NCJ Number
176338
Journal
Police Quarterly Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: 1998 Pages: 71-85
Date Published
1998
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Exploratory data from a medium-sized midwestern city were used to examine the influence of gratuities such as food on police patrol practices.
Abstract
The research was prompted by recognition that the free cup of coffee has long raised ethical debates in policing, but no research has yet provided a sufficient coupling of empirical and theoretical perspectives. Police officers report that they can self-control any potential bias that a gratuity may create. Therefore, this research explored an ecological model it called the gratuity exchange principle; this model predicted that the mere act of retrieving the gratuity was likely to offset patrol practices. The influence of the gratuity was examined along with that of other scaled variables, food quality, cost, convenience, and location. The research focused on 20 randomly selected restaurants, fast-food establishments, and convenience stores and observed these premises in random 1-hour blocks between 2 p.m. and 1 a.m. over a 7-day period. The dependent variable was the number of seconds that a police officer spent at or near an establishment. Results suggested that gratuities increased police coverage in that establishments that offered free or discounted menu items received greater police coverage than similar establishments that did not offer gratuities. Findings indicated the need for increased discussion of receiving gratuities and efforts to help police officers understand the social costs of this practice. Figures, table, notes, and 17 references