Police Use of Discretion: A Participant Observation Study of Game Wardens

This study extends inquiry on police discretion by examining the situational and organizational factors influencing game wardens' arrest/summons decisions. Data were collected by participant observation and interviews. Situational and organizational factors seldom, if at all, evident from previous studies were discovered to influence wardens discretion, example, officers' demeanor, professional courtesy, judges, plea bargains, regional directives, and department policy. Danger, authority, and efficiency are important elements of an occupational ideology that may be shared by police and wardens. Theoretically, “police culture” writ large, may be an important source of the patterns of discretion across police organizations.