| Police discretion has been the subject of considerable study. At present, researchers have conducted four large-scale observational studies of police work: in the mid-1950s, American Bar Foundation researchers studied the operations of the criminal justice system, including the police, in Kansas, Michigan, and Wisconsin; beginning in 1966, Reiss (1971) conducted a study of police in Boston, Chicago, and Washington DC to examine the contacts between police and citizens; in the 1970s, Ostrom et al (1975) observed the police in three municipalities; and during the mid-1990s, Mastrofski et al. observed police behavior in Indianapolis, Indiana, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Almost without exception, however, this attention has centered on municipal police. There is no known published empirical study of state police, much less a study focusing on state police discretion. Because of this, little is known about how state troopers make traffic enforcement decisions.; This dissertation is a study of state police discretion. Specifically, this study focuses on the work of New Jersey State Police (NJSP) troopers, and the variables that mold their decision-making in choosing to enforce traffic laws. This work examines two issues: the reasons why a trooper decides to stop a particular vehicle and the variables that shape the trooper's handling of the situation. The data for this work comes from a study of the NJSP, consisting of focus group interviews, specialized interviews with troopers, and systematic observations of troopers on the job.; This work presents findings about each of the two traffic enforcement decisions. The decision to stop is partly affected by the troopers' station areas and the different mixes of tasks they confront on patrol. Troopers reported receiving few cues from NJSP Division-Headquarters about what is expected of them in the traffic function. While troopers consider the severity of the traffic offense in deciding to make a stop, they do not appear to consider this in their disposition decision. Rather, troopers consider the demeanor and personal characteristics of the motorist. For moving violations involving speeding, troopers' decision-making was also affected by whether they used radar, with troopers who used radar less likely to issue lenient dispositions. |
