The Role of Value Systems within Police Decision Making

• In Event: Examining Police Officers' Perceptions and Value Systems

Abstract

Under extreme levels of physiological and psychological strain, police officers wrestle with uncertainty, complexity, and accountability to operate within a set of strategic, ethical, and legal boundaries. Navigating such environments requires effective and timely decision-making. Rational and naturalistic decision-making methods have traditionally been used to explore how police officers make decisions, however research is increasingly looking at the role that individual and organizational values play in the process of operational decision-making. Understanding the existence and role of values in police decision-making is especially important given that often in high stake environments, values that we deem sacred (unwilling to sacrifice on) are pitted against each other. Here, we outline our research using the Least-Worst Choice Inventory for Emergency Responders (LUCIFER) which explores the role of individual value systems in police decision-making. Critically we find that understanding officer values provides crucial insight into knowing what decisions officers make and their recovery from them. Overall, we argue that i) the awareness of value systems will allow us to recognize situations that are conducive to non-ideal decisions and decision-making strategies and ii) through knowing the values held by the workforce management can better organize officers to ensure successful decision making and subsequent policing action.

Authors

• Catherine Stevens, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Neil D. Shortland, University of Massachusetts Lowell