Duration Matters: Factors Behind Police Stops
Publication Date
2026
Presentation Length
Poster/Gallery presentation
College
College of Sciences & Mathematics
Department
Psychological Sciences and Neurosciences, Department of
Student Level
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor
Adam Smiley
Metadata/Fulltext
Metadata ONLY
Presentation Type
Poster
Summary
Police stops are a common form of law enforcement interaction, making it important to examine the factors that influence their execution. Prior research suggests that demographic factors such as race and age, as well as situational factors like time of day, may influence police decision-making during encounters with civilians (Helman, Fagan, & Kiss, 2007; Ridgeway, 2007). The duration of a stop may reflect the complexity of the situation or the level of suspicion perceived by officers. Understanding the factors associated with stop duration can provide insight into the effectiveness of policing strategies and maintaining order. Accordingly, the present study investigates the extent to which demographic and situational factors predict the duration of police stops using data from the 2020 NYPD Stop, Question, and Frisk dataset (N = 9,545). It is hypothesized that race, time of day, and type of suspected crime will significantly predict stop duration, whereas age is not anticipated to be a strong predictor. Data will be analyzed using multiple linear regression, and results will be presented at SPARK.
Recommended Citation
Gelman, A., Fagan, J., & Kiss, A. (2007). An analysis of the New York City Police Department’s “stop‑and‑frisk” policy in the context of claims of racial bias. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 102(479), 813–823. https://doi.org/10.1198/016214506000001040
