Assessing the use of a Traffic Enforcement Unit

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the 22-month life of a three-officer specialized Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU) within one mid-sized municipal police agency. The case study allowed for the examination of the impact of this structural change from a generalist to a specialist approach on the rate of traffic citations. Additionally, officer attitudes related to the change were considered.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a mixed method approach, which included both an objective output (traffic citations) and the results of a management survey to consider officers’ attitudes.

Findings

Despite the fact that most officers reported the introduction of the TEU did not change their commitment to traffic enforcement, the findings indicate citations by non-TEU officers declined sharply over time. Likewise, citations by the three specialized officers also dropped, which, when combined with non-TEU officers, resulted in no real differences between the generalist and specialist approach on the number of citations issued.

Research limitations/implications

Beyond the natural limitations of a single case study, the use of a management-issued survey concerning attitudes was not ideal.

Practical implications

The study provides some evidence that generalists approaches – at least as they apply to traffic enforcement – may be just as productive as specialist approaches.

Originality/value

While there has been a significant amount of rhetoric over the years, it seems scholars have largely ignored real differences between the generalist and specialist approaches on objective organizational outputs. This is an area that needs to be subjected to additional research.

Citation

Hepworth, D.P. and White, D.R. (2016), "Assessing the use of a Traffic Enforcement Unit", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 95-108. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-08-2015-0101