Suspect Citizens
What 20 Million Traffic Stops Tell Us About Policing and Race

'For well over a decade North Carolina law enforcement agencies led the nation in collecting traffic stop data as directed by state legislation. Unfortunately, neither state legislators nor law enforcement leaders understood how to interpret or use those data. Law enforcement leaders in North Carolina and across the nation can use this work to better enforce traffic safety laws while building a trusting, transparent relationship with their communities.' Harold E. Medlock, former Chief of Police, Fayetteville, North Carolina, Police Department

'Racialized policing is one of the most pressing civil rights issues of our day. Through a meticulous analysis and sweeping examination of North Carolina’s multiyear data on traffic stops over time and across place, agency, and groups, Suspect Citizens is a deep dive into the causes and injurious consequences of racialized policing. Avoiding easy answers and delivering bold, actionable findings, Baumgartner, Epp, and Shoub capture an essential insight: that aggressive policing strategies exact a high price in community alienation but deliver precious few benefits in public safety. This book arrives at a time when our nation desperately calls out for policy solutions to racially targeted policing.' Vesla M. Weaver, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor, The Johns Hopkins University

'Baumgartner, Epp, and Shoub highlight the different reality of driving in North Carolina faced by black, white, and Hispanic drivers. This book is a must-read for scholars and policymakers who are interested in fairer outcomes in criminal justice and in improving relations between communities of color and the officers who serve them.' Traci Burch, Northwestern University, Illinois

'The most complete picture we have of who the police interact with and how. Suspect Citizens combines ‘big data, ’careful thought, and meticulous and accessible analysis to offer critical insights into police behavior.' Peter K. Enns, author of Incarceration Nation: How the United States Became the Most Punitive Democracy in the World and Cornell University, New York

'The authors, all scholars of criminal justice or government, provide a thorough examination of traffic stops that adds to the breadth of research already in existence, combining a literature review with their own groundbreaking work studying routine traffic stops in North Carolina. … This informative and well-written book will be a valued addition to many library collections, especially those supporting sociology or criminal justice programs.' D. R. Kavish, Choice