RT Article
T1 Are College-Educated Police Officers Different? A Study of Stops, Searches, and Arrests
JF Criminal justice policy review
VO 31
IS 2
SP 206
OP 236
A1 Rosenfeld, Richard 1948-2024
A2 Johnson, Thaddeus
A2 Wright, Richard 1951-
LA English
YR 2020
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1774384477
AB A study of more than 60,000 police traffic stops found that college-educated officers were more likely than other officers to stop drivers for less serious violations, perform consent searches, and make arrests on discretionary grounds. These results are consistent with those of prior research indicating that college-educated officers are more achievement-oriented and eager for advancement based on the traditional performance criteria of stops, searches, and arrests. The results raise questions regarding the recommendation of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing to improve police-community relations by hiring more college-educated police officers, especially in urban communities where concerns about over-policing are widespread. If community engagement were to become a primary basis for professional advancement, however, the current results suggest that college-educated officers may adapt to the new standards as diligently as they have to the traditional criteria for reward and promotion in U.S. police departments.
K1 Arrests
K1 college-educated officers
K1 Policing
K1 searches
DO 10.1177/0887403418817808