Alpert, Geoffrey P., John M. MacDonald, and Roger G. Dunham. “Police suspicion and discretionary decision making during citizen stops.” Criminology 43.2 (2005): 407-434.

This study examines the influence of racial, demographic and situational variables on types of police suspicion and the ancillary decision to stop and question suspects. Data werd drawn from an observational study of police decision making in Savannah, Georgia. Based on the literature we hypothesized that minority suspects will be more likely to be viewed suspiciously by the police for nonbehavioral reasons. We also hypothesize that minority status will play a significant role in the decision to stop and question suspicious persons. The findings from this study provide partial support for this hypotheses. The results indicate that minority status does influence an officers’ decision to form nonbehavioral as apposed to behavioral suspicion, but that minority status does not influence the decision to stop and question suspects. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding race and its role in police decision making