NCJ Number
152923
Date Published
1993
Length
83 pages
Annotation
This study tests the hypotheses that police officers who encounter the highest resistance are those who favor a more confrontational approach to dispute resolution and that perceptions of the effectiveness of various tactics for resolving disputes depend on the characteristics of the participants in the dispute.
Abstract
Data for testing these hypotheses were obtained from general-duties patrol officers in the United Kingdom and Australia through the use of two questionnaires. These measures provided an index of the average level of resistance an individual officer experienced while performing a variety of patrol duties, as well as the officer's perception of the effectiveness of a range of dispute-resolution tactics in a number of minor conflict situations. Few significant differences were found between countries in either resistance or perception of the disputes and the tactics; consequently, results for the United Kingdom and Australia were analyzed together. As anticipated, the study showed that officers who were more resistance-prone reported a preference for dispute resolution strategies such as arrest. By contrast, those who reported experiencing low resistance in their encounters with the public believed that "bargaining" and "compromising" were effective ways of resolving disputes. The results also showed that the perceptions of the effectiveness of any particular strategy were dependent on the characteristics of the individuals described in the situations, particularly their age and sex. Implications of the findings for officer training are discussed. 6 tables, 30 references, and appended questionnaires