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Police criminal charging decisions: An examination of post-arrest decision-making

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  • Phillips, Scott W.
  • Varano, Sean P.

Abstract

Scholars have encouraged studies of police decision-making to move beyond the arrest decision into research that broadens the understanding of police behavior. The criminal charge placed by officers against offenders is largely an untouched area of study. Examining criminal charging decisions goes beyond simple dichotomous decisions, such as arrest, but instead explores the area of police leniency or punitiveness. Randomly constructed vignettes describing a domestic violence incident were given to officers from four agencies. Officers indicated the criminal charges they would likely list against an offender if they were to make an arrest. Serious criminal charges were often supported by additional, but less serious, charges. Victim injury and an uncooperative offender were related to the decision to charge a misdemeanor offense. There was a significant negative relationship between the number of charges listed and more experienced officers and officers working in smaller agencies. The implications of this study and directions for future research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Phillips, Scott W. & Varano, Sean P., 2008. "Police criminal charging decisions: An examination of post-arrest decision-making," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 307-315, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:36:y:2008:i:4:p:307-315
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. MacDonald, John M. & Manz, Patrick W. & Alpert, Geoffrey P. & Dunham, Roger G., 2003. "Police use of force: examining the relationship between calls for service and the balance of police force and suspect resistance," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 119-127.
    2. Homant, Robert J. & Kennedy, Daniel B., 1985. "Police perceptions of spouse abuse: A comparison of male and female officers," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 29-47.
    3. Feder, Lynette, 1996. "Police handling of domestic calls: The importance of offender's presence in the arrest decision," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 481-490.
    4. Schafer, Joseph A. & Mastrofski, Stephen D., 2005. "Police leniency in traffic enforcement encounters: Exploratory findings from observations and interviews," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 225-238.
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    1. Jennings, Wesley G. & Lynch, Mathew D. & Fridell, Lorie A., 2015. "Evaluating the impact of police officer body-worn cameras (BWCs) on response-to-resistance and serious external complaints: Evidence from the Orlando police department (OPD) experience utilizing a ran," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 43(6), pages 480-486.
    2. Jennings, Wesley G. & Fridell, Lorie A. & Lynch, Mathew D., 2014. "Cops and cameras: Officer perceptions of the use of body-worn cameras in law enforcement," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 549-556.

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