Police discretion, organizational characteristics, and traffic stops: An analysis of racial disparity in illinois

Nowacki, Jeffrey S.; Spencer, Tyrell

doi:10.1177/1461355719832617

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Wilson's typology defines the watchman category as characterized by low levels of contact with the public, and informal resolution tactics. More broadly, discretion is a core component of police work, even in the most rigid organizational environments (Nowacki, 2015; Nowacki and Spencer, 2019). Nevertheless, the use of discretion was mentioned only twice in the coded observations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reappreciating the varieties of police behavior: a national examination of contemporary police mission statements

Dario

Cesar

Crichlow

2022

PIJPSM

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PurposeThe current and ongoing police legitimacy crises demand a renewed analysis of the police mission in American law enforcement. This research aims to examine the mission statements of a national sample of police agencies, and generates an organizational typology of contemporary policing styles.Design/methodology/approachUsing the responsive agencies listed in the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) as a sampling frame, mission statements from 2,826 departments were collected from official law enforcement websites. Wilson's (1968) seminal typology of policing styles was then used to classify the emergent patterns from the mission statements. Mission statement patterns that did not fit squarely into Wilson's model (i.e. watchman, service and legalistic styles of policing) were classified to update the model and account for contemporary police goals and organizational orientations.FindingsA theme of outward-facing legitimacy among police organizations emerged as a new variety of police behavior, according to collected mission statements. The researchers’ findings suggest that public perceptions of police legitimacy are a primary concern for today's police forces.Originality/valueThis research reappreciates the utility of Wilson's typology of policing styles, and provides insight into the cultivation of police legitimacy. The authors identify a fourth typology of organizational behavior, legitimacy, that may be an emerging, professional police response to both contemporary crime issues and public antipathy.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reappreciating the varieties of police behavior: a national examination of contemporary police mission statements

Dario

Cesar

Crichlow

2022

PIJPSM

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“…In addition, although Black and Hispanic drivers were also offended by consent search requests, they have come to accept the use of this type of search because of previous historical mistreatment related to racial profiling. Nowacki and Spencer (2019) found that officers were less likely to request a consent search of a driver in predominately non-White areas. This could be because of how that community's majority population of non-White citizens have worked to strengthen their relationship with the police.…”

Section: Racial Profiling and Consent Searchesmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…However, it is essential to consider the officer's decision-making process during the traffic stop or its outcome to determine whether a driver's race or ethnicity is a factor. Previous studies have shown evidence of racial profiling in searches, consent searches, and citations (Barnum and Perfetti, 2010; Higgins et al, 2008; Nowacki and Spencer, 2019, Vito et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Understanding vehicle consent search requests through the use of the social conditioning model and illusory correlation

Waldspurger,

Vito

2023

International Journal of Police Science & Management

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Previous studies show racial or ethnic bias in police decision-making for consent search requests. Yet, few studies apply the social conditioning model and illusory correlation to explain an officer's decision-making for requesting consent to search the driver's vehicle. Furthermore, a potential consideration when using this theory has not considered the possible explanation that the officer may also conduct such a request because the officer views the citizen as “out-of-place”. This study uses Illinois traffic stop data from 2016 to 2018 for municipal agencies with a minority representation of less than one (i.e., less-diverse police department and a greater chance that the officer involved in the stop is White) and includes one measure from the 2016 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics. Utilizing propensity score matching to match the drivers based on race/ethnicity and gender, the current findings show that non-White drivers and non-White male drivers, who are stopped by police serving predominately White areas and who serve in a less-diverse police department, are more likely to have an officer request consent to search their vehicle. These findings are consistent with racial profiling and support the social conditioning model and illusory correlation as an appropriate theoretical explanation for police officers. Moreover, the officer's decision-making could be based on an individual driver stopped by an officer serving a predominately White community and interacting with a less-diverse police department. The officer may view the minority driver as being “out-of-place”, which is an additional reason for the officer to request consent to search the minority driver's vehicle.

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“…Officers may decide where to patrol and whom to stop, as well as choose to do nothing, talk to citizens, issue a warning, write a ticket, or make an arrest (Ponomarenko, 2019). Such discretion has the potential to produce disparities in how police interact with citizens (Nowacki & Spencer, 2019). As stated by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (2017), "decisions are made outside the view of supervisors and guidance through written protocols and best practices becomes even more crucial" (p. 2).…”

Section: The Importance Of Policies For Law Enforcement Agenciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Guiding officers to deflect citizens to treatment: an examination of police department policies in Illinois

Reichert¹,

Adams²,

Taylor

et al. 2023

Health Justice

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Background The U.S. overdose crisis has motivated police departments to enact policies allowing officers to directly deflect individuals to substance use disorder treatment and other services shown to reduce recidivism and subsequent overdose risk, as well as refer people who voluntarily present at police facilities with a desire for treatment. As a new way of operating, and one that relies on an officer’s use of discretion for successful implementation, the practice benefits from guidance through written directives, training, and supervisory support. However, there is little information on the establishment, content, and execution of police department deflection policies, which hampers the implementation and dissemination of this promising practice. We analyzed 16 policies of Illinois police department deflection programs. Using content analysis methodology, we coded the policies for language and terminology, as well as program components and procedures. We aimed to examine how the policies were written, as well as the content intending to guide officers in their work. Results We found the policies and programs had notable differences in length, detail, terminology, and reading level. Only one policy mentioned the use of any type of addiction treatment medication, many used stigmatizing language (e.g., “abuse” and “addict”), and few mentioned “harm reduction” or training in the practice of deflection. Many policies restricted participation in deflection (i.e., no minors, outstanding warrants, current withdrawal symptoms), and critically, a majority of policies allowed police officers to exclude people from participation based on their own judgment. Conclusions We recommend police departments consider the readability of their policies and reduce barriers to deflection program participation to engage a larger pool of citizens in need of substance use disorder treatment. Since there is limited research on police policies generally, and the field of deflection is relatively new, this study offers insight into the content of different department policies and more specifically, how officers are directed to operate deflection programs.

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Police discretion, organizational characteristics, and traffic stops: An analysis of racial disparity in illinois

Cited by 13 publications

References 63 publications

Reappreciating the varieties of police behavior: a national examination of contemporary police mission statements

Reappreciating the varieties of police behavior: a national examination of contemporary police mission statements

Understanding vehicle consent search requests through the use of the social conditioning model and illusory correlation

Guiding officers to deflect citizens to treatment: an examination of police department policies in Illinois

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