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15 Police Q. 3 (2012)

handle is hein.journals/policqurt15 and id is 1 raw text is: 

Articles


                                                                     Policy Quarterly
                                                                         15(1) 3-24
Police      Responsiveness@TeAtos)21
                                                                  @The Author(s) 2012
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                                                          DOI: 10.1 177/1098611111432679
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Michael T. Rossler, MS' and
William Terrill, PhD'



Abstract
Policing research has generally focused on easily measured outcome   factors such
as response  time, force usage, and arrest. Empirical studies examining outcomes
important to public legitimacy, such as police responsiveness, are less prevalent in
the literature. Using observational and interview data from two medium sized cities
(Indianapolis, Indiana, and St. Petersburg, Florida), the present inquiry examines how
officers respond to noncoercive citizen requests for service during encounters, and
the impact that situational and officer characteristics have on their willingness to
comply with  requests. Results indicate that officers comply with a majority of citizen
requests, and even  when  they do  not comply  they often provide an explanation
why. Encounters  involving respectful citizens, wealthier citizens, White officers, and
St. Petersburg officers were all more likely to result in compliance, while officers
were  less likely to comply with requests from younger and older citizens. Moreover,
encounters  involving White citizens, a greater number of citizen bystanders, and
officers with a higher level of education all reduced the likelihood that officers
would  provide an explanation for denying citizen requests. Policy implications and
recommendations   for future research and theoretical development are discussed.


Keywords
police, responsiveness, discretion, police-citizen encounters, service




'Michigan State University, East Lansing, Ml, USA

Corresponding Author:
William Terrill, Michigan State University, School of Criminal justice, East Lansing, MI 48824,
USA
Email: terrillw@msu.edu

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