NCJ Number
144627
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1993) Pages: 293-305
Date Published
1993
Length
13 pages
Annotation
The Sensation Seeking Scale was administered to 69 patrol officers of a suburban police agency to examine the relationship between sensation seeking and police officers' tendencies to engage in high-speed vehicular pursuit.
Abstract
The participants were all white, and all but three were male. Their average age was 30, and they had an average of 7.2 years of police experience and 2.9 years of college. Pursuit tendencies were measured using official department records, self-reports of previous pursuits, and responses to two hypothetical situations. Sensation seeking was measured using a 40-item scale, Form V of Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale. Results revealed that the official records ad self-report measures of pursuit correlated significantly with sensation seeking. Findings indicated that attention to personality differences may help police supervisors implement a more predictable police pursuit policy. Table and 5 references (Author abstract modified)