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Using a Vignette Research Design to Examine Traffic Stop Decision Making of Police Officers

A Research Note

Buffalo State College, New York, ,phillisw{at}buffalostate.edu

A variety of data collection methods have been used to examine an officer’s decision to stop a vehicle. Most research examines poststop behavior, and no single method has been able to obtain all the relevant independent variables for a comprehensive examination of this behavior. This study uses vignettes describing a traffic stop incident. Driver characteristics, vehicle characteristics, and traffic violations are included as independent variables. Officers from three law enforcement agencies are provided two traffic stop vignettes. Officers indicate their likelihood of stopping a vehicle based on vignette information. Vehicle characteristics and traffic violations influence the likelihood of stopping a vehicle. Officers in smaller police agencies are significantly more likely to stop a vehicle than are Sheriff’s deputies.

Key Words: racial profiling • vignettes • police decision making

This version was published on December 1, 2009

Criminal Justice Policy Review, Vol. 20, No. 4, 495-506 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0887403409333070


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