Appendix E2 Question-by-Question Explanation for NHTSA First Line Supervisor Survey

Appendix E2

Question-by-Question Explanation for NHTSA First Line Supervisor Survey

Item	Explanation
A1 – A3	The first three questions will help us understand the FLS’s background in traffic safety enforcement.
A4	This question will help us develop a baseline for how often the FLS engages in traffic safety enforcement on a typical shift in their current assignment.
B1	This question will allow us to determine the motivating factors that led the FLS to choose their career. Individuals attracted to a career in law enforcement could be motivated by widely divergent factors. Law enforcement attracts a wide variety of people with very different backgrounds, interests, motivations, and conceptualizations about what “law enforcement” actually entails.
B2	Depending on the FLS’s primary assignment, a traffic stop may be seen as a tool to engage with drivers/passengers rather than to enforce a traffic safety law (pretext stop). This question will help demonstrate whether the FSL emphasizes to their officer to make stops for the traffic safety purpose or use traffic safety enforcement was just a tool to initiate investigation of more serious crimes.
B3	This question is designed to provide context to whether the FSL correlates serious traffic safety violations with more serious crimes. Their motivation to enforce traffic safety laws may be impacted by their perception of this issue.
B4 – B5	Are officers more likely to enforce traffic laws when they first begin their careers? Are FLSs demotivated/ motivated over the years by perceived successes/failures in enhancing traffic safety through traffic law enforcement? This question was asked of line LEOs and will be compared with supervisors.
B6	This question will serve to assess how FSLs perceive how the budget dictates priorities, specifically traffic safety enforcement, in their agency.
B7	This question will determine if FSLs are aware of the employment of High Visibility Enforcement equipment in their agency. This will allow for the understanding of the techniques, equipment, and other strategies the agency uses for traffic safety other than directed patrol.
B8 – B9	This question will determine if FSLs are aware of the employment of checkpoints in conjunction with other agencies in their agency and how frequently they are used.
B10	This question will help identify what obstacles and barriers FLSs perceive as exiting to hamper or prevent traffic safety enforcement in their agency.
B11	This question will solicit information from FLSs regarding how often the officers they supervise attempt to use education as a means for promoting traffic safety.
C1	The purpose of this questions is to determine the extent that FLSs believe that a warning will affect future driver behavior.
C2	The purpose of this questions is to determine the extent that FLSs believe that a citation will affect future driver behavior.
C3	This question helps identify potential barriers or obstacles that FLSs believe are valid reasons for LEOs to be precluded from enforcing traffic safety laws.
C4	This question will help understand FLSs’ attitudes regarding the additional time burden that may be involved with enforcement of traffic safety laws. This is especially interesting if they feel that the courts are not consistent
C5	This question provides context to FLSs’ attitudes regarding traffic safety enforcement in relation to other proactive (non-self-initiated) activity. Do supervisors find other proactive enforcement activities more important than traffic safety enforcement? This question was asked of line officers and will be compared with supervisors.
C6 – C7	These question will help identify what FLSs perceive to be the most important issues for traffic enforcement. By separating the stopping and the citing we may be able to gain information on which types of stops are used as a pretext for further investigation and which types of stops generally result in a citation. This question was asked of line LEOs and will be compared with supervisors.
C8	This questions is designed to understand whether FLSs are aware of whether their agency has taken proactive measures to address the potential of racial profiling.
C9	This question will help identify what FLSs perceive to be the most important issues for traffic enforcement. By separating the stopping and the citing (next question), we may be able to gain information on which types of stops can be addressed with a warning rather than a citation.
D1 – D2	These questions will help determine whether FLSs are provided with different training than line LEOs for traffic safety enforcement.
D3 – D5	This question is designed to better understand what in-service training is being conducted by the agency, where it is conducted, and if training related to traffic safety enforcement is offered.
D6	This question will help determine if there an aspect of traffic safety enforcement that FLSs feel is lacking in their agency? This question was asked of line LEOs and will be compared with FLSs’ responses.
D7 – D7a	As technology continues to rapidly change the car/driver experience there will be new and emerging traffic safety issues. FLSs may be concerned that some issues are not be adequately addressed. This question was asked of line LEOs and will be compared with FLSs.
D8	This question will identify what FLSs perceive as lacking information or resources for traffic safety enforcement in their agency.
E1	This question provides context to a FLS’s perspective on how much of an emphasis their agency places on traffic law enforcement compared to their officers other duties. This question was asked of line LEOs and will be compared with FLSs’ responses.
E2	This question provides context to a FLS’s perspective on how much of an emphasis they place on traffic law enforcement. The response to this question in conjunction with the response from the previous question could identify a disconnect between the command staff and FLSs. This question was asked of line LEOs and will be compared with FLSs.
E3	This question is slightly different than the prior ones and attempts to understand the FLS’s perspectives on traffic law enforcement along with other priorities within the agency.
E4	This question seeks to understand how agency priorities are communicated through the chain of command. This question was asked of line LEOs and will be compared with FLSs.
E5	This question is designed to understand whether there is a disconnect between the command staff and FLSs in terms of priorities. This question was asked of line LEOs and will be compared with FLSs.
E6	It is important to understand how staffing shortages affect the priorities of the agency – specifically traffic enforcement. This question will provide the FLSs perspective on this issue.
E7	Collecting this information could have an impact on how officers decide to pull over drivers / issue citations. This question will provide the FLSs perspective on this issue.
F1 – F6	Collection of demographic and professional information for FLS.