Live Poster Session: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/94691277566
Hartmut Doerwaldt
Hartmut is a current member of the Class of 2025 at Wesleyan University from Stonington, CT, and is majoring in biology and minoring in data analysis. He does research in a lab studying insects and recently co-founded the Wesleyan Ecology club, which seeks to bring career opportunities in ecological sciences closer to Wesleyan students. He is also a varsity swimmer, and plans to pursue a career in field ecology after Wesleyan.
Abstract: More attention has been given recently to police treatment of minorities, specifically during traffic stops. In particular, however, a number of studies have shown that while black drivers tend to receive disparate traffic stop outcomes as compared to whites, there are a number of contributing factors that may often be overlooked when racial bias studies are undertaken. Variables such as gender of the driver, what they were pulled over for, and even ones as mundane as time of day, may enhance or reduce the racial trend. This study aims to fill a data gap by comparing police treatment of black and white drivers of different ages to one another, and finds that age is a moderator when it comes to traffic stop outcomes.
Doerwaldt_Poster