In 2000 Dr. John Lott, a scholar and researcher published a paper on affirmative action, police departments and crime. The paper, "Does a Helping Hand Put Others at Risk," investigates the relationship between the adoption of affirmative action hiring policies and crime; Lott concludes that the resultant hiring of racial minorities or women police officers they can expect a corresponding increase in crime rates. Professor of Mathematics Larry Knop and senior sociology/mathematics double major Shauna Sweet felt these statistics warranted further investigation. The April 2000 article was published in the Journal of Economic Inquiry, and the findings were based on the analysis of Law Enforcement Management and Administrative statistics surveys administered by the Department of Justice, and FBI Uniform Crime Reports.
Sweet and Knop hoped to replicate the study with a different data set in an effort "to perform a more honest analysis." With the aid of several statisticians working with national organizations, including the Census Bureau and staff with the National Conference of Black Mayors, the Hamilton researchers are now constructing their own data sets, different than those studied by Dr. Lott.
Knop and Sweet hoped to replicate the study in four weeks, but after unsuccessful attempts for eight weeks they have become increasingly skeptical of the integrity of Lott's analysis. "We would like to discredit his analysis through challenging his numbers," said Sweet in reference to the group's ultimate goal. Sweet, a native of Hallowell, Maine, hopes to be accepted to a two-year fellowship in the "Teach for America" program after graduation in May 2003. In the meantime she would be delighted to simply present her findings to the Hamilton community in the fall. Sweet is happy to show others how "numbers can look so simple, but can be very deceptive."
