Do Cops Still Care? A Phenomenological Exploration of Narcotics (De)Criminalization and Officer Discretion in Southern California

Stephen Bell; Joshua Adams

doi:10.29333/ajqr/13730

Stephen Bell ¹ ^* , Joshua Adams ²

More Detail

AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 7, Issue 4, pp. 159-181

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13730

OPEN ACCESS 1866 Views 657 Downloads

Download Full Text (PDF)

Abstract

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore how law enforcement officers in Los Angeles County described their lived experiences of engaging in discretionary enforcement behaviors when policing narcotics crimes. Rational choice theory was utilized as the theoretical lens for the study. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 15 active law enforcement officers in Los Angeles County. Data were collected through open-ended surveys, semi-structured interviews, and reflexive memos. The data were coded utilizing thematic analysis with the assistance of NVivo 12 Plus. Three primary themes were evident from the data: (1) positive reinforcement-motivators, (2) justifications for reduced narcotics enforcement, and (3) methods of reduced enforcement. Findings revealed law enforcement officers, much like offenders’ criminal behaviors in rational choice theory, can be dissuaded from discretionary enforcement behaviors with adequate negative reinforcement. Implications of the study’s findings, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Keywords: rational choice theory, discretion, narcotics, deterrence, Proposition 47, defelonization.

