Routine Police Arrest Practices: A Commonweal Perspective

Abstract

Employing a commonweal conception of police organizations, the central aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which routine police arrest practices suggest police abuse of the societal delegated privilege to exercise non-negotiable coercive force. Public drunkenness encounters occurring in a large midwestern city were analyzed; and it was found that significantly higher rates of arrest were associated with offense conspicuousness, offender powerlessness, and offender disrespect. The major conclusion drawn is that the police abuse this societal delegated privilege. The implications of this conclusion for the commonweal conception of the police are discussed.