Measuring the Problem

• Author: Wendi Pollock,Scott Menard,Willard Oliver
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016811436335
• Published date: 01 June 2012
• Date: 01 June 2012
• Subject Matter: Articles

Articles

Measuring the Problem:

A National Examination of

Disproportionate Police

Contact in the United States

Wendi Pollock

1

, Willard Oliver

2

, and Scott Menard

2

Abstract

This research examined socioeconomic variables, offending behavior, and prior police contact, as

predictors of self-reported police contact (questioning or arrest). Utilizing multilevel models and

eight waves of National Youth Survey Family Study data, the predictors were examined in a national

sample of individuals, over 24 years. Results indicate that police contact is predominately predicted

by sex, delinquent peers, and offending behavior. This suggests that several of the variables com-

monly discussed in police contact literature, including race, are not predictors of police contact

at the national level in the United States. Implications of national-level findings on police policy are

discussed.

Keywords

police culture/accountability, law enforcement/security, inequality and crime, other, race and crime/

justice, other

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) over 25.7 million people in the United States

were contacted by police in 2005 because of either traffic-related stops or because the police sus-

pected them of wrongdoing (Durose, Smith, & Langan, 2007). Those numbers translate to approx-

imately 11%of the U.S. population age 16 or older. Other research indicates that not all groups of

people in the United States have an equal probability of being contacted by police. Many studies

through time have indicated that non-White individuals are contacted more frequently than are

White individuals, even when controlling for criminal offending (Fagan & Davies, 2000; Geiger-

Oneto & Phillips, 2003; Ousey & Lee, 2008; Piliavin & Briar, 1964; Smith & Visher, 1981). Though

race is arguably the most commonly used predictor of police contact in the literature, it is far from

the only variable that divides the population and creates possible disproportionality where police

1

Department of Government, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX, USA

2

College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA

Corresponding Author:

Wendi Pollock, Department of Government, Stephen F. Austin State University, Box 13045 SFA Station, Nacogdoches,

TX 75962, USA

Email: pollockwk@sfasu.edu

Criminal Justice Review

37(2) 153-173

ª2012 Georgia State University

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DOI: 10.1177/0734016811436335

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contacts are concerned. Some predictors have been examined persistently, and frequently, through

time. These variables appear in literature from the mid-1960s through the late 2000s, and include:

race (Penn, 2006; Piliavin & Briar, 1964), sex (Lundman & Kowalski, 2009; Terry, 1967),

socioeconomic status (SES; Miller, 2008; Werthman & Piliavin, 1967), criminal history (Miller,

2008; Werthman & Piliavin, 1967), and concurrent criminal offense (McAra & McVie, 2007;

McEachern & Bauzer, 1967). Other correlates of police contact appear more recently (and gener-

ally less frequently) in the literature, including age (Miller, 2008), involvement with delinquent

peers (Patterson, Forgatch, & Yoerger, 1998), drug and al cohol usage (McAra & McVie, 2007),

and IQ/grade point average (GPA

1

; Fergusson, Horwood, & Ridder, 2005).

Though many important pieces of research have been done on this subject, much of it with

persistent findings through time, several aspects of this topic remain unexamined. First, no study,

to date, has been conducted with a sample that would allow for a developmental, longitudinal, exam-

ination of respondents. Second, of the 23 studies reviewed, only 6 studies examined data that was

beyond the city or local level (D’Alessio & Stolzenberg, 2003; Durose et al., 2007; Lundman &

Kowalski, 2009; Ousey & Lee, 2008; Penn, 2006; Pope & Snyder, 2003). This is not particularly

surprising considering that policing in the United States is generally considered a localized concern.

The multitude of local police agencies can produce poor communication and collaboration between

agencies (Thibault, Lynch, & McBride, 2011). In addition, the populations that police serve differ

widely by location. Still, local-level studies can indicate predictors of disproportionate police con-

tact on a local level only. These localized findings suggest localized causes. A study conducted on a

national-level data set, will make it possible to see whether predictors of police contact are prevalent

enough that they are, in fact, not local problems. In addition, it would suggest that any problems

found are caused by more than just a few police officers or even one policing agency. In order to

effectively address a problem, it is always helpful to first know how large the problem is. This could

be useful in determining whether policing policies and/or policy changes should be implemented on

a larger scale (nationally) or remain on a more localized scale.

The current study will utilize national level, longitudinal, self-report data from the National

Youth Survey Family Study (NYSFS) to examine the extent to whi ch relevant predictors affect n eg-

ative police contact. Two level nonlinear (Bernoulli)models, using the statisticalsoftware hierarchical

linear modeling (HLM), will be used to examine direct effects, as well as any possible interaction

effects, of independent variables on policecontact. Because this data set has self-reported information

on over 1,000 individuals across the nation,for more than two decades, the currentstudy will be able to

fill several important gaps in a field of research thatcould disproportionately affectmore than 11%of

the U.S. population (Durose et al., 2007). Perhaps mostimportantly, it will provide new andmore rig-

orous evidence of the extent of disproportionate police contact in the United States.

Review of Relevant Literature

Twenty-three studies published over a 45-year time period were reviewed. Though this time frame

may be longer than typically required, it is necessary in this case because it covers the majority of the

respondents’ life courses. The studies are organized below by the relevant potential predictor of

police contact (see Appendix A for chronological overview of all studies in tabular form).

Race

Race effects have been reported in several studies (Brown, 1981; Brunson, 2007; Fagan & Davies,

2000; Ousey & Lee, 2008; Piliavin & Briar, 1964; Terry, 1967; Werthman & Piliavin, 1967). In the

early 1960s, Piliavin and Briar (1964) performed a qualitative analysis of juvenile–police contact

situations in a metropolitan city of approximately 450,000 people. Where race was concerned, they

154 Criminal Justice Review 37(2)