Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The impact of police culture on traffic stop searches: an analysis of attitudes and behavior

The impact of police culture on traffic stop searches: an analysis of attitudes and behavior Purpose – To examine the extent to which cultural fragmentation among police officers results in differences in searches of suspects and their surroundings during proactive traffic stops. Design/methodology/approach – Cluster and multivariate analyses are performed utilizing survey and observational data collected as part of the Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN). Findings – Differences in search behavior among patrol officers are found as a result of variation in cultural alignments. That is, patrol officers that adhere to the culture (in varying degrees) from an attitudinal standpoint are more likely to engage in searches than those who most ardently resist cultural attitudes. Research limitations/implications – Although the classification scheme captured many of the core attitudes associated with police culture, it did not measure all of them. Also, the departments studied would compare to most American municipal police organizations, but would make poor comparisons to very large urban or small rural agencies, where culture might operate in different ways. Practical implications – Police administrators can use this information if they wished to alter the rate at which search behavior occurs. Originality/value – This study fills a research void in policing by examining whether attitudinal variation in cultural commitment results in different behavioral patterns. This work also adds to a larger body of social science research by finding an attitude‐behavior relationship. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Emerald Publishing

The impact of police culture on traffic stop searches: an analysis of attitudes and behavior

Download PDF
18 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/the-impact-of-police-culture-on-traffic-stop-searches-an-analysis-of-IvF8SNM0FE
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1363-951X
DOI
10.1108/13639510510614555
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – To examine the extent to which cultural fragmentation among police officers results in differences in searches of suspects and their surroundings during proactive traffic stops. Design/methodology/approach – Cluster and multivariate analyses are performed utilizing survey and observational data collected as part of the Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN). Findings – Differences in search behavior among patrol officers are found as a result of variation in cultural alignments. That is, patrol officers that adhere to the culture (in varying degrees) from an attitudinal standpoint are more likely to engage in searches than those who most ardently resist cultural attitudes. Research limitations/implications – Although the classification scheme captured many of the core attitudes associated with police culture, it did not measure all of them. Also, the departments studied would compare to most American municipal police organizations, but would make poor comparisons to very large urban or small rural agencies, where culture might operate in different ways. Practical implications – Police administrators can use this information if they wished to alter the rate at which search behavior occurs. Originality/value – This study fills a research void in policing by examining whether attitudinal variation in cultural commitment results in different behavioral patterns. This work also adds to a larger body of social science research by finding an attitude‐behavior relationship.

Journal

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management – Emerald Publishing

Published: Sep 1, 2005

Keywords: Police; Social dynamics; Attitudes; Traffic control

References

  • The tactical choices of police patrol officers
    Bayley, D.H.
  • The management of violence by police patrol officers
    Bayley, D.H.; Garofalo, J.
  • Assessing the use of profiling in searches by law enforcement personnel
    Becker, S.
  • Police in a Time of Change
    Broderick, J.J.
  • Working the Street: Police Discretion and the Dilemmas of Reform
    Brown, M.K.
  • Celebrating agency culture: engaging a traditional cop's heart in organizational change
    Crank, J.P.
  • Understanding Police Culture
    Crank, J.P.
  • The production of occupational stress in medium‐sized police agencies: a survey of line officers in eight municipal departments
    Crank, J.P.; Caldero, M.
  • Police Culture
    Drummond, D.S.
  • Further exploration of the demeanor hypothesis: the interaction effects of suspects' characteristics and demeanor on police behavior
    Engel, R.S.; Sobol, J.S.; Worden, R.E.
  • Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2003
    Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Joining Forces: Police Training, Socialization and Occupational Competence
    Fielding, N.G.
  • The police attitude‐behavior relationship: methodological and conceptual considerations
    Frank, J.; Brandl, S.
  • Suspect searches: assessing police behavior under the US Constitution
    Gould, J.B.; Mastrofski, S.D.
  • Morality in law enforcement: chasing ‘bad guys’ with the Los Angeles police department
    Herbert, S.
  • Forces of Deviance: Understanding the Dark Side of Policing
    Kappeler, V.E.; Sluder, R.D.; Alpert, G.P.
  • Police unions, police culture, and police abuse of force
    Kelling, G.L.; Kliesmet, R.B.
  • Organizational norms and police discretion
    Lundman, R.J.
  • Demeanor or crime? The midwest police‐citizen encounters study
    Lundman, R.J.
  • Driving while black: effects of race, ethnicity, and gender on citizen self‐reports of traffic stops and police encounters
    Lundman, R.J.; Kaufman, R.L.
  • The police occupational culture in Anglo‐American societies
    Manning, P.K.
  • Systematic Observation of Public Police: Applying Field Research Methods to Policy Issues
    Mastrofski, S.D.; Parks, R.B.; Reiss, A.J.; Worden, R.E.; Dejong, C.; Snipes, J.B.; Terrill, W.
  • Police: Streetcorner Politicians
    Muir, W.K. Jr
  • Disparity and racial profiling in traffic enforcement
    Novak, K.J.
  • Rethinking Police Culture: Officers' Occupational Attitudes
    Paoline, E.A. III
  • Taking stock: toward a richer understanding of police culture
    Paoline, E.A. III
  • How officers spend their time with the community
    Parks, R.B.; Mastrofski, S.D.; DeJong, C.; Gray, M.K.
  • Conflict theory and racial profiling: an empirical analysis of police traffic stop data
    Petrocelli, M.; Piquero, N.L.; Smith, M.R.
  • The Blue‐Coated Worker
    Reiner, R.
  • The Politics of the Police
    Reiner, R.
  • Two Cultures of Policing
    Reuss‐Ianni, E.
  • Causes of police behavior revisited
    Riksheim, E.C.; Chermak, S.M.
  • The influence of driver's race on traffic stops in Missouri
    Rojek, J.; Rosenfeld, R.; Decker, S.
  • City Police
    Rubinstein, J.
  • Neighborhoods and violent crime: a multilevel study of collective efficacy
    Sampson, R.J.; Raudenbush, S.W.; Earls, F.
  • Studying traffic stop encounters
    Schafer, J.A.; Carter, D.L.; Katz‐Bannister, A.
  • Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society
    Skolnick, J.H.
  • Racial profiling? A multivariate analysis of police traffic stop data
    Smith, M.; Petrocelli, M.
  • An empirical test of Muir's typology of police officers
    Snipes, J.B.; Mastrofski, S.D.
  • Beyond 911: A New Era for Policing
    Sparrow, M.K.; Moore, M.H.; Kennedy, D.M.
  • Working the street: does community policing matter?
    Terrill, W.; Mastrofksi, S.D.
  • Police culture and coercion
    Terrill, W.; Paoline, E.A.; Manning, P.K.
  • Working the street: a developmental view of police behavior
    Van Maanen, J.
  • Career styles and police behavior
    Walsh, J.L.
  • Violence and the Police: A Sociological Study of Law, Custom, and Morality
    Westley, W.A.
  • What is patrol work?
    Whitaker, G.P.
  • A perspective on police professionalization
    White, S.O.
  • Situational and attitudinal explanations of police behavior: a theoretical reappraisal and empirical assessment
    Worden, R.E.
  • Police officers' belief systems: a framework for analysis
    Worden, R.E.