Form 1317 Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Survey

OMB Control No. 2127-XXXX

Expiration Date XX/XX/XXXX

Appendix D1

Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Survey

DISPLAYED ON FIRST SCREEN:

This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to document attitudes, resources, and challenges related to traffic safety enforcement. The results of the study will be used to develop an understanding of agency resources and priorities and to develop programs designed to improve traffic safety enforcement. A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a current valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control Number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to be approximately 15 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, completing and reviewing the collection of information. All responses to this collection of information are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E., Washington, DC, 20590

This survey is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This survey is about law enforcement officer attitudes, resources, and challenges related to traffic safety enforcement. This survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Your name and responses will never be linked to your answers. We will treat your answers as private and confidential and none of your responses will be reported back to your agency. You may also refuse to answer any questions. If you have any technical questions about the study, you may contact Tim Flanigan, RTI International at 1-800-334-8571 or 2-7743, James Higgins, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at PHONE. If you have any questions about your rights as a study participant, you may contact RTI’s Office of Research Protection at 1-866-214-2043.

Do you agree to participate?

1. YES [GO TO A1]

2. NO [CONTINUE]

END. Thank you very much for your consideration. If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, please contact Tim Flanigan, RTI International at 1-800-334-8571 or 2-7743

I. Professional Profile:

A1. Are you currently in a position at your agency where one of your core duties is traffic safety enforcement?

1. YES

2. NO  (GO TO QUESTION A3)

A2. Is traffic safety enforcement your primary duty?

1. YES

2. NO

[GO TO QUESTION A4]

A3. Have you been in a position at your agency where one of your core duties was traffic safety enforcement?

1. YES

2. NO

A4. On average, what percentage of your typical shift involves focusing on and performing traffic enforcement?

1. 0 - 20%

2. 21% – 40%

3. 41% – 60%

4. 61% – 80%

5. 81%– 100%

II. Motivation:

B1. Thinking back to when you decided on law enforcement as a career, what motivated you to become a law enforcement officer? Using the following list, please rank your top three motivators.	Rank Top 3 Motivators (1..2..3)
a. Ability to make a difference regarding problems facing the community
b. Excitement / Stimulation of work environment
c. Autonomous work environment
d. Identify with the position of being a law enforcement officer
e. Stable employment
f. Benefits / Retirement / Pay
g. Comradery / Belonging to respected organization
h. History of family member involvement in the law enforcement community
i. Other1: PLEASE SPECIFY__________________________________
j. Other2: PLEASE SPECIFY__________________________________

B2. When you considered establishing a career, was law enforcement your first choice?

1. YES – Law enforcement was my primary career goal

2. NO – I had different career goals

B3. If these types of units existed, or do exist in your agency, how likely would you be to pursue a position in that unit?	Very Likely	Likely	Somewhat Likely	Not at All Likely
a. Drug enforcement	O	O	O	O
b. General patrol duties	O	O	O	O
c. Investigations (e.g., robbery, homicide, vice)	O	O	O	O
d. Community outreach unit	O	O	O	O
e. Specialized response unit (e.g., SWAT)	O	O	O	O
f. Traffic enforcement	O	O	O	O
g. Internal affairs	O	O	O	O
h. Jail / detention	O	O	O	O

B4. Which division of law enforcement would you prefer to specialize in as you advance in your career?

1. Traffic

2. Patrol

3. Investigation

4. Management

5. Forensic Science

6. Other: PLEASE SPECIFY __________________

B5. What general rank in your agency would you like to attain by the end of your career?

1. Line officer

2. First line supervisor

3. Mid-ranking

4. Command staff

5. Agency head

6. No preference

B6. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the following factors motivate you to issue a traffic citation?	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
a. Ensuring citizens obey the law	O	O	O	O
b. Emphasis from agency command staff to make traffic stops	O	O	O	O
c. Emphasis from agency first line supervisors to make traffic stops	O	O	O	O
d. Emphasis from external sources to make traffic stops (i.e. pressure from city/county/state government)	O	O	O	O
e. External motivators / public pressure (i.e. pressure from media , public response / demands)	O	O	O	O
f. Internal motivators (e.g. family member hurt or killed in an accident involving a truck with DOT violations or in a DUI accident)	O	O	O	O
g. Increase safety of the community / safety of motorists	O	O	O	O
h. Enforcing traffic laws to help deter future traffic safety violations	O	O	O	O
i. Enforcing traffic laws to help deter future criminal activity	O	O	O	O
j. Personal satisfaction – knowing that I made a difference	O	O	O	O

