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CONCERNS ABOUT SAFETY, OBSERVER SEX, AND THE DECISION TO ARREST: EVIDENCE OF REACTIVITY IN A LARGE‐SCALE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF POLICE *
Author(s) -
SPANO RICHARD
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2003.tb01008.x
Subject(s) - officer , observational study , psychology , scale (ratio) , observer (physics) , criminology , social psychology , medical emergency , applied psychology , medicine , political science , law , geography , physics , cartography , pathology , quantum mechanics
Data from a large‐scale observational study of police examined the impact of an observer's presence on patrol officer arrest behavior. One major theme within the descriptive data on reactivity (concerns about safety) was described as a series of anecdotes and specified in terms of its prevalence. Consistent with hypothesized effects, patrol officers who expressed concerns about safety were less likely to arrest suspects. Additional analyses also revealed that patrol officers were less likely to arrest when accompanied by female versus male observers and that there is a different pattern of acclimation that is contingent on a combination of observer sex and concerns about safety. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research will also be considered.