Veil of Darkness and Investigating Disproportionate Impact in Policing: When Researchers Disagree

Abstract

Disproportionate impact in policing has long been a concern for researchers and practitioners alike, with much of the focus on traffic stops. While there are many methods used to determine disproportionality in traffic stops, the veil of darkness (VOD) approach has increasingly become one of the most popular frameworks. Although there is consensus on certain aspects of the method, researchers utilizing VOD disagree on the appropriate sampling strategies. This research examines the original VOD method and three different sample restrictions proposed within the VOD literature to demonstrate the effect each has on the conclusions drawn. The results indicate that there is variation in the estimates of disproportionality depending on the sampling strategy used. As such, researchers using the VOD method must be cautious in their sampling decisions in mid-size jurisdictions due to the impact these such choices have on the conclusions drawn about disproportionate impact.