The purpose of this study was to determine if a police officer's use of alcohol in his/her personal life affected their arrest decision in impaired driving cases. A survey was developed and reviewed by a jury of experts consisting of traffic safety specialists from across Indiana, to gather information concerning officer demographics, use of alcohol, and belief in the importance of impaired driving enforcement. Results indicated that sixty-one (61) officers fit the criteria of 1) patrolling during darkness hours throughout the year 2002, and 2) were complete the survey. Most officers were male (88%), between twenty-one and thirty-five years of age (79%), and had less than ten years of law enforcement experience (74%).The data were analyzed using univariate, bivariate, and ANOVA to test the null hypothesis. There was no statistical relationship between the decision to arrest and the personal use of alcohol by the officer. There was also no statistical relationship between the decision to arrest and any of the demographic categories. The only item that showed a statistical relationship was between the decision to arrest and an officer indicating they believed the problem of impaired driving was somewhat important. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

Police culture often valorises 'hard' drinking, and in NSW police label their heavy drinkers 'heroes'. It is queried if there is some relationship between occupational culture and drinking style.It is found that much of the current theorising about the origins and nature of problem drinking, such as psychological theorising about stress, is inadequate to explain and address the extraordinary level of high-risk drinking among police.This thesis explores alternative views such as critical and feminist perspectives on police culture, constructions of masculinity, and mechanisms of 'enabling', to discover whether these might prove more applicable and more productive. The research also explores the matter of whether a case can be made for taking alternative ideas and theories into account in designing intervention programmes for specific occupation contexts, and whether they raise any policy and practical implications for addressing problem drinking within the NSW Police Service. / Master of Science (Hons)