ABSTRACT
Research data consist primarily of notes and records based on nine months' observation of all juvenile officers in one police department. The officers were observed in the course of their regular tours of duty. In the field, juvenile officers operated essentially as patrol officers. Confrontations between the officers and juveniles occurred in one of the following three ways. It includes encounters resulting from officers' spotting officially "wanted" youths; encounters taking place at or near the scene of offenses reported to police headquarters; and encounters occurring as the result of officers' directly observing youths either committing offenses or in "suspicious circumstances." The cues used by police to assess demeanor were fairly simple. Juveniles who were contrite about their infractions, respectful to officers, and fearful of the sanctions that might be employed against them tended to be viewed by patrolmen as basically law-abiding or at least "salvageable.".
