NCJ Number
92920
Date Published
1983
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study of the use of police discretion in enforcing Section 5 of the New South Wales Offenses in Public Places Act indicates that the police are governed less by behavior that causes serious alarm or affront to the public than by behavior which affronts the police officers involved.
Abstract
This study involved an examination of 2,764 appearances in New South Wales courts of petty sesions in 1980 under Section 5 of the Offenses in Public Places Act. A sample (n=692) was extracted consisting of all Section 5 offenses determined in courts of petty sessions during February, April, and June 1980. The final study sample consisted of 587 court appearances. Data were gathered on the geographical distribution of the sample, the type of behavior associated with the charges, defendant characteristics, and the circumstances of the offense. The North-Western statistical division, which claims the State's largest percentage of Aboriginal population, had the highest rate of public order offenses. In the overall State results, 43.2 percent of appearances were for offensive language; 39.5 percent of all appearances involved behavior directed toward the police and another 2.5 percent involved the police and another person besides the offender. Males and young adults (18-25 years-old) were overrepresented in the sample as a whole. The major influences on the police decisionmaking in arrests were the factors which establish appropriate citizen behavior in recognizing police authority. Offensive language symbolized disrespect for police perspective. Ironically, the literature indicates that 'incivility to the public' is the primary citizen complaint against police. Thus, both citizens and police focus on mutual lack of respect as primary in their social interactions.