Police discretion: Relations of experience to officers' beliefs and arrest decisions

Questionnaires to assess generalized beliefs about people and factors associated with arrest decisions were completed by police officers. Responses to the Philosophies of Human Nature Scale (Wrightsman, 1974) and to statements about law enforcement and arrest decisions indicated divergent beliefs an...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Juhnke, Ralph (Author)
Contributors: Bermann, Julia A.
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 1988
In: American journal of criminal justice
Year: 1988, Volume: 12, Issue: 2, Pages: 243-253
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Keywords:
Police Discretion
Occupational Identity
General Belief
Police Officer
Human Nature
Description
Summary:Questionnaires to assess generalized beliefs about people and factors associated with arrest decisions were completed by police officers. Responses to the Philosophies of Human Nature Scale (Wrightsman, 1974) and to statements about law enforcement and arrest decisions indicated divergent beliefs and interpretations associated with different amounts of experience in the police role. Results are discussed in terms of socialization pressures on officers, and a broader perspective to understand the dynamics of that socialization is proposed.
ISSN:1936-1351
DOI:10.1007/BF02888937