References

Adams, J. L. (2019). “I almost quit”: Exploring the prevalence of the Ferguson Effect in two small sized law enforcement agencies in rural southcentral Virginia. The Qualitative Report, 24(7), 1747–1764. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.4019
Andersen, J. P., & Gustafsberg, H. (2016). A training method to improve police use of force decision making: A randomized controlled trial. Sage Open, 6(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016638708
Arredondo, J., Strathdee, S. A., Cepeda, J., Abramovitz, D., Artamonova, I., Clairgue, E., & Olivarria, H. O. (2017). Measuring improvement in knowledge of drug policy reforms following a police education program in Tijuana, Mexico. Harm Reduction Journal, 14(1), Article 72. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-017-0198-2
Austin, J. (2016). Regulating California’s prison population: The use of sticks and carrots. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 664(1), 84–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716215602700
Bareham, B. K., Kaner, E., Spencer, L., & Hanratty, B. (2020). Health and social care providers’ perspectives of older people’s drinking: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies. Age and Ageing, 49(3), 453–467. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afaa005
Bartholomew, T. T., Joy, E. E., & Brown, J. (2021). A choir or cacophony? Sample sizes and quality of conveying participants’ voices in phenomenological research. Methodological Innovations, 14(2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/20597991211040063
Bartos, B. J., & Kubrin, C. E. (2018). Can we downsize our prisons and jails without compromising public safety? Findings from California’s Prop 47. Criminology & Public Policy, 17(3), 693–715. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12378
Beccaria, C., & Voltaire, V. (1764). An essay on crimes and punishments. W.C. Little and Company.
Bentham, J. (1789). An introduction to the principles of morals and legislation. Claredon Press.
Bhattacharya, K. (2017). Fundamentals of qualitative research: A practical guide. Routledge.
Bird, M., Grattet, R., & Nguyen, V. (2017). Realignment and recidivism in California [Report]. Public Policy Institute of California.
Bird, M., Nguyen, V., & Grattet, R. (2020). Impact of defelonizing drug possession on recidivism. Criminology & Public Policy, 19(2), 591–616. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12489
Birt, L., Scott, S., Cavers, D., Campbell, C., & Walter, F. (2016). Member checking: A tool to enhance trustworthiness or merely a nod to validation? Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1802-1811. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732316654870
Bohn, L. E., & Morreale, S. A. (2018). Analysis of the racial and ethnic representation of adult male inmates in large jail isolation units in the United States. International Journal of Education and Social Science, 5(1), 57–68.
Broomé, R. E., & Russell, E. J. (2018). The phenomenological psychology of stopping an active shooter. Journal of Theoretical & Philosophical Criminology, 10(2), 53-70.
Brouwer, J., van der Woude, M., & van der Leun, J. (2018). (Cr)immigrant framing in border areas: Decision-making processes of Dutch border police officers. Policing and Society, 28(4), 448–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2017.1288731
Buvik, K. (2016). The hole in the doughnut: a study of police discretion in a nightlife setting. Policing and Society, 26(7), 771–788. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2014.989157
Chanin, J., & Sheats, B. (2018). Depolicing as dissent shirking: Examining the effects of pattern or practice misconduct reform on police behavior. Criminal Justice Review, 43(2), 105–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016817704696
Collins, J. C., & Rocco, T. S. (2018). Queering employee engagement to understand and improve the performance of gay male law enforcement officers: A phenomenological exploration. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 30(4), 273-295. https://doi.org/10.1002/piq.21255
Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Dooley-Sammuli, M., Alexander, L., Davis, M., Doctoroff, M., Hernandez, D., Kwiatkowski, H., & Teji, S. (2015). Changing gears: California’s shift to smart justice. American Civil Liberties Union.
Egnell, S., Villman, E., & Obstbaum, Y. (2019). Cannabis policy and legislation in the Nordic countries: A report on the control of cannabis use and possession in the Nordic legal systems. Nordic Welfare Center. https://nordicwelfare.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Cannabis-policy-and-legislation-in-the-Nordic-countries_FINAL.pdf
Elderbroom, B., & Durnan, J. (2019). Reclassified: State-drug law reforms to reduce felony convictions and increase second chances. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 31(3), 195–207.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2019, July 15). Crime in the United States. Uniform Crime Reporting. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/preliminary-report
FitzPatrick, B. (2019). Validity in qualitative health education research. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 11(2), 211–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2018.11.014
Frechette, J., Bitzas, V., Aubry, M., Kilpatrick, K., & Lavoie-Tremblay, M. (2020). Capturing lived experience: Methodological considerations for interpretive phenomenological inquiry. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920907254
Garcia, D., Ryberg, F., Andersson Arnten, A. C., Archer, T., & Al Nima, A. (2017). Autonomy and responsibility as a dual construct: Swedish police personnel’s stress, energy and motivation. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 19(3), 195–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355717714002
Gerstein, C., & Prescott, J. J. (2014). Process costs and police discretion. Harvard Law Review, 128(6), Article 268.
Graca, S. (2017). Domestic violence policy and legislation in the U.K.: A discussion of immigrant women’s vulnerabilities. European Journal of Current Legal Issues, 23(1).
Grattet, R., Bird, M., Nguyen, V., & Tafoya, S. (2017). California jails under realignment and Proposition 47. California Journal of Politics and Policy, 9(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5070/P2CJPP9336924
