Nobody's agent: discretion as individualistic accountability

Abstract

As law enforcers working in teams, one would expect Dutch investigative officers working in public transport to practise various kinds of accountability, while encountering possibly conflicting demands. Using semi-structured interviews, this study analyses their own understandings of discretion and how they use discretion in accountability relationships with their superiors, peers and clients. The findings from this case study suggest that their perception of discretion is highly individualistic, seen as 'their own power' which should be protected from direct outer interference. Operating in an organizational vacuum where inspectors are barely constrained nor enabled by their supervisors and peers, inspectors mainly refer to their own moral compass in distinguishing acceptable from non-acceptable rule violations. Our conclusion is that further research, especially of a comparative nature, could place the self-referential character of practising accountability observed in this case, in its context.