B7. In general, when deciding whether to issue a citation to a driver who has been pulled over, how often would you say officers consider the following characteristics of the driver?	Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
a. Age	O	O	O	O	O
b. Gender	O	O	O	O	O
c. Attitude	O	O	O	O	O
d. Presence of children in the vehicle	O	O	O	O	O
e. Race / ethnicity	O	O	O	O	O
f. Socioeconomic status of motorist	O	O	O	O	O
g. Residency (In-state / out-of-state)	O	O	O	O	O
h. Driver’s traffic violation history	O	O	O	O	O

B7_spec. FOR EACH B7a-B7h RESPONSE OF “ALWAYS OR OFTEN”: Please explain: _______________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

B8. In general, how often do you enforce traffic laws as a means for identifying a more serious criminal offense (i.e. pretext stop)?

1. Always

2. Often

3. Sometimes

4. Rarely

5. Never

B9. How likely are you to stop and cite a motorist for less severe traffic safety issue such as a broken tail light?

1. Always

2. Often

3. Sometimes

4. Rarely

5. Never

B10. To what extent would your motivation to enforce traffic safety laws increase if the following incentives were offered?	Likely to increase my motivation	No effect on my motivation	Unlikely to increase my motivation
a. Increased opportunities for overtime	O	O	O
b. Recognition	O	O	O
c. Performance measure – Looked at positively during performance review cycles	O	O	O
d. Opportunity for newer / better equipment	O	O	O
e. Opportunity for increased schedule flexibility	O	O	O
f. Other: PLEASE SPECIFY__________________________________	O	O	O

B11. How likely are you to provide a warning, rather than a citation, to a driver for an offense that is often dropped by prosecutors or reduced by judges?

1. Very likely

2. Somewhat likely

3. Somewhat unlikely

4. Unlikely

B12. On average, who would you say issues a larger number of traffic citations…

1. Officers with more years of experience

2. Officers with fewer years of experience

3. Makes no difference in terms of years of experience  (GO TO QUESTION B14)

B13. Please explain why you selected your response to B12? ________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

B14. Toward the end of your shift, are you less likely than usual to stop a driver for a minor traffic violation?

1. Yes

2. No

The next few questions are about fatigue.

B15. Does your shift schedule alternate between both day and night shifts?

1. YES

2. NO  (GO TO QUESTION B17)

B16. Does your shift schedule alternate on a set pattern?

1. YES

2. NO

B17. How often does fatigue affect your performance or safety while on patrol as it relates to traffic safety enforcement?

1. Often

2. Sometimes

3. Rarely

4. Never

III. Attitude:

C1. In general, how confident are you that issuing a warning will change future driver behavior?

1. Very confident

2. Confident

3. Somewhat confident

4. Not at all confident

C2. In general, how confident are you that issuing a citation will change future driver behavior?

1. Very confident

2. Confident

3. Somewhat confident

4. Not at all confident

C3. How often do the following factors contribute to your decision to stop a vehicle that you observe committing a minor traffic violation?	All of the time	Most of the time	Some of the time	Never affects my decision to stop a vehicle	NA
a. Limited time, such as staffing shortage or high call volume	O	O	O	O	O
b. Location of violation not conducive to allowing stop (i.e. no safe location for driver to pull over or other motorists to drive around stopped vehicle)	O	O	O	O	O
c. Concern for your personal safety (i.e. poor lighting, no safe area to approach stopped vehicle, no back up available)	O	O	O	O	O
d. Engaging in proactive duty that takes priority over traffic enforcement (i.e. directed patrols)	O	O	O	O	O
e. Dislike interacting with frustrated drivers	O	O	O	O	O
f. Enforcement of particular observed violation is time consuming/complicated	O	O	O	O	O
g. Uncertainty about the law being broken (e.g. commercial vehicle violations)	O	O	O	O	O
h. Observed a very minor infraction	O	O	O	O	O
i. Weather conditions	O	O	O	O	O
j. Other: PLEASE SPECIFY_______________________________	O	O	O	O	O

C4. How often does the length of time required after issuing a citation (e.g., subpoenas/testifying in court) impact your decision to write a citation?

