This report presents first-year results of a multi-year project designed to assess the effects of standard safety belt enforcement on police safety-belt-related harassment. Six sets of questions aimed at gaining an understanding of the effects of standard enforcement were investigated. Results of the study include: (1) the introduction of standard enforcement did not change the number of safety-belt-related harassment complaints from citizens; 2) the number of safety belt citations increased by about 9% after standard enforcement, while child restraint citations decreased slightly; 3) the citation conviction-rate increased after standard enforcement; 4) state-wide over-representation of safety belt citations was clearly present for males and those under 30 years of age, but did not change after standard enforcement; 5) state-wide citation over-representation by race was found prior to standard enforcement but not after; 6) little difference in the state-wide citation over-representation patterns was found when only citations that resulted in convictions were considered; and 7) perceptions of harassment were not common among the population of people receiving safety belt citations, but Black/African Americans in this population were more likely to report safety-belt-related harassment by race even though close to one-half received citations from Black/African American officers. The general conclusion from the study is that the implementation of standard enforcement was not followed by police safety-belt-related harassment. As further data is collected over the next two years, more solid conclusions will be drawn. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting