%0 Journal Article
%T Receiving an on the spot penalty: A tale of morality, common sense and law
%A Adam Snow
%J Criminology & Criminal Justice
%@ 1748-8966
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1748895817738556
%X This article examines citizens¡¯ reactions to being issued with an on the spot penalty and the consequences this has for holding a law-abiding identity. Using mundane examples of statutory requirements regulating everyday life (motoring), it is found that people use common-sense purposive reasoning in their interpretation of law which does not match the actual black-letter law application of the specific statutes. The lack of congruence between the purposive understandings of legal requirements and the black-letter application of enforcement agencies allows citizens to maintain a moral position that is aligned with the aims of the law but not its actual requirements. This process reaffirms a belief in law-abidance even where the citizen has been found to break the law
%K Common sense
%K law-abidance
%K motoring
%K on the spot penalties
%K parking
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1748895817738556