NCJ Number
184183
Journal
Minnesota Law Review Volume: 84 Issue: 2 Dated: December 1999 Pages: 265-326
Date Published
December 1999
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This article argues that racism pervades police traffic stop practices in the United States.
Abstract
The article examines “driving while black,” police officers stopping, questioning, and even searching black drivers who have committed no crime, based on the excuse of a traffic offense. The article discusses the experiences of three African-Americans whose stories are typical of motorists stopped for “driving while black.” It discusses the frightening and embarrassing nature of the experiences, the emotional difficulties and devastation that often follow, and the ways that victims cope. It includes statistics and examines how the problem is connected to larger issues at the intersection of criminal justice and race. The article puts the problem into its legal context and explains how the law not only allows but encourages these practices. It discusses some approaches that might be used to address the problem and to eradicate racial profiling, including Federal legislation and action at the local level, where development and enforcement of anti-discriminatory polices are likely to be most effective. Notes, tables