Question

Consider the infographic below. It's from the Chicago Tribune in 2013 and shows police data on vehicle searches. The data in the upper graphic are the percentage of traffic stops that result in searches, broken down by "race". The data in the lower graphic are the percent of searches that find drugs.   Use one or two sentences and calculated numbers to address each of the following questions (10 points each).

(a) Does a driver's "race" predict whether they're carrying contraband?

(b) Does a driver's "race" predict whether they'll be searched after a traffic stop?

(c) Besides expanding the dataset to 2014-2018, what other information would help you understand the issue and/or consider next steps?

COMPARING CONSENT SEARCHES AND CONTRABAND FINDS By race in 2013 Consent searches per traffic stop: ● Chicago ●Statewide 10 White drivers 0.4% 0.9% Black drivers 1.7% 1.9% Hispanic drivers 1.6% 1.7% Contraband finds per search: Chicago Statewide 10 15 20 25 30 White drivers 24.3% 25.6% Black 11.6% 17.2% Hispanic drivers 13.1% 16.4%

Answer 1

a) Yes, a driver's race predict whether they are carrying contraband. From the lower graph we can see out of the searches made 24-25% people carrying the contraband are white drivers and 11-17% are black drivers which indicates mostly white drivers carry contraband.

b) Yes, a driver's race predict whether they will be searched. From the upper graph we can see that 0.4-0.9% white drivers are stopped for searches while 1.7-1.9% black drivers are stopped for searches which indicates that mostly black drivers are stopped for searches for drugs.

c) Besides expanding the datasheet to 2014-2018, information regarding the reason for carrying drugs, whether rasism is the cause of drug addiction, age group of the drivers, etc are needed o understand the next steps.