NCJ Number
205895
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: 2004 Pages: 9-21
Date Published
2004
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This Australian study examined the possible influence of police officers' attitudes, personality, and demographic features in predicting their readiness to use diversionary practices with young offenders.
Abstract
South Australia's 1993 Young Offenders Act has given police greater discretionary power in dealing with juvenile offenders, particularly in cases of minor offending. This discretion is expected to be used by officers in preventing the criminalization of youthful offenders through formal criminal justice processing while tailoring police responses to the circumstances of individual cases. Parameters set for police discretionary decisions are the seriousness of the offense, the youth's prior offending record, and whether or not the youth admits the offense. In examining officer characteristics and their influence on the use of discretion, the current study involved 201 operational South Australian police officers (162 men and 39 women) who held the rank of sergeant or constable. The officers came from 4 metropolitan stations and were either general duties officers (n=157), command response officers (n=35), or youth officers (n=9). Participants completed a 68-item questionnaire that first presented 8 scenarios in which police were asked to identify their likely behavior when dealing with the offender; 4 adult and 4 juvenile scenarios were presented to reflect a range of minor offenses typically faced by police officers in their daily duties. Examples of diversionary responses included a warning to move on, taking the offender home, or issuing an informal caution (juvenile only). Examples of nondiversionary responses included the issuing of an infringement notice (adult only), report for an offense, or arrest for an offense. The second part of the questionnaire contained measures of the individual characteristics and demographic features of the officers. This section measured differences in legal authoritarianism, punitiveness, proactive personality, empathy, job classification, educational level, age, and length of service. Multiple regression analyses of questionnaire findings found that the sole significant predictor of preparedness to divert adults was the age of the officer, which in turn was related to length of service. A possible explanation for this relationship may be that, with age and experience, police become hardened toward some types of offending and thus tend to treat offenders more harshly. Alternatively, the association may reflect cohort effects, such that the preferences expressed by both older and younger officers are a function of the nature and extent of experience. With preparedness to divert adults controlled, empathy toward youth, legal authoritarianism, and educational level were each independently predictive of officer preparedness to divert juveniles. The two primary officer characteristics that influence diversionary decisions are empathy for youth and (negatively) an authoritarian approach to law enforcement and legal intervention. Officer training should focus on the development of empathy toward youth and their period of behavioral adjustment and a revision of the view that policing always involves authoritarian and punitive interventions. 1 table and 36 references