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Utah's Foremost Platform for Undergraduate Research Presentation
2018 Abstracts

Disproportionate Minority Contact in Policing: Where does the bias lie?

Steiner Houston; Carrie Stone; Eric Young, Weber State University

Previous researchers have explained disproportionate minority contact (DMC) by utilizing two hypotheses. The first, differential treatment, is the theory that variations exist in policing whereby officers disproportionately focus on minority groups. The second, differential offense, is the theory that variations exist in patterns of offending whereby minority groups disproportionately place themselves within police focus. The current project involves a collaboration between a local police department and undergraduate students and faculty at a regional university to explore a heretofore underexplored explanation for DMC that we call differential civilian response. Differential civilian response is the theory that civilians disproportionately place minorities within police focus. This can occur when a civilian (such as a community member, a teacher, or a store owner) contacts the police more frequently in situations involving minority individuals than they would in situations involving other people. To determine if differential civilian response is having a measurable impact on levels of DMC, specific variables will be abstracted from a set number of police reports. The variables will then be coded and analyzed. The percentage of minority contacts will be compared to the percentage of minority in the applicable population to determine extent of DMC. If DMC is identified, then levels of proactive, officer-initiated contacts will be compared to levels of reactive, civilian-initiated contacts to determine how this element has affected the levels of DMC. By examining this previously underexplored explanation for DMC rates, findings from this study have the potential to enhance community education efforts, influence police training practices, and aid future researchers in understanding how civilian bias impacts rates of DMC within communities.