A large and growing body of research finds racial disparities in discretionary searches of drivers during traffic stops with Black drivers disproportionately involved in these investigations. Among the explanations for these disparities is the deployment hypothesis which suggests that as police departments increasingly adopt hot spots policing strategies, proactive traffic stops and discretionary searches may spatially cluster around crime hot spots contributing to racial disparities. The present study builds on the existing research literature by identifying hot spots using reported crime data from a police department and examining whether these crime hot spots function as a mediating factor to the relationship between driver race and discretionary searches. Findings provide partial support for the deployment hypothesis. While nearly half of all traffic stops transpired within one quarter mile of hot spots and more frequently involved Black drivers, stops involving Black drivers remained more likely to include discretionary searches and increased concomitantly with distance from the nearest hot spot.
Among scholars, there is a discussion regarding whether types of places, or facilities, function as crime generators or whether the association between some categories of facilities and higher rates of offending is the result of a small proportion of all facilities within a given category, or problem places. This study seeks to further inform this debate by exploring whether policy changes that alter the social functioning of a category of facilities, specifically bars and taverns, modifies the spatial association with crime. Using routine activities theory as a framework, this study builds on previous research by exploring the association between alcohol-serving establishments and violent crimes, specifically assaults, following the implementation of a smoke-free law. Using data from a pair of adjoining communities in Iowa, findings indicate the frequency of reported assaults on blocks with bars as well as on adjoining blocks declined following the implementation of a law prohibiting smoking tobacco products within bars and taverns. Implications for policies and future research are discussed.
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