COMPLIANCE ON DEMAND - THE PUBLICS RESPONSE TO SPECIFIC POLICE REQUESTS

Police often attempt to restore order and prevent illegal activity by calling on citizens to alter their behavior. Achieving compliance in t hese circumstances is an important test of officers' skills and an ess ential element of effective governance. This article assesses citizen compliance with specific police requests for orderly, legal behavior i n 346 encounters observed in Richmond, Virginia. Citizens were complia nt in 78% of the encounters. The effects on compliance of several pote ntial influences are estimated in a logistic regression model: instrum ental factors concerning the calculation of outcomes for the citizens, factors about the legitimacy of the police intervention, personal cha racteristics reflecting the citizens' social status and predisposition to compliance, and the officers' skill and work orientation. Signific ant effects are found in each category of variables, but the results a re in some cases contrary to expectations. Legitimating factors, citiz ens' social status, and police skill and work orientation show particu larly strong effects. Implications of these findings for future resear ch are discussed.