Power, Authority, and Discretionary Decision Making 7offenses. The decision to either arrest or not arrest varies as a function of a police
officers experience and outside influences. The "leniency thesis," for example,
states that police treat males who abuse their female spouses less punitively than
other violent offenders. In fact, research has demonstrated that 13% of male-on-
female assaults result in arrest, while 28% of other assaults result in arrest (Fyfe,
Klinger, & Flavin, 1997). These results indicate that police do make decisions based
on certain aspects of situations, some of which may be individual personal biases.
Social psychology and industrial/organizational psychology have also made at-
tempts to clarify the nature of police decision making. The psychological forces
behind drinking-under-the-influence (DUI) enforcement has been the focus of
at least one particular study (Mastrofski, Ritti, & Snipes, 1994). This research has
offered an "expectancy theory" of discretionary decision making. This theory is a
model of motivation and performance based on worker perception and, to a degree,
their expected outcomes.
It is clear then, that police do make discretionary decisions based on a variety of
factors. These decisions are based on a variety of internal and external influences.
These influences allow the law enforcement officer to weigh these factors and make
decisions based on their perceived levels of authority.
Forensic Psychology and Policy Implications
In theory, all police decisions are made on the basis of law enforcement policy. Each
police department has its own set of individual codes and policies, although many
of these policies share similarities between departments. However, law enforcement
must remain, to the largest degree possible, consistent. Therefore, the development
of policies ensuring that police discretion and decision making remain consistent is
warranted.
At its most basic level, police must ensure that courtesy be extended to citizens
at aD times in order to perpetuate the notion that police are, in fact, public servants
who have the safety of the general public as their primary interest. Overt use of force
by a police department demonstrates to the public a sign of inherent weakness in
that police department's ability to effectively and fairly handle situations (Wadman &
Ziman, 1993). Unfortunately, departments often see the use offeree as too necessary
and exercise it in a loose manner. A police force which uses more courtesy demands
a certain level of respect and mutual value between the citizenship and the law
enforcement agency.
The methods in which police handle serious and nonserious crimes has also
been investigated with the purpose of understanding more fully the decision-making
process of officers. The goal of this research is policy reform in establishing consistent
policing. Crank (1992), for example, found that factors such as the presence of
minorities, location of the actual police department, number of police on the force,
the supervisory ratio of departments, and other variables correlate significantly