Police Stops and Subsequent Delinquency and Arrest: Race and Gender Differences

Abstract

Research suggests police stops are associated with delinquency and arrest in adolescence, but limited research has examined the extent to which these associations vary by intersectional identities. The labeling and life-course perspectives argue police stops may increase later delinquency/arrest and that these relationships may vary according to when an individual is first stopped. Critical race feminist perspectives suggest Black girls may be especially likely to experience negative consequences following a police stop. The goal of the current study was to examine the relationships between police stops in childhood and adolescence and delinquency and arrest in adolescence, as well as identify how these relationships vary by gender and race. Results suggest the relationships between police stops and subsequent delinquency and arrest differ across gender and race. Further, Black girls experience the greatest increase in probability of arrest following a stop in adolescence. Findings have important implications for research, policy, and practice.

Keywords:

• labeling
• police stops
• critical race feminism

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 From 2015 – 2020, Black boys constituted approximately 36% of referrals for boys ages 12 and under; Black girls constituted 38% of referrals for girls 12 and under. Between 2015 and 2020, Black girls comprised a larger share of referrals for girls ages 12 and under than Black boys did for boys ages 12 and under (Sickmund et al., 2022).

2 Because the suest command in Stata is not compatible with Firth logistic regressions, results from multivariable logistic regression models were used in the calculation of generalized Hausman tests. Firth logistic regression estimates were used in Clogg tests, and across both tests results did not differ substantively. Results of Clogg tests are presented.

3 Because delinquency in adolescence may be a collider in the relationship between stops and arrest (Novak et al., 2023) models were also conducted without delinquency in adolescence to check for collider bias. Results did not differ substantively.