Green, R., Gray, R. M., Bryant, J., Rance, J., & MacLean, S. (2020). Police decision-making with young offenders: Examining barriers to the use of diversion options. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 53(1), 137–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004865819879736
Grucza, R. A., Vuolo, M., Krauss, M. J., Plunk, A. D., Agrawal, A., Chaloupka, F. J., & Bierut, L. J. (2018). Cannabis decriminalization: A study of recent policy change in five U.S. states. International Journal of Drug Policy, 59, 67–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.06.016
Gutierrez, C. M., & Pettit, B. (2020). Employment and health among recently incarcerated men before and after the Affordable Care Act (2009–2017). American Journal of Public Health, 110(S1), S123–S129. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305419
Hassan, H. M., Reza, D. M., & Farkhad, M. A. A. (2015). An experimental study of influential elements on cyberloafing from general deterrence theory perspective: Case study: Tehran subway organization. International Business Research, 8(3), 91–98. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v8n3p91
Haven, T., & Van Grootel, D. L. (2019). Preregistering qualitative research. Accountability in Research, 26(3), 229–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/08989621.2019.1580147
Hennink, M., & Kaiser, B. N. (2022). Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Social Science & Medicine, 292, Article 114523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523
Heo, S. (2021). Effect of social desirability on survey responses: Based on a question from Statistics Korea’s social survey. The Korean Data & Information Science Society, 32(5), 969–981. https://doi.org/10.7465/jkdi.2021.32.5.969
Hoffman, M., Kahn, L. B., & Li, D. (2018). Discretion in hiring. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133(2), 765–800. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjx042
Huff, J. (2021). Understanding police decisions to arrest: The impact of situational, officer, and neighborhood characteristics on police discretion. Journal of Criminal Justice, 75, Article 101829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2021.101829
Johnson, A. D., & Vaughn, M. S. (2016). Decoupling and police organizational structure. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 38(3), 157–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2016.1173942
Johnson, R. R., & Lafrance, C. (2016). The influence of career stage on police officer work behavior. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43(11), 1580–1599. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854816657577
Kail, S. (2017). The unintended consequences of California’s Proposition 47: Reducing law enforcement ability to solve serious, violent crimes. Pepperdine Law Review, 44(4), Article 1039. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/plr/vol44/iss5/3
Kantorowicz-Reznichenko, E. (2018). Day fines: Reviving the idea and reversing the (costly) punitive trend. American Criminal Law Review, 55(2), 333–372.
Kivisto, A. J., Ray, B., & Phalen, P. L. (2017). Firearm legislation and fatal police shootings in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 107(7), 1068–1075. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303770
Levitt, H. M. (2021). Qualitative generalization, not to the population but to the phenomenon: Reconceptualizing variation in qualitative research. Qualitative Psychology, 8(1), 95–110. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000184
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications.
Maier, S. L., Mannes, S., & Koppenhofer, E. L. (2017). The implications of marijuana decriminalization and legalization on crime in the United States. Contemporary Drug Problems, 44(2), 125–146.
Mansouri, F., Pourghane, P., Nikfam, M. R., & Oleson, J. C. (2023). Coronary care unit nurses’ experiences of care management self-efficacy: A qualitative content analysis. The Qualitative Report, 28(2), 417–536. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2023.4387
Mayor, C. (2022). Anti-racist research praxis: Feminist relational accountability and arts-based reflexive memoing for qualitative data collection in social work research. Affilia, 37(4), 624–644. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099221102702
Mears, D. P., Stewart, E. A., Warren, P. Y., & Simons, R. L. (2017). Culture and formal social control: The effect of the code of the street on police and court decision-making. Justice Quarterly, 34(2), 217–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2016.1149599
Mooney, A. C., Giannella, E., Glymour, M. M., Neilands, T. B., Morris, M. D., Tulsky, J., & Sudhinaraset, M. (2018). Racial/ethnic disparities in arrests for drug possession after California Proposition 47, 2011–2016. American Journal of Public Health, 108(8), 987–993. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304445
Mooney, A. C., Neilands, T. B., Giannella, E., Morris, M. D., Tulsky, J., & Glymour, M. M. (2019). Effects of a voter initiative on disparities in punishment severity for drug offenses across California counties. Social Science & Medicine, 230, 9–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.03.010
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. SAGE Publications.
Nix, J., & Wolfe, S. E. (2017). The impact of negative publicity on police self-legitimacy. Justice Quarterly, 34(1), 84–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2015.1102954
Nouri, A., Pourghane, P., Mansouri, M., Salimi, S., & Oleson, J. C. (2022). Medical students’ experiences of part-time hospital work: A qualitative study. The Qualitative Report, 27(9), 1998–2015. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.4595
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
Pearson, G., Rowe, M., & Turner, L. (2018). Policy, practicalities, and PACE s. 24: The subsuming of the necessity criteria in arrest decision making by frontline police officers. Journal of Law and Society, 45(2), 282–308. https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12087
Pelfrey, W. V., Jr., & Keener, S. (2016). Police body worn cameras: A mixed method approach assessing perceptions of efficacy. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 39(3), 491–506. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-02-2016-0019
Phillips, S. W. (2016). Police discretion and boredom: What officers do when there is nothing to do. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 45(5), 580–601. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241615587385
