Racial profiling and Section 163 traffic stops: is there cause for concern?

Purpose The paper aims to examine the issue of potential disproportionality and racial profiling in s.163 traffic stops under the Road Traffic Act 1988, in light of recent media attention and referral of cases to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the law, procedural use and reports of racial profiling in s.163 traffic stops within a context of research which presents a history of disproportionate use of police tactics against ethnic minorities and black people in particular. An international perspective is evaluated as a potential framework for analysing the role of ethnicity in traffic stops in England and Wales. Findings There is an absence of systematically recorded data on s.163 stops. There are also significant contextual differences between traffic and street stop searches. For these reasons, doubt is cast over the legitimacy of institutionalised racism generalisations and arguments are presented against the extrapolation from street stop searches to s.163 traffic stops. Research limitations/implications Implications for future research which take operational procedures and priorities into account, along with the realities of the context in which s.163 stops occur, are discussed. Importantly, the role of ethnicity may only become apparent after a traffic stop has been executed, and hence research is required into how ethnicity may mediate the interaction between police officer and driver. Practical implications Implications for the implementation of a national procedural requirement to record s.163 stops and the collection of evidence of racial profiling are highlighted. Originality/value This paper highlights practical implications for future policy, leadership and police culture considerations.