A Few Bad Apples? Racial Bias in Policing

We estimate the degree to which individual police officers practice racial discrimination. Using a bunching estimation design and data from the Florida Highway Patrol, we show that minorities are less likely to receive a discount on their speeding tickets than White drivers. Disaggregating this difference to the individual police officer, we estimate that 42 percent of officers practice discrimination. We then apply our officer- level discrimination measures to various policy-relevant questions in the literature. In particular, reassigning officers across locations based on their lenience can effectively reduce the aggregate disparity in treatment (JEL H76, J15, K42)

Connected Vehicle Training Framework and Lessons Learned to Improve Safety of Highway Patrol Troopers

The Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) investigates more than 7,000 vehicle crashes yearly, often as first-hand responders. They often drive at high speeds through difficult road/weather conditions and under enormous secondary workloads, leading to an increased risk of crash. Connected vehicle (CV) technology can communicate timely road and traveler information messages (TIMs) to troopers, which could significantly reduce the frequency, severity, or both, of these crashes. The majority of the troopers, however, might not be familiar with driving a CV. This paper developed a “first responder-specific” training program on safe interaction with the technology and an in-depth assessment of how these new technologies are perceived by the troopers. The training program contains an E-training module and a hands-on driving simulator training module. The E-training presents concept of various CV warnings and notifications, including forward collision warning (FCW), spot weather warnings, work zone warnings, and other TIMs. Two scenarios were developed to familiarize troopers to simulated driving, two single-alert scenarios to help mastering the two most important warnings (FCW and variable speed limit), and two multiple-alert scenarios to train the troopers to drive in a comprehensive connected environment. A quiz section in the E-training module and comprehensive pre- and post-training questionnaire surveys were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed CV training program. According to the trainees from the WHP, the driving simulator provided impressively realistic real-life-like scenarios for the troopers to practice the CV warnings they learned during the E-training.

Integrating GIS and statistical approaches to enhance allocation of highway patrol resources

Large truck crashes undermine the contribution of trucks to the U.S. economy due to the economic costs of the crashes. Wyoming has the highest truck crash rate and the lowest budget contribution for traffic enforcement in the USA. Because of the state’s intensive truck corridors, the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) might not be able to use their resources efficiently. Previous studies have indicated that WHP performed better when they allocate their resources efficiently at the right locations and towards the right enforcements. This study used 4-year historical crash and enforcement data along Interstate 80 (I-80), which has the highest truck-related crash rate in Wyoming. Crash data were filtered to include truck crashes only. However, both truck and no-truck enforcements were included in the data because both could be at fault in truck crashes. This study used two approaches to help state policy-makers improve traffic safety on I-80. First, a statistical method was used to identify geometric variables contributing to allocated enforcement and truck crashes. Second, truck crashes and related enforcements were visually assessed using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) mapping. Crash data were disaggregated into the main driver actions of no improper driving, following too closely, improper lane change and driving too fast for the conditions. These driver actions accounted for more than 70% of all truck crashes on I-80. Related enforcements were also identified and disaggregated by driver actions. Disaggregated enforcements and crashes were visualized along the I-80 corridor using GIS maps to see if WHP allocated their resources efficiently. Cluster index, enforcement spatial coverage and mean density are some of the parameters used for the analyses. This study aimed to contribute to research on police effectiveness in reducing truck crashes, police innovation and the use of GIS applications in enforcement. This methodology can be used by other agencies to better allocate resources to improve traffic safety in most efficient ways.

Efficiency Benchmarking Framework for Highway Patrol Agencies and Implementation for the Wyoming Highway Patrol

With many lives lost every year in crashes, highway traffic safety is a major concern. With 93% of crashes being contributed to by roadway users’ poor behaviors, one of the most effective ways to improve highway traffic safety is to improve the performance of organizations enforcing traffic laws to change those poor behaviors. This research introduces a framework that makes it possible to benchmark the efficiency performance within the highway patrol. Data envelopment analysis (DEA), a mathematical methodology based on the concepts of optimization and linear programming, was used to develop that framework to measure the efficiency performance of a highway patrol’s divisions. Such framework is used to measure and compare the efficiency performance of 17 divisions of the Wyoming Highway Patrol to allow internal benchmarking and thus to improve the overall organizational performance. The concepts discussed in this paper can be implemented by highway patrol agencies for internal and external efficiency benchmarking. Although DEA has been utilized for organizational performance evaluation in multiple sectors, literature review to date has not identified any study that has specifically utilized DEA in the context of highway traffic safety from the highway patrol’s perspective. As such, this study is original and timely.

CARDIORESPIRATORY AND NEUROMUSCULAR FITNESS OF FEDERAL HIGHWAY POLICE OFFICERS

ABSTRACT Introduction: Higher levels of physical fitness are associated with better quality of life and indicators of health and performance in police forces. Objective: This study aims to describe and evaluate the level of cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular fitness of a national sample of federal highway patrol officers. Methods: Cross-sectional study with data from 6212 agents of the Federal Highway Police. Endpoints were as follows: abdominal resistance (AR); upper limb muscular resistance (ULMR); upper limb muscle strength (ULMS) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CF). The following independent variables were included: sex; age; geographic region of posting and participation in the Institutional Physical Education Program (IPEP). The linear regression model was used to test the association between endpoints and independent variables. Results: The highest proportion of police officers obtained an excellent score for neuromuscular endpoints (AR: 63.9% men, 69.6% women, ULMR: 68.8% men, 61.8% women, ULMS: 22.2% men, 40% women). In CF, the highest percentage of scores was average and good (respectively, 30.6% and 43.0% for men, 39.1% and 39.2% for women). Male officers were fitter than female officers, except for the ULMS endpoint. There was a decrease in fitness levels for all endpoints according to age. Police officers from the northern region were fitter than in the other regions. Police officers who were not registered in the IPEP were fitter than those registered. Conclusion: Federal Highway Patrol officers have good levels of fitness, which declines with age. Level of Evidence III; Study of nonconsecutive patients; without consistently applied "gold" reference standard.

Race, Politics, and Public Safety: A Panel Study of U.S. Highway Patrol and State Police Strength, 1981-2015

This study assesses the social, political, economic, and traffic-/travel-related predictors of sworn highway patrol and state police strength in the United States between 1981 and 2015. Fixed-effects estimates based on analyses of 1,635 state-years indicate that theoretical accounts centered on racial threat theory, partisan politics, and gendered politics in part explain variation in this outcome. Findings suggest that changes in population density, the tax base, the percentage of the population without a high school degree, violent crime rates, and spending on social welfare at the state level, as well as shifts in local law enforcement strength, also influence state police and patrol organization strength over this period. Surprisingly, fluctuations in the number of state traffic fatalities per million vehicle miles traveled and the number of driver’s licenses per 100,000 state population—two seemingly important traffic-/travel-related factors—have no impact on the rate of state police and patrol officers per 100,000 population.