Paying attention to minor offenses: order maintenance policing in practice

Abstract

Order maintenance policing is often equated with the term ‘zero tolerance,’ which implies that officers exercise little discretion when enforcing minor offenses. Few researchers, however, have explored the extent to which order maintenance actually limits officer discretion and creates a zero‐tolerance atmosphere. This paper draws on field observations of police officers in NYPD – a department with a reputation for its order maintenance strategy – to explore officer decision making when enforcing minor offenses. Ethnographic data suggest that while officers acknowledge the importance of maintaining order, they possess and utilize a high degree of discretion when managing minor offenses.