1. Always

2. Often

3. Sometimes

4. Rarely

5. Never

C5. Would you say traffic enforcement is more important, about the same level of importance or less important in relation to the following duties?	Traffic enforcement is more iportant	Traffic Enforcement is about the same level of importance	Traffic enforcement is less important	NOT APPLICABLE
a. Directed patrols (e.g., daytime patrol in residential areas to prevent burglaries)	O	O	O	O
b. High visibility presence (e.g., occupying problem area while conducting another task, like finishing a report)	O	O	O	O
c. Citizen field contact	O	O	O	O
d. Engaging in problem solving policing for specific issue / area	O	O	O	O
e. Community-oriented policing (COP) such as interacting with the public	O	O	O	O
f. Parking enforcement and control	O	O	O	O
g. Commercial vehicle traffic safety enforcement	O	O	O	O
h. Other: PLEASE SPECIFY__________________________________	O	O	O	O

C6. When you are conducting a traffic stop, does your vehicle have an electronic citation issuing system?

1. YES  (GO TO QUESTION C8)

2. NO

C7. Would you be more likely to stop and cite drivers if you had electronic software available?

1. YES

2. NO

C8. Do you believe the penalties for traffic violations in your jurisdiction are too severe, sufficient, or too lenient?

1. Too severe

2. Sufficient

3. Too lenient

C9. How often do you stop a driver for the following violations regardless of whether or not you issue a citation?	Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
a. Speeding – Less than 10 MPH over posted speed limit	O	O	O	O	O
b. Speeding – 10 MPH or more over posted speed limit	O	O	O	O	O
c. Driver not wearing seatbelt	O	O	O	O	O
d. Front seat passenger not wearing seatbelt	O	O	O	O	O
e. Distracted driving	O	O	O	O	O
f. Following another vehicle to closely	O	O	O	O	O
g. Equipment issues (window tinting, nonfunctioning head lamp / tail light, etc.)	O	O	O	O	O
h. Loud noise – music / muffler	O	O	O	O	O
i. Improperly restrained child	O	O	O	O	O

C10. How often do you cite a driver for the following violations regardless of whether or not you issue a citation?	Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
a. Speeding – Less than 10 MPH over posted speed limit	O	O	O	O	O
b. Speeding – 10 MPH or more over posted speed limit	O	O	O	O	O
c. Driver not wearing seatbelt	O	O	O	O	O
d. Front seat passenger not wearing seatbelt	O	O	O	O	O
e. Distracted driving	O	O	O	O	O
f. Following another vehicle to closely	O	O	O	O	O
g. Equipment issues (window tinting, nonfunctioning head lamp / tail light, etc.)	O	O	O	O	O
h. Loud noise – music / muffler	O	O	O	O	O
i. Improperly restrained child	O	O	O	O	O

C11. How fulfilling do you consider traffic safety enforcement to be compared to your other duties and responsibilities?

1. Much more fulfilling

2. Somewhat more fulfilling

3. Somewhat less fulfilling

4. Much less fulfilling

5. NA – I don’t have other duties or responsibilities

IV. Training and Resources:

D1. Have you received training in any of the following traffic law enforcement subjects?	YES	NO	DON’T KNOW	[IF YES]: How Often?
				Once a year or more than once a year	Every 1 to 3 years	Every 4 to 5 years	Only trained once
a. Standardized Field Sobriety Training (SFST)	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
b. Drug Recognition Expert (DRE)	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
c. Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement program (ARIDE)	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
d. Approaching and engaging drivers	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
e. Identifying impaired drivers	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
f. Safety as it relates to commercial vehicles	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
g. Identification and citation of traffic violations	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
h. Identification of distracted drivers	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
i. Identification of fatigue-impaired drivers	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
j. Officer safety during traffic stops	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
k. Speed determination (e.g. radar)	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
l. Crash investigation and reconstruction	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
m. Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS)	O	O	O	O	O	O	O

D2. [POPULATE TABLE WITH TRAINING CATEGORIES THAT RESPONDENT INDICATED “YES” IN D1] How effective were these training sessions in your day-to-day traffic law enforcement?	Very Effective	Somewhat effective	Not very effective	Not at all effective
a. [POPULATE FROM D1]	O	O	O	O
b. [POPULATE FROM D1]	O	O	O	O
c. [POPULATE FROM D1]	O	O	O	O
Etc…

D3. Do you believe there are new or emerging traffic safety issues that are not being adequately addressed through training?

