Citation

Wang X, Hayes BE, Zhang H. Crime Delinq. 2020; 66(11): 1556-1578.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0011128719850502

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to uncover whether extralegal factors play a significant role in Chinese police officers' decision-making in response to a hypothetical incident of domestic violence (DV). Data were collected from a sample of Chinese police officers located in southwestern China. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between the attitudes and beliefs of police officers and their decision-making in DV (i.e., recommend putting suspect into custody, victim into custody, and mediation; N = 514). The results suggest extralegal factors associated with culture do exert a significant effect on police officers' decision-making in cases of DV, but the extent may be minimal. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

Confucian philosophy; discretion; domestic violence; police decision-making