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The decision to have dedicated youth officers is not an easy option for many police agencies due to financial and human resource constraints. Yet, very little research examines whether specialization impacts police discretion. Using statistical and interview data, this paper explores differences in police decision-making with apprehended youth in Canada. The data suggest that specialized agencies are more likely to use referrals to external agencies and pre-charge diversion, are less likely to charge a youth, are more likely to detain a youth once charged, and consider situational factors pertaining to the youth and that particular offense when using their discretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the organizational processes that occur in police decision-making, one needs to uncover what, when, how, why and to what extent some decisions are made over others. This paper suggests that the most appropriate research design for this research is a fully integrated mixed model - that is, this research uses not only quantitative and qualitative data but also analyses the qualitative data both statistically and through a grounded theory approach. Consequently, the description and explanation of police decision-making adopts a pragmatist approach incorporating analyses that are both quantitative - showing the factors which are associated with outcomes - and qualitative - showing the ways in which police officers' understanding of their occupational world conditions their behaviour. This paper highlights the conceptual issues involved in conducting mixed-methods research through a review of the technical and epistemological issues involved, the appropriate use of statistical methods and the presentation of an empirical example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]