The standard economic model of police stops implies that the contraband hit rate should rise when the number of stops … or searches per officer falls, ceteris paribus. We provide empirical corroboration of such optimizing models of police … explanations, including changes in street population, crime, police allocation, and policing intensity. We find mixed evidence …

questions. Are police monolithic in their search behavior? Is racial profiling in motor vehicle searches motivated by troopers …