Volume 29.4 December 2005 960–971 International Journal of Urban and Regional Research © 2005 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2005 Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published by Blackwell Publishing. 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Oxford, UK and Malden, USAIJURInternational Journal of Urban and Regional Research0309-1317Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2005December 200529 4960971Debates and DevelopmentsDebates and DevelopmentsDebate Enforcement Mechanisms Discouraging Black–American Presence in Suburban Detroit TIM BATES and DAVID FASENFEST Overview Using arrest narratives written by Eastpointe Michigan police officers, this study analyzes stops for traffic violations that resulted in arrests. Although most drivers on Eastpointe streets were white, the majority of those arrested were black. These narratives describe 1,951 situations in which black or white drivers and/or their passengers, were involved in arrests. In a typical month during the study period, about 500 motorists were stopped and charged with traffic violations by the Eastpointe police. Analysis of resultant traffic stops and arrest narratives revealed that most received tickets and went on their way. For approximately 9% of white drivers and 30% of blacks, however, these stops resulted in arrests. Among the 1,965 narrative reports of arrests generated by the Eastpointe police in the 27 months beginning 1 January 1996, driver race was recorded as ‘black’ in 1,018 instances and ‘white’ in 933 cases. Thus, 52.2% of the racially specific narrative reports described arrests in situations where the driver was black, while the remaining 47.8% pertained to white motorists. Inferences about the presence or absence of discriminatory treatment by Eastpointe police do not rely solely upon arrest numbers. To contextualize the arrest data, this study generated estimates of the racial composition of drivers on select major Eastpointe streets. Types of offenses charged against blacks and whites were analyzed to highlight racial differences in the severity of alleged illegal actions. Person searches and vehicle searches conducted by the Eastpointe police were evaluated to measure racial differences in contraband yield. Racial differences in the police practice of handcuffing some arrested drivers (and not others) were analyzed, controlling statistically for the types of wrongdoing with which the drivers were charged. Eastpointe Michigan has a common border — Eight Mile Road — with the City of Detroit. Eastbound lanes of Eight Mile Road are patrolled by Detroit police, and Eastpointe is responsible for monitoring westbound traffic. Relative to interior Eastpointe streets, black motorist presence is tolerated on Eight Mile Road. Results of this study indicate that the incidence of arrest is sharply higher among black drivers stopped on major interior streets, in comparison to arrests along Eight Mile Road. Arrest rate racial differentials indicate disproportionate police focus upon black motorists. While overt racial discrimination might be at work, an alternative hypothesis is that Eastpointe police are colorblind and simply arrest lawbreakers. Thus, disproportionate black criminality, rather than racial bias, might underlie the overrepresentation of black motorists in the ranks of the arrestees. Blacks may attract close scrutiny, in a similar vein, if they are overrepresented among those committing serious offenses while they drive through Eastpointe Michigan. Examination of person search and vehicle search outcomes indicates that the Eastpointe police achieve significantly higher contraband yields when they search white