Police Stops and Searches: The Roles of Race, Place, and Gender

Marina Gorsuch
Deborah T. Rho, University of St. Thomas

Native American women comprise 1.42% of the population of women in Minneapolis, but accounted for 6.57% of police stops of women taking place in Minneapolis (including traffic stops and non-vehicle stops) from November 1, 2016, through October 19, 2017. After they were stopped, 27% of Native American women were searched, while white women were only searched 6% of the time. These police stops concluded with 20% Native American women being arrested and booked, compared to only 4% of white women. By the time of the 2019 PAA conference, we will have extended the analysis to include data from 2018. Additionally, during summer and fall of 2018, we have interviewed police officers in Minneapolis, Native American women in Minneapolis, and people who work for non-profits serving the Native American community in Minneapolis. This further quantitative and qualitative analysis will provide insight into the mechanisms for the striking disparities we discovered.

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 Presented in Session 9. Marriage, Family, Households, & Unions; Gender, Race, & Ethnicity