Introduction

Abstract

AbstractPolice discretion, as an inevitable part of policing, allows police officers to make tailor-made decisions and decide whether and how to enforce the law. Since it has been acknowledged that police officers have discretionary powers (i.e. the beginning of the 1960s), empirical research regarding police discretion has been initiated to get a grip on police decision-making in practice and which factors influence the decisions made by individual police officers. Furthermore, researchers have identified policing styles to categorize police officers’ styles of law enforcement. Despite the added value of these studies, it is difficult to stay informed of the research that has been conducted since the 1960s as we lack a systematic overview of these studies and the findings they have generated. Therefore, we conducted a scoping review that summarizes the available, empirical research on police decision-making, with a particular focus on the factors that (do not) impact police officers’ decision-making processes. This is a highly relevant exercise for both police theory and police practice.KeywordsPoliceDecision-makingDiscretionPolice researchScoping review