by Yeung Yuen-on, Thomas. / Questionnaires in English and Chinese. / Thesis (M.S.W.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1979. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-137).

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Although police generally exercise wide discretionary powers across most of their duties, it is with respect to young people that these powers are the most extensive. Both sociological and psychological factors influence the use of police discretionary powers. There are said to be strong relationships between authoritarianism, for example, and justice outcomes. Other measures, such as cynicism and punitiveness, have been observed to be influential predictors of police behaviour. Extending the work on jury decision-making, along with other police research, the present research examines use of police discretionary powers with young offenders. Sworn police officers from two jurisdictions, New Zealand and New South Wales, responded to written surveys about their past and intended future behaviour surrounding four crimes most commonly conducted by young offenders. In all, over 500 officers took part in the studies. Further, participants responded to a battery of personality and attitude questionnaires, along with questions about situational variables normally taken into consideration by officers. Results show that police behaviour towards the same offending varies greatly, both within and across jurisdictions. New Zealand police officers were much more likely than New South Wales police officers to report that they diverted, rather than arrested, young offenders who had committed shoplifting and burglary offences. However, when responding to scenarios of underage drinking and assault, it was New South Wales police who were more likely to divert young offenders. There were very few significant relationships between attitudes and behaviour when examining either group, with significant results possibly being a side effect of large sample sizes. Further there were few significant relationships when considering demographic or situational variables. However, in an exploration of police personality, through cluster analysis, evidence was found for different 'typologies', or resonances, of police. The results indicate that police are not an homogenous group. In addition, quite complex relationships between measures of police behaviour and individual difference were found within the resonances, with effect sizes showing moderate results. The findings support the need to investigate further personality typologies and extend them to the examination of attitude-behaviour relationships. In addition, research into the use of an attitudinal measure, such as discretionary ideology, as an alternative to measuring behaviour could be expanded. Moreover, broadening of the research into additional areas of the juvenile justice systems, such as legal representatives, magistrates, and youth detention centre officers, would provide further insight into the appropriate use of discretion within juvenile justice for both minor offending and more serious offending. / thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2004.

The current policy in New South Wales of referring to its law enforcement body as Police without reference to the word "force", is testimony to the re-emergence of the concept of community policing. This study deals with this phenomenon and the concept of discretion, which allows police to take action according to the dictates of a given situation rather than always act within the strict letter of the law. While the power of discretion should be used lawfully and ethically, political, legal and social acceptance of such an approach allows a more flexible strategy for coping with issues associated with deviant behaviour and social injustice. Therefore, the study present a holistic approach to a curriculum for police recruits. It deals with the linking of "reactive" and "proactive" policing strategies by means of discretion and in so doing enhances the police officer's ability to make a reasoned judgement in choosing between a number of alternatives according to the dictates of the situation. The proposed curriculum takes account of new policing strategies, students' needs and career aspirations, modem technology, effective teaching methods and the need for recruit training to be attuned to dynamic changes in social needs and demands. The study also emphasises the need for further research into the role of field training officers and the integration of field training with academy education as a vital component in the preparation of a police officer for the complex role ahead.

Although police generally exercise wide discretionary powers across most of their duties, it is with respect to young people that these powers are the most extensive. Both sociological and psychological factors influence the use of police discretionary powers. There are said to be strong relationships between authoritarianism, for example, and justice outcomes. Other measures, such as cynicism and punitiveness, have been observed to be influential predictors of police behaviour. Extending the work on jury decision-making, along with other police research, the present research examines use of police discretionary powers with young offenders. Sworn police officers from two jurisdictions, New Zealand and New South Wales, responded to written surveys about their past and intended future behaviour surrounding four crimes most commonly conducted by young offenders. In all, over 500 officers took part in the studies. Further, participants responded to a battery of personality and attitude questionnaires, along with questions about situational variables normally taken into consideration by officers. Results show that police behaviour towards the same offending varies greatly, both within and across jurisdictions. New Zealand police officers were much more likely than New South Wales police officers to report that they diverted, rather than arrested, young offenders who had committed shoplifting and burglary offences. However, when responding to scenarios of underage drinking and assault, it was New South Wales police who were more likely to divert young offenders. There were very few significant relationships between attitudes and behaviour when examining either group, with significant results possibly being a side effect of large sample sizes. Further there were few significant relationships when considering demographic or situational variables. However, in an exploration of police personality, through cluster analysis, evidence was found for different 'typologies', or resonances, of police. The results indicate that police are not an homogenous group. In addition, quite complex relationships between measures of police behaviour and individual difference were found within the resonances, with effect sizes showing moderate results. The findings support the need to investigate further personality typologies and extend them to the examination of attitude-behaviour relationships. In addition, research into the use of an attitudinal measure, such as discretionary ideology, as an alternative to measuring behaviour could be expanded. Moreover, broadening of the research into additional areas of the juvenile justice systems, such as legal representatives, magistrates, and youth detention centre officers, would provide further insight into the appropriate use of discretion within juvenile justice for both minor offending and more serious offending. / thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2004.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 82-85).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 82-85) Also available in print.

