted to develop a framework for the overall evaluation of racial profiling as a public policy.

We took a new approach by focusing on ethical issues that arise when profiling occurs while considering the efficacy of racial profiling with respect to law enforcement goals in a context in which law enforcement objectives represent a subset of the desiderata for public policy.

Our goal was to explicitly address the full range of implications that racial profiling has for society.

Our paper is designed to consider some of the general issues that need to be addressed in evaluating racial profiling as a public policy question. Placing the discussion in the context of efficiency/equity trade-offs, this paper discusses profiling in the context of police traffic stops where the intent is to identify drug carriers.

While there is a growing body of theoretical and empirical work on profiling, relatively little attention has been paid to integrating efficiency and equity considerations in an overall assessment.

Racial profiling continues to be a contentious issue in American society. While official policing policies have in many places banned profiling, the impact of such regulations is unknown.