We provide expert statistical services to attorneys, including bar advocates and public defenders, at a rate approved by the Massachusetts Committee on Public Counsel Services (CPCS). These cases may involve racial profiling.
Critique of Report on Auto Stops and Race in MA
This short .pdf piece explains why statistical errors undermine confidence in the report published by Salem State University and Worcester State University, February 7, 2022. Their anonymous report presumes to show whether racial bias occurs, either in police decisions about which motorists to stop or in which types of citations to issue to the drivers stopped. The report was disseminated by the MA Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), apparently without any vetting as to the soundness of the methods used.
This short .pdf piece explains why statistical errors undermine confidence in the report published by Salem State University and Worcester State University, February 7, 2022. Their anonymous report presumes to show whether racial bias occurs, either in police decisions about which motorists to stop or in which types of citations to issue to the drivers stopped. The report was disseminated by the MA Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), apparently without any vetting as to the soundness of the methods used.
Analyzing for Bias in Traffic-Stop Cases: Video Presentations
Each of the videos below describes an aspect of analyzing for bias or racial profiling in police traffic stops. These presentations consider issues arising from the decision in Commonwealth v. Long (485 Mass. 711, 2020).
Each video is 3-7 minutes long and assumes no prior statistical background.
Session 1. How might we assess, statistically, whether a pattern of law enforcement is biased?
Session 2. What to expect from official MA data on police stops
Session 3. Statistical Significance: Concepts
Session 4. Statistical Significance: Choosing a Threshold
Session 5. Controlling for Many Factors