Date of Conferral

7-7-2026

Date of Award

July 2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Dearis Hoard

Abstract

Racial profiling of people of color by police departments as part of traffic enforcement practices is a pervasive practice in the United States. The practice is a form of systemic racism, the conceptual framework for this study, that has resulted in people and communities of color suffering its deleterious effects. Although statistical analysis of traffic stop data is most effective in uncovering racial profiling in traffic enforcement, most police departments fail to conduct such analysis, and for those departments that do so, there is no uniform judicially accepted method. The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons most police departments do not analyze traffic stop data and, for departments that do, the effectiveness and acceptance of the method(s) the departments use. Research questions focused on police chiefs’ views on traffic stop data analysis as a means to prevent racial profiling. A basic qualitative study was employed, using purposeful semistructured interviews of 17 police chiefs. Data obtained were analyzed using a coding process of interview responses that developed the codes into concepts and themes. Results indicated that one of the most common methods of data analysis used, census benchmarking, is not reliable; yet, when this or other types of analysis are used, they are effective in resolving complaints. Participants’ expressed the most common reason they do not require their department to analyze the data is their belief that their department does not have an issue with racial profiling. The implications for social change include study findings that may be used by government policymakers and police chiefs to increase traffic stop data analysis efforts and to use more reliable methods of data analysis.

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