1. YES

2. NO  (GO TO QUESTION D4)

D3a. Please describe the traffic safety issues that are not being addressed: _____________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

D4. Are there any particular traffic laws that you find confusing or unclear?

1. YES

2. NO  (GO TO QUESTION D5)

D4a. Please describe the laws that you find confusing or unclear: ____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

D5. Would you like more training in these particular laws?

1. YES

2. NO

D6. Have you heard of the following traffic enforcement programs / organizations which have traffic enforcement resources available to officers?	YES	NO	[IF YES]: Have you accessed any resources from these programs / organizations such as training materials, statistics, etc..?
			YES	NO
a. State-level Highway Safety Office/ Governor’s Highway Safety Program	O	O	O	O
b. Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)	O	O	O	O
c. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)	O	O	O	O
d. Private non-profit organizations (e.g., MADD)	O	O	O	O
e. Professional Associations (e.g., NSC, IACP, PERF)	O	O	O	O
f. Other: PLEASE SPECIFY__________________________________	O	O	O	O

D7. What additional information or resources, if any, do you need to effectively enforce traffic laws?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

V. Dissemination / Communication:

E1. Relative to your other duties, what level of importance does your agency command staff place on traffic enforcement?

1. High importance

2. Moderate importance

3. Low importance

4. No importance

E2a. Relative to your other duties, what level of importance does your direct supervisor place on traffic enforcement?

1. High importance

2. Moderate importance

3. Low importance

4. No importance

E2b. Relative to your other duties, what level of importance do you place on traffic enforcement?

1. High importance

2. Moderate importance

3. Low importance

4. No importance

E3. To what degree do you understand the priorities established within your agency, in terms of traffic enforcement, relative to your other responsibilities?

1. I understand the priorities completely

2. I mostly understand the priorities

3. I somewhat understand the priorities

4. I do not understand the priorities

E4. Who relays these priorities to you?	Always	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
a. Other line officers	O	O	O	O
b. Sergeants / Supervisors	O	O	O	O
c. Command staff / Mid-level managers	O	O	O	O
d. Chief / Sheriff / Head of agency	O	O	O	O

E5. To what extent do you agree with the priorities established within your agency in terms of traffic enforcement?

1. Very much

2. Somewhat

3. Not very much

4. Not at all

E6. To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “Traffic enforcement is something department leaders tell me I ought to be doing if I’m not doing anything else”?

1. Strongly Agree

2. Somewhat Agree

3. Somewhat Disagree

4. Strongly Disagree

VI. Demographics:

F1. What is your current age?

1. 24 OR YOUNGER

2. 25 – 34

3. 35 – 44

4. 45 – 54

5. 55 – 64

6. 65 OR OLDER

F2. Sex:

1. MALE

2. FEMALE

F3. How many years of experience do you have in law enforcement?

1. Less than 1 year

2. 1 year to less than 3 years

3. 3 years to less than 5 years

4. 5 years to less than 10 years

5. 10 years to less than 15 years

6. 15 years or more

F4. How many years of experience do you have at your current agency?

1. Less than 1 year

2. 1 year to less than 3 years

3. 3 years to less than 5 years

4. 5 years to less than 10 years

5. 10 years to less than 15 years

6. 15 years or more

F5. What is your current position? You may select one or more.

1. Traffic

2. Patrol

3. Investigations

4. Specialized enforcement

5. Supervisor

6. Command / Management

F6. For how many years have you been in your current position?

1. Less than 1 year

2. 1 year to less than 3 years

3. 3 years to less than 5 years

4. 5 years to less than 10 years

5. 10 years to less than 15 years

6. 15 years or more

18

NHTSA Form 1317