NCJ Number
104764
Date Published
1984
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A police officer's presence can be expected to deter potential traffic violators in Israel from committing offenses that are perceived as encroachments of others' rights or a danger to their safety.
Abstract
However, the premeditated in Israel is probably not typical of other times and places. The conclusion emerged from an experimental study for which 184 males university students were the subjects. The subjects were divided into two equal groups matched for age and education. The groups viewed short, silent color films showing 13 law violations, including 10 traffic offenses. The control group saw a film in which no police officer appeared. The experimental group saw a version containing a police officer in four scenes. The scenes depicted a car not stopping at a 'Stop' sign, a pedestrian jumping over the dividing fence of a four-lane road, a driver not stopping for children at a crossing marked with zebra stripes, and a pedestrian crossing at a red light that said 'Don't Walk.' The subjects rated each offense on a five-point scale ranging from 'not serious' to 'very serious.' The type of violation had a strong effect on the ratings, with the most severe ratings given to the stop sign and children's crossing offenses. The presence of a police officer at the zebra crossing significantly increased the seriousness with which the violation was perceived. For violations in which offenders endangered only themselves, the presence of a police officer did not make much difference. Data tables, footnotes, and 4 references.