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Mandatory Arrest: Loosely Coupled Organisations, Situational Variables, and the Arrest Decision

Police officer decision-making is thought to be a function of organisation size and situational variables. Large organisations are assumed to have gaps between administrators and street-level workers, allowing officers in large agencies to exercise discretion in their decision-making, whereas officers in small agencies are closely connected to, and more easily monitored by, administrators. Situational variables are the legal and extralegal aspects of an incident that might influence decision-making. Loose-coupling theory provides a framework to examine the impact of organisation size on officer decision-making. This study examined the arrest decisions of officers when handling domestic violence incidents. A factorial research design integrated four situational variables into vignettes describing a domestic violence incident. Police officers in four departments, one large and three small, indicated the likelihood of making an arrest based on cases described in the vignettes. 917 vignettes were analysed, with results showing that most officers would arrest the offender. Victim injury, an order of protection, a victim's preference for an arrest, and an uncooperative offender were significant in the arrest decision. Agency size, however, was not significant in the arrest decision. The impacts of the findings are discussed, as is the utility of loose-coupling theory.