Sociological literature on law enforcement discretion in drug related
offences has been sparse with practically no similar research conducted in
Hong Kong. This study therefore contributes to the comparative literature by
exploring factors affecting customs officers’ decision to make dangerous drug
arrests. Quantitative analyses were conducted to understand the importance
of organizational and individual variables to an officer’s arrest behavior.
Furthermore, officer’s interpretation of indirect factors was derived from
in-depth interviews.
Results showed that most officers were inclined to make arrests when in a
team and on duty, indicating that individuals behaved relative to significant
others as shown in previous academic studies. Additional remuneration (by
time-off or pay) was an incentive to arrest. Furthermore, the legality of the
arrest decision (a factor identified in previous research) was found in this study
to be more important than obeying superior’s orders. Even where officers
lacked practical experience in handling dangerous drugs offences, they were
more willing to arrest than without supplementary remuneration.
Only a minority of officers reported that they would make an arrest when
off duty, or when in a non-drug enforcement post, in line with earlier
researches. Where officers were alone, they tended to abstain from arresting,
which demonstrated the lesser importance of generalized others in arrest
decisions. As with other researches, where there was a risk of disciplinary
punishment, fewer officers made an arrest to the majority.
In terms of individual factors, officers with experience in drug
investigation became less risk averse and more inclined to arrest regardless of
supplementary remuneration, when on duty and where they themselves had no
practical experience in handling drug cases. As proposed by earlier research,
socialization appeared an important influence on discretion in this study.
The positive impact of higher education on officer motivation to make
arrests regardless of remuneration terms corresponds to findings by other
scholars. Furthermore, officers with specialized training were more willing to
arrest when on duty and alone, supporting studies on qualifications.
Officers in the promotional ranks had a higher tendency to make arrests
under conditions without supplementary remuneration, when they were on duty
and alone, and when in a non-drug enforcement post (together with officers in
the rank of Customs Officers for the latter).
However, officers’ tendency to arrest decreased over length of service
regardless of team influence, where they had not acquired arrest skills. This
endorsed findings from other studies that motivation decreased over time.
This study showed that team dynamics and exposure in drug investigation
were the most important organizational and individual factors correlating
positively with customs officers’ discretion to make dangerous drug arrests. / published_or_final_version / Sociology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:HKU/oai:hub.hku.hk:10722/174530 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Chiu, Wing-kay, Jessica., 趙穎琦. |
| Publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) |
| Source Sets | Hong Kong University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | PG_Thesis |
| Source | http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B47849721 |
| Rights | The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works., Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License |
| Relation | HKU Theses Online (HKUTO) |
Page generated in 0.0029 seconds