NCJ Number
188450
Journal
American Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 25 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall 2000 Pages: 65-76
Date Published
2000
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A survey mailed to Virginia police chiefs prior to the United States Supreme Court’s 2000 decision in Dickerson v. United States sought to determine their attitudes toward Miranda warnings, with emphasis on how the Court should decide Dickerson, how it would decide Dickerson, and how the chiefs would reword the Miranda warnings.
Abstract
The survey instrument consisted of fixed-choice questions and three open-ended questions. The surveys were sent to 182 police chiefs and 97 responses, were received for a response rate of 55 percent. Results revealed that 40 police chiefs recommended keeping Miranda the same; 30 of these conformists provided reasons for their beliefs. However, a significant proportion of the police chiefs were innovators who advocated changes or abolition of the Miranda warnings. Eight-one percent of the participants provided reasons why they believed Miranda should or should not be changed. Overall, the vast majority of police chiefs would not change the warnings at all or would only narrow the warnings. Findings indicated that police chiefs were not adamantly opposed to Miranda and suggested the need for improved in-service training of police officers and opening of the communication lines between the law enforcement and judicial sectors. Case citation and 25 references (Author abstract modified)