The use by police and other law enforcement officers of profiling techniques to identify potential offenders is controversial with respect to both the bases for profiling and the effectiveness of the method. While there are a number of applications of the profiling concept, possibly the most controversial and certainly the most widely publicized is the use by traffic police of race as a basis for applying the concept of profiling when making traffic stop decisions (Carrick, 2000). One aspect of this use of profiling concerns the justification for using race as a basis for such profiling, while a second aspect of the controversy is a dispute as the whether police actually use racial profiling in making traffic stop decisions. Most police departments say no, while a substantial proportion of the members of racial minority population groups say yes (Melchers, 2003). This latter aspect of the controversy is the focus of the research question that will be investigated, which is as follows: Is there a prevailing public perception that police officers apply racial profiling when making traffic stop decisions? The dependent variable will be the strength among all population groups of the perception that racial profiling is used by traffic police in making traffic stop decisions.
Many members of racial minority sub-groups in the general population are suspicious of police motives in interactions between police and racial minority citizens. There is a strong perception among racial minority group citizens that most police officers do not treat them respectfully in most encounters, and target (profile) them as a form of harassment. Another strong perception among members of racial minority groups is that police solidarity will prevail against civilian efforts to hold police officers accountable for the unacceptable behavior (Ramirez, Hoopes, & Quinlan, 2003).
Most police departments, in contrast, contend that traffic stops are made...