Abstract
Prior traffic stop studies rarely consider officers’ qualitative explanations of their sanctioning decisions and are based largely on municipal officers. This article explores campus officers’ explanations of how they sanctioned drivers. Data were gathered from fieldwork with campus officers at a large southeastern U.S. university. Findings reveal officers usually handle traffic offenders leniently, opting for no sanction and written warnings over citations and custodial arrest. Officers named seven sanctioning reasons that fit into three broad and interrelated perspectives on crime and punishment. Implications of the findings for future research and policy are discussed.
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