Worldwide Views on Police Discretion: A Scoping Review Regarding Police Decision-Making

Description

This book gives an overview of the empirical research regarding police discretionary decision-making worldwide through 2022 by means of a scoping review. In total, eleven databases were searched and 15,193 publications have been assessed in terms of relevance for this topic, with 1,563 of these being assessed more thoroughly. The shortlist consists of 526 publications. It answers the following questions: What is the amount of available research concerning police decision-making and what are its characteristics?How and where is police decision-making studied?Which crime phenomena are studied?Which types of decisions are studied?Which factors impact police discretion?Overall, the scoping review summarizes the available empirical research on police discretion and helps understand police decision-making processes. These findings are then used to discuss the current scholarship and give recommendations concerning research (e.g. which decision-making processes/decisions are currently lacking in research, which factors need to be explored further, which research methods can be utilized more frequently) and police practice (i.e. how to support police officers in their decision-making and optimize these decision-making processes). Preface Acknowledgments Overview Contents Part I: Introduction and Methodology Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Police Discretion and Decision-Making 2 An Effort to Map the Empirical Research on Police Decision-Making 3 Outline Book References Chapter 2: Scoping Review Regarding Police Decision-Making: Methodological Outline 1 Why a Scoping Review? 2 Scoping Review as Part of a Course on Policing 2.1 Research Frame 2.2 Search Strategy 2.3 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria 2.4 Piloting 2.5 Searching and Assessing Studies 2.6 Analyses References Part II: Findings Chapter 3: Characteristics of Empirical Research on Police Decision-Making 1 Publication Characteristics: Type and Language of Publication, Common Journals and Keywords 2 Time of Publication 3 Continent and Country 4 Type of Research and Research Methods 5 Crime Types and Types of Decisions 6 (Groups of) Factors References Chapter 4: Characteristics of Police Officer 1 Experience and Intuition/Gut Feeling 2 Background Characteristics: Gender, Ethnicity, Age and Education 3 Attitudes and Prejudices/Assumptions/Stereotypes 4 Emotional or Mental State, Mood 5 Function 6 Personality References Chapter 5: Characteristics of Civilians 1 Ethnicity/Race/Skin Color 2 Attitude/Demeanor, Aggression and Behavior 3 Gender, Age, Socio economic Status and Appearance 4 Intoxication and Mental Illness/Mental Health Status 5 Criminal Record/History and Being Known to Police 6 Relationship Victim-Offender, Victim Preference/Request and Victim Credibility 7 Being a Resident References Chapter 6: Organizational Characteristics 1 Policies, Guidelines, Laws and Regulations 2 Training 3 (Type/Size) Police Force and Resources 4 Supervisors and Colleagues 5 Technology References Chapter 7: Situational Characteristics 1 Type/Severity Offense 2 Safety/Risk/Threat, Weapons, Injuries and Evidence 3 Consequences 4 Location 5 Time (Day/Night) 6 Information Received 7 Presence of Bystanders/Witnesses, Number of Civilians and Number of Police Officers 8 Initiation of Encounter and Prompt Reporting 9 Repeated Situation/How Often 10 Workload/Work Pressure References Chapter 8: Neighborhood Characteristics 1 Racial Composition 2 Economic Disadvantage 3 Crime Rates References Part III: Discussion and Conclusions Chapter 9: Discussion and Conclusions: Knowledge Gaps and Future Research 1 Police Decision-Making Literature: An Overview of Significant Factors 2 Gaps in the Literature and Research Recommendations 2.1 Understudied Crime Phenomena, Decisions and Factors 2.2 Underutilized Research Methods 2.3 Repeated Scoping Review 3 Lessons Learned and Practical Recommendations References Appendices Appendix 1: Overview of Journals Appendix 2: Overview of Keywords Appendix 2a: Decision-Making Keywords Appendix 2b: Type of Offense Appendix 2c: Factors Related to Police Officer Appendix 2d: Factors Related to Civilian Appendix 2e: Factors Related to Police Organization Appendix 2f: Factors Related to Situation Appendix 2g: Factors Related to Neighborhood Appendix 2h: Policing Strategies Appendix 2i: Procedural Justice Appendix 2j: Police Duties/Functions Appendix 3: Bibliography