Police officers make decisions at the street level in a variety of situations that have direct impact on quality of life, justice in society, and individual freedom. These decisions inherently involve the exercise of discretion, since successfully performed police tasks are linked to the officer‘s choosing among alternative courses of action. Appropriateness of unsupervised decisions taken under street contingencies remains questionable in terms of police-behavior legitimacy. Law enforcement agencies seek ways to control excessive discretion to avoid undesired consequences of police discretion and maintain organizational legitimacy. Traditionally, organizations developed reward and sanction structures that aimed to shape officer behavior on the street. Recent perspectives, on the other hand, emphasize that it is imperative to manage discretion by employing a value-based approach that requires the agency to encourage subordinates in the exercise of certain behaviors simply because they are believed to be right and proper. This approach depends primarily on beliefs, values, and attitudes of employees rather than external contingencies of environment. Drawing on expectancy and value-based approaches, this study examines the factors affecting patrol officers‘ discretionary decisions to enforce law in the Turkish National Police (TNP). The reward expectancy concept was derived from the expectancy theory of motivation, which uses extrinsic rewards in structuring discretion. Regarding the value-based approach, public service motivation (PSM) represents the intrinsic motives of officers in this study, while selective enforcement corresponds to the attitudes of officers. Discretionary behaviors of officers on the street were conceptualized as responsiveness, which refers to the degree to which officers iv are willing to respond to street contingencies. The study tested the mediating role of work effort between reward expectancy/responsiveness and public service motivation/responsiveness relationships. Samples of the study were drawn from uniformed patrol officers in seven provinces of Turkey. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Responses of 613 patrol officers were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The study developed four latent constructs and validated their measurement models by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Structural equation modeling was used to investigate causal and confirmatory relationships among latent variables. Findings of the study suggested that reward expectancy did not have a statistically significant relationship to responsiveness. The study did not find a significant association between reward expectancy and work effort of officers. This finding was found to be attributable to the fact that officers do not believe in the fair distribution procedures of rewards and they do not value organizational rewards. Public service motivation of respondents, on the other hand, indicated a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship with both work effort and responsiveness. These results indicated that intrinsic motives of officers in the TNP are more powerful in explaining officer responsiveness to street contingencies. As hypothesized, officer attitudes toward selective enforcement negatively influenced officer responsiveness, indicating that officers‘ beliefs and values influence their discretionary behaviors. Among the demographic characteristics of participants, only age of officer indicated a negative significant relationship to responsiveness. This finding suggested that motivation decreases as age increases. Contrary to v other findings in the literature, this study found that intensity perceptions of respondents was positively associated with responsiveness. The study revealed some policy, theoretical, and methodological implications. The findings suggested that the TNP should either completely eliminate the existing reward system or revise it to motivate officers to be responsive. A leadership practice that promotes PSM and discourages selective enforcement was also suggested. Contrary to research that emphasizes the role of extrinsic motivation on police discretion, this study empirically reported that intrinsic motivation has an even stronger effect on officer behavior and needs to be taken into account in future studies. The study contributes to an understanding of police discretionary behavior in the TNP, which has unique characteristics of structure, culture, and law. The limitations of the study in terms of its dependency on officer perceptions and concerns about construct validity were discussed and future research was suggested.

published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy