Police Implementation of Laws Governing Micromobility Device Operation in Atlanta, Georgia

• In Event: The Diffusion and Implementation of Criminal Laws II

Abstract

Dockless, electric scooters have become commonplace personal mobility options in many urban and suburban areas around the globe. Despite this, the interaction that law enforcement personnel have with riders of these devices is still unclear. Like many municipalities, the city of Atlanta, Georgia implemented laws governing the manner in which electric scooters could be operated within city limits. This opened riders up to the possibility of being stopped and questioned if they were found to be in violation of these laws by police. The current study conducts an explorative investigation of these encounters between police and micromobility users. Records obtained from the Atlanta Municipal Court contained police reports of said encounters during the study period (N=100). Relying on descriptive statistics, the study finds that, even though 37% of encounters resulted in arrest, police nearly always cited relatively minor offenses such as riding on the sidewalk as the reasons for initiating stops. This finding suggests that police may use laws surrounding micromobility device use as a means of investigating more serious criminal behaviors, which bears similarity to how officers conduct more routine investigative traffic and pedestrian stops.

Author

• Matheson Sanchez, Georgia College & State University