NCJ Number
54212
Journal
POLIZEL Volume: 67 Issue: 11 Dated: (1976) Pages: 375-378
Date Published
1976
Length
4 pages
Annotation
THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE DECISIONS OF POLICE OFFICERS WITH REGARD TO TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS ARE DETERMINED BY FACTORS OTHER THAN LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS IS INVESTIGATED ON THE BASIS OF LITERATURE AND A STUDY.
Abstract
LITERATURE INDICATES THAT THE OFFENDER'S PROFESSIONAL OR SOCIAL STATUS MAY AFFECT THE ACTIONS TAKEN WHEN AN OFFICER APPREHENDS A SUSPECT FOR AN OFFENSE SUCH AS SPEEDING. AN EXPERIMENT TO TEST THIS THEORY INVOLVES PRESENTING HYPOTHETICAL CASES OF 7 DIFFERENT MINOR TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS FOR EVALUATION TO 640 MALE HAMBURG POLICE OFFICERS AVERAGING 27.67 YEARS OF AGE. THE FACTORS OF INFLUENCE MEASURED ARE AGE, SEX, POLITENESS OR RUDENESS, AGREEMENT OR DISAGREEMENT, AND PROFESSION. RESULTS FROM A BATTERY OF PERSONALITY AND ATTITUDE TESTS ADMINISTERED TO THE STUDY SUBJECTS ARE ALSO CONSIDERED. RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE CONSIDERABLE VARIATION IN OFFICERS' READINESS TO IMPOSE FINES IS CONNECTED TO THE INDIVIDUAL CASE RATHER THAN TO THE OFFICER'S PERSONALITY, ALTHOUGH OLDER FEMALE CITIZENS SEEM TO HAVE A BETTER RELATIONSHIP TO THE POLICE. AGE AND SEX PLAY NO ROLE IN THE AMOUNT OF THE FINE AND STATUS IS ONLY SIGNIFICANT IN ONE CASE TYPE (WITH A HIGHER FINE FOR A DOCTOR THAN A WORKER), WHILE BOTH FAILURE TO AGREE WITH THE OFFICER'S JUSTIFICATION FOR THE WARNING FINE AND RUDENESS ARE CORRELATED TO HIGH FINES. CLEARLY, THE FACTORS RELATING TO DYNAMIC INTERACTION ARE MOST INFLUENTIAL FOR POLICE BEHAVIOR, BUT ONLY IN THE CASE OF RUDENESS CAN THIS BE REGARDED AS A NONOBJECTIVE FACTOR IN THE OFFICER'S JUDGMENT, AND ONLY 8 SUCH INSTANCES ARE APPARENT IN 70 CASES. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT POLICE OFFICERS SELDOM DISPLAY EXCESSIVE HARSHNESS OR UNFAIRNESS IN DEALING WITH TRAFFIC VIOLATORS AND THAT THEIR DECISIONS ARE UNRELATED TO THEIR PERSONALITY STRUCTURES. TABLES AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE PROVIDED. --IN GERMAN (KMD)