Policing in a Largely Minority Jurisdiction: The Influence of Appearance Characteristics Associated with Contemporary Hip-Hop Culture on Police Decision-Making. (10th November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dabney, Dean A.; Teasdale, Brent; Ishoy, Glen A.; Gann, Taylor; Berry, Bonnie
• Is Part Of: Justice quarterly. Volume 34:Number 7(2017)
• Page Start: 1310
• Page End: 1338
• Publication Date: 2017-11-10
• Subjects: discretion -- profiling -- implicit stereotypes -- hip-hop -- biased policing; Criminal justice, Administration of -- Periodicals; Criminal justice, Administration of -- United States -- Periodicals; 340.11405
• DOI: 10.1080/07418825.2017.1382557
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0741-8825

Abstract

Abstract : To date, the main lines of inquiry on the topic of policing bias have relied upon the operationalization of simple interracial/ethnic distinctions to determine if Black or Brown citizens receive disproportionately harsh treatment compared to Whites in a jurisdiction. Failing that, ecological models have been applied, built around the notion of territorial learning or "out-of-place" policing, meaning that the police more aggressively target racial minorities in areas where they are unexpected to be inhabitants. This study seeks to take the inquiry to a more refined level, examining the sorts of legal and extra-legal factors that account for within-race discretionary outcomes. Drawing upon ride-along data gathered in a largely African American metropolitan jurisdiction in the Southeast, we show that extralegal appearance factors associated with the contemporary hip-hop culture (i.e. dreadlocks, cornrows, afros, braids, gold teeth, saggy pants) are predictive of more severe formal outcomes imposed by officers than other relevant predictors. We ground this research in the police discretion and implicit bias literature to better inform theory and practice.