Race and gender profiling affects tickets

Black and Hispanic women are just as likely as white men to be ticketed, arrested or searched during a traffic stop, U.S. researchers say. Jeremy Briggs, doctoral candidate in sociology at Kansas State University, analyzed police actions during routine traffic stops in Topeka using a national set of data called the Police Public Contact Survey. The data set was collected in 2005 and includes information from drivers age 16 and older and their recent contact with police. Briggs looked at reasons for a traffic stop, which included speeding, turning lane violations, traffic light or stop sign violations and drunken driving check lanes. When compared with men, women were 23 percent less likely to be ticketed, 55 percent less likely to be arrested and 76 percent less likely to be searched when stopped by police. Black and Hispanic drivers were significantly more likely to be searched, ticketed and arrested than white drivers when stopped by police, Briggs said. By combining data dealing with race and gender, Briggs found white women were most likely to receive only a warning or no outcome at all, but black and Hispanic women were just as likely as white men to be ticketed, arrested or searched instead of receiving a warning or no outcome.