The Political Economy of Enforcer Liability for Wrongful Police Stops
- Author(s):
- Tim Friehe, Murat Mungan
- Posted:
- 8-2019
- Law & Economics #:
- 19-23
- Availability:
- Full text (most recent) on SSRN
ABSTRACT:
This article questions whether excessive policing practices can persist in an environment where law enforcement policies are subject to political pressures. Specifically, it considers a setting where the police decide whether to conduct stops based on the suspiciousness of a person's behavior and the potential liability for conducting a wrongful stop. We establish that the liability level that results in a voting equilibrium is smaller than optimal, and, consequently, that excessive policing practices emerge in equilibrium.