The unequal treatment of racial minorities by police is by no means a new concept. The debate over racial profiling centers on two questions. Does racial profiling actually occur? If so, is racial profiling being used and is profiling a legitimate tool of law enforcement? There are those who debate whether race is or is not a factor in police discretion and there are those who argue that race is a factor that is appropriate for use in profiling. The purpose of this research is to determine whether race is a significant factor in the likelihood of being involved in a traffic stop. In addition to race, other variables, such as gender and age, are explored as possible control variables. This is done by analyzing data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics' "Contact between Police and the Public" national survey. By examining several dependent variables that also may be associated with traffic stops, this study determines whether there is or is not a disparity in treatment by race, and whether this is consistent with the alleged purposes of using race in criminal profiles. / Master of Science

Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka erfarenheter svenska poliser har av arbetet med fordonsstopp och vilka premisser de utgår från vid beslut om att kontrollera fordon i trafiken. Genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem poliser, framkom att de överlag hade svårt att besvara frågan gällande vilka erfarenheter de har av arbetet med fordonsstopp. Resultatet tyder på att dessa erfarenheter gör arbetet lättare för poliserna, samtidigt upplevs erfarenheterna kunna resultera i oönskade beteenden. Deras erfarenheter är också att arbetet har utvecklats med åren. Utöver lagöverträdelser, verkade inte några klargjorda premisser gällande beslut om fordonsstopp finnas. Trots detta uppgav deltagarna liknande premisser, såsom trafikförseelser, underrättelseinformation och känslan av att något inte står rätt till.  I samband med fordonsstopp sker selekteringen inför beslutsfattandet genom allmän profilering och något poliser benämner byggstenar. Det förekom dock delade uppfattningar om vad som format deras premisser. / The purpose of this study was to examine what experience Swedish police officers have of traffic stops and on which premises they decide to control a vehicle in traffic. Through semi structured interviews with five police officers, it appeared that they generally had difficulties in answering questions regarding their experience of traffic stops. The results indicate that these experiences seem to facilitate the work for the policemen, simultaneously the experiences appear to result in unwanted behaviour. Their experiences are that the work have developed through the years. Beyond delinquency, there seems to be no clear premises regarding decision making in traffic stops. Despite that the participants stated similar premises, among others; traffic violence, intelligence information and the feeling that something doesn't feel right. Associated with traffic stops the selection for decision making is done by general profiling and something that police officers refers to as building blocks. However, there were different opinions regarding what have formed their premises.

For years, urban communities and specific ethnic groups within the US (mostly Blacks and Hispanics) have been targeted for racial profiling by our local police. Since the 1990’s, the outcry for justice by our Black and Hispanic communities increased the interests to find ways to address and fight against the act of racial profiling. This phenomenological study used a qualitative approach to collect information and gain the understanding and lived experiences of Black males between the ages of 20 – 49 who experienced racial profiling during routine traffic stops. Twelve Black Males between the ages of 20 to 49 were interviewed for the research study. Everyone was interviewed separately to gather experiences and meanings from their own points of view. In addition, 25 Black males within the same age group participated in a 1 hour focus group discussion. The information gathered from the interviews and focus group sessions were compiled into a Microsoft word transcript and reviewed and analyzed by the researcher to form seven themes. In order to come up with key findings, I isolated similar responses from the experiences shared by the research participants during the interviews and focus group session. In isolating some of the key responses revealed, I dissected racial profiling from a shared experience point of view based on common approaches practiced by law enforcement officers. The research study will contribute to field on conflict resolution through the voices of those who experienced racial profiling, and finding ways to encourage mediation through projecting the underlying concerns or issues to community leaders, government officials, concerned groups, and law enforcement agencies.

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