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2014). Essentials of nursing research: Appraising evidence for nursing practice (8th ed.). Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Queirós, A., Faria, D., & Almeida, F. (2017). Strengths and limitations of qualitative and quantitative research methods. European Journal of Education Studies, 3(9), 369–387. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.887089
Ramey, D. M., & Steidley, T. (2018). Policing through subsidized firepower: An assessment of rational choice and minority threat explanations of police participation in the 1033 Program. Criminology, 56(4), 812–856. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12193
Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2016). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. SAGE Publications.
Ray, R. (2020). Restructuring civilian payouts for police misconduct. Sociological Forum, 35(3), 806–812. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12618
Rogers, R. H. (2018). Coding and writing analytic memos on qualitative data: A review of Johnny Saldaña’s the coding manual for qualitative researchers. The Qualitative Report, 23(4), 889–892. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3459
Rosen, J. D. (2021). Prisons and the consequences of tough on crime policies at home and abroad. In The U.S. war on drugs at home and abroad (pp. 97–121). Palgrave Macmillan.
Russell, M. C., Schaubel, S. R., & Figley, C. R. (2018). The darker side of military mental healthcare part two: Five harmful strategies to manage its mental health dilemma. Psychological Injury and Law, 11(1), 37–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12207-017-9311-9
Saunders, B., Sim, J., Kingstone, T., Baker, S., Waterfield, J., Bartlam, B., Burroughs, H., & Jinks, C. (2018). Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization. Quality & quantity, 52, 1893-1907. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0574-8
Schulenberg, J. L. (2016). Police decision-making in the gray zone: The dynamics of police–citizen encounters with mentally ill persons. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43(4), 459–482. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854815606762
Stemen, D. (2017). Beyond the war: The evolving nature of the U.S. approach to drugs. Harvard Law & Policy Review, 11, 375–418.
Stevenson, M., & Mayson, S. (2018). The scale of misdemeanor justice. Boston University Law Review, 98, 731–777.
Stratton, S. J. (2021). Population research: convenience sampling strategies. Prehospital and disaster Medicine, 36(4), 373–374. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X21000649
Tate, M. C., Roy, A., Pinchinat, M., Lund, E., Fox, J. B., Cottrill, S., Vaccaro, A., & Stein, L. A. R. (2021). Impact of being a peer recovery specialist on work and personal life: implications for training and supervision. Community Mental Health Journal, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-021-00811-y
Thomas, K. J., & Loughran, T. A. (2014). Rational choice and prospect theory. In G. Bruinsma & D. Weisburd (Eds.), Encyclopedia of criminology and criminal justice (pp. 4298–4306). Springer.
Tomlinson, K. D. (2016). An examination of deterrence theory: Where do we stand? Federal Probation Journal, 80(3), 33–38.
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1989). Rational choice and the framing of decisions. In B. Karpak & S. Zionts (Eds.), Multiple criteria decision making and risk analysis using microcomputers (pp. 81–126). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Vitkauskas, K. (2017). Efficiency of factors motivating professional activity: Study of police officers’ attitude. Public Security and Public Order, 2013(9), 326–339.
Von Neumann, J., & Morgenstern, O. (1944). Theory of games and economic behavior. Princeton University Press
Wentz, E., & Keimig, K. (2019). Arrest and referral decisions in sexual assault cases: The influence of police discretion on case attrition. Social Sciences, 8(6), Article 180. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8060180
Whalen, K., & Paez, A. (2021). Student perceptions of reflection and the acquisition of higher-order thinking skills in a university sustainability course. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 45(1), 108–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2020.1804843
Wolfe, S. E., & Nix, J. (2016). The alleged “Ferguson Effect” and police willingness to engage in community partnership. Law and Human Behavior, 40(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000164
Wooditch, A., Duhaime, L., & Meyer, K. (2016). Street-level discretion and organizational effectiveness in probation services. Federal Probation Journal, 80(1), 39–44.
Woods, C. (2016). Proposition 47: The unintended consequence. University of La Verne Law Review, 38(1), 1-17.

Citation

Bell, S., & Adams, J. (2023). Do Cops Still Care? A Phenomenological Exploration of Narcotics (De)Criminalization and Officer Discretion in Southern California. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 7(4), 159-181. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13730

Bell, S., and Adams, J. (2023). Do Cops Still Care? A Phenomenological Exploration of Narcotics (De)Criminalization and Officer Discretion in Southern California. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 7(4), pp. 159-181. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13730

Bell S, Adams J. Do Cops Still Care? A Phenomenological Exploration of Narcotics (De)Criminalization and Officer Discretion in Southern California. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2023;7(4), 159-181. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13730

Bell, Stephen, and Joshua Adams. "Do Cops Still Care? A Phenomenological Exploration of Narcotics (De)Criminalization and Officer Discretion in Southern California". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2023 7 no. 4 (2023): 159-181. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13730

Bell, Stephen et al. "Do Cops Still Care? A Phenomenological Exploration of Narcotics (De)Criminalization and Officer Discretion in Southern California". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 7, no. 4, 2023, pp. 159-181. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13730

Bell S, Adams J. Do Cops Still Care? A Phenomenological Exploration of Narcotics (De)Criminalization and Officer Discretion in Southern California. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2023;7(4):159-81. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13730