The missing piece in deterring phone use while driving: Police perspectives after legislative and penalty changes

• Police perceptions of deterrence associated with the phone offence were explored. • The deterrent effect after legislation and penalty changes was also explored. • Factors that strengthen and weaken deterrence were identified. • Higher penalty can result in more concealed phone use. • Legislation that does not differentiate phone behaviours is advantageous. Objective: Engagement in illegal phone use while driving continues to increase. To obtain a more in depth understanding of the deterrent impact of the current legal countermeasures for this behavior, this study conducted a qualitative investigation from those on the frontline of enforcement: police officers. Method: A total of 26 police officers from Queensland, Australia, completed interviews on how they view the deterrent impact of the current phone use while driving legislation, penalties, and their enforcement, using classical deterrence theory as a framework. Police officers were interviewed during and after changes to the phone use while driving legislation and penalty in their jurisdiction. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the data and themes were created based on the constructs within classical deterrence theory: certainty of apprehension, severity of punishment, and swiftness of punishment. Results: The findings demonstrate the factors that contribute to both strengthening and weakening the legal deterrent effect for phone use while driving from a police perspective and have important theoretical and practical implications. For example, it is suggested that phone use while driving legislation that does not differentiate the types of phone behavior can make enforcement of this offense easier, yet a higher penalty may result in drivers concealing their phones more.