The public safety exception to Miranda attempts to balance an individual’s Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination with police officer and community safety. Under the public safety exception, if officers possess a reasonable belief that their safety or the public’s safety is in imminent danger, they may forego reading the Miranda warnings to a suspect in custody whom they wish to interrogate. The purpose of this empirical, survey study is to examine police officer perception and knowledge of the public safety exception. To this end, a questionnaire was distributed to officers in a large, populated county in the Southeastern United States. The survey’s outcomes shed light on the three hypotheses: (1) whether police officers with higher education are more likely to perceive it to be easier to apply the public safety exception to Miranda; (2) whether police officers with more training are more likely to have greater knowledge of the public safety exception to Miranda; and finally (3) whether police officers with a higher rank are more likely to have greater knowledge of the public safety exception to Miranda. This study both fills a gap in the existing literature and discusses policy implications for law enforcement practices in general and the public safety exception in particular.
","abstract_html":"<p>The public safety exception to <em>Miranda</em> attempts to balance an individual’s Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination with police officer and community safety. Under the public safety exception, if officers possess a reasonable belief that their safety or the public’s safety is in imminent danger, they may forego reading the <em>Miranda</em> warnings to a suspect in custody whom they wish to interrogate. The purpose of this empirical, survey study is to examine police officer perception and knowledge of the public safety exception. To this end, a questionnaire was distributed to officers in a large, populated county in the Southeastern United States. The survey’s outcomes shed light on the three hypotheses: (1) whether police officers with higher education are more likely to perceive it to be easier to apply the public safety exception to <em>Miranda</em>; (2) whether police officers with more training are more likely to have greater knowledge of the public safety exception to <em>Miranda</em>; and finally (3) whether police officers with a higher rank are more likely to have greater knowledge of the public safety exception to <em>Miranda</em>. This study both fills a gap in the existing literature and discusses policy implications for law enforcement practices in general and the public safety exception in particular.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Goldstein, Alexandria"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Sociology and Criminal Justice","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Christopher Totten","Dr. Gang Lee","Dr. Richard Stringer"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-10-30T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-10-30T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:42Z","subjects":["Police Officers","Miranda","Public Safety Exception","Knowledge","Perception","Legal Studies","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mscj_etd/10","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Christopher Totten","Dr. Gang Lee","Dr. Richard Stringer"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Goldstein, Alexandria"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-11-29T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology and Criminal Justice"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Police Officers","Miranda","Public Safety Exception","Knowledge","Perception","Legal Studies","Social and Behavioral Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mscj_etd/10"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The public safety exception to Miranda attempts to balance an individual’s Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination with police officer and community safety. Under the public safety exception, if officers possess a reasonable belief that their safety or the public’s safety is in imminent danger, they may forego reading the Miranda warnings to a suspect in custody whom they wish to interrogate. The purpose of this empirical, survey study is to examine police officer perception and knowledge of the public safety exception. To this end, a questionnaire was distributed to officers in a large, populated county in the Southeastern United States. The survey’s outcomes shed light on the three hypotheses: (1) whether police officers with higher education are more likely to perceive it to be easier to apply the public safety exception to Miranda; (2) whether police officers with more training are more likely to have greater knowledge of the public safety exception to Miranda; and finally (3) whether police officers with a higher rank are more likely to have greater knowledge of the public safety exception to Miranda. This study both fills a gap in the existing literature and discusses policy implications for law enforcement practices in general and the public safety exception in particular.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Police Officers’ Knowledge and Perception Regarding Miranda and the Public Safety Exception"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Christopher Totten","Dr. Gang Lee","Dr. Richard Stringer"],"dc:creator":["Goldstein, Alexandria"],"dc:date.available":["2025-11-29T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The public safety exception to Miranda attempts to balance an individual’s Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination with police officer and community safety. Under the public safety exception, if officers possess a reasonable belief that their safety or the public’s safety is in imminent danger, they may forego reading the Miranda warnings to a suspect in custody whom they wish to interrogate. The purpose of this empirical, survey study is to examine police officer perception and knowledge of the public safety exception. To this end, a questionnaire was distributed to officers in a large, populated county in the Southeastern United States. The survey’s outcomes shed light on the three hypotheses: (1) whether police officers with higher education are more likely to perceive it to be easier to apply the public safety exception to Miranda; (2) whether police officers with more training are more likely to have greater knowledge of the public safety exception to Miranda; and finally (3) whether police officers with a higher rank are more likely to have greater knowledge of the public safety exception to Miranda. This study both fills a gap in the existing literature and discusses policy implications for law enforcement practices in general and the public safety exception in particular.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mscj_etd/10"],"dc:subject":["Police Officers","Miranda","Public Safety Exception","Knowledge","Perception","Legal Studies","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"dc:title":["Police Officers’ Knowledge and Perception Regarding Miranda and the Public Safety Exception"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology and Criminal Justice"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:42Z"}