Examining the Effects of Suspect Race on Police First Contact and Arrest Among Adolescents

Abstract

Little is known about the decision-making processes used when police encounter suspects who have never previously been stopped or about how police decide who to question in the first place. Literature suggests suspect race plays a role, but findings are contradictory, perhaps due to the confounding effects of prior records. We therefore focus here on a suspect’s first police stop. Drawing on three theoretical accounts—focal concerns, benign neglect, and de-policing—we identify plausible explanations for racial differences in self-reported police contact and arrest outcomes. We use Add Health data and matched logistic regression to examine race effects. We find that black respondents were less likely than white respondents to be stopped, but there was no disparity in arrest. Although suspect race was associated with the decision to stop a suspect, the association’s direction did not align with that of the traditional focal concerns perspective.