PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Weisburst, Emily K.
TI  - Whose Help Is on the Way?
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.0720-11019R2
DP  - 2024 Jul 01
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 1122--1149
VI  - 59
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/59/4/1122.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/59/4/1122.full
AB  - Police discretion has large potential consequences for public trust and safety; however, little is known about the extent of this discretion. I show that arrests critically depend on which officer responds to a 911 call. One standard deviation increase in officer arrest propensity raises arrest likelihood by 40 percent. High‐arrest officers are more likely to be white and have less experience. I find mixed evidence that arrest propensity is related to arrest quality. High‐arrest officers use force more often and make more low‐level arrests, while they also have a higher share of low‐level arrests that result in conviction.