Education as a Protective Factor: Exploring the Link Between Educational Attainment and Police Stops

Abstract

Crime has long been studied from economic and social perspectives, but the direct role of education in shaping criminal outcomes remains underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between educational attainment and the likelihood of being stopped by police for reasons other than minor traffic offenses. The dependent variable (policever) Indicates whether an individual was ever stopped by police in 1980, while the key independent variable is education, measured both as years of schooling and as categorical groups. Covariates include gender, urban residence, marital status, employment, and age. Multiple Linear Regression models were estimated in Stata16 with Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) to assess the effects. The results demonstrate that higher education levels are consistently and significantly associated with a reduced probability of being stopped, while gender, urban status, and marriage also show important associations, and employment and age remain statistically insignificant. These findings emphasize education as a protective factor against criminal justice exposure, although limitations related to dataset scope and self-reported measures highlight the need for further research.