Risk and Public Judgments on Police Pursuits: A Nationally Representative Conjoint Experiment

Results from two studies focusing on public risk judgment concerning the ASARCO Smelter in Tacoma, Washington are reported. The first study examines the factors affecting risk judgment among persons directly exposed to emissions from the smelter. Two public samples were studied, one composed of participants in public hearings and one generated by a telephone sampling of the general population of Tacoma. For these public groups, risk judgments and risk tolerance were closely associated with judged benefits of the hazard source, among other factors, and not with level of technical information about the hazard nor to residential distance from the smelter. The second study employed college students as subjects in a “simulated hazard” where subjects were instructed to respond “ as if they lived in an area of Tacoma affected by the smelter.” Where the primary purpose of the first study was substantive, that of the second study was methodological, exploring the use of a longitudinal panel design to study risk judgment. Data were collected from the same subjects at three points in time, a week separating the first from the second and the second from the third. Information about the hazard was made available to subjects during the breaks between sessions. In each testing period, subjects provided information on judgments of risk, on their information seeking behavior and on risk mitigation. These data were used to test and revise a structural model of the effects of information on risk judgment and risk mitigation.

Risk tolerance and pilot involvement in hazardous events and flight into adverse weather

Foreign language effect on risk preference: The framing effect, loss aversion, and risk aversion

This article examines the role of the 'critical friend' to the police by focusing upon a particular issue--police pursuits. The outward-facing role of the 'critical friend' defends this police tactic from ill-founded criticism. The inward-facing role is to alert police officers to the gross discrepancies between the way that officers justify pursuing at high speed on public roads that inevitably places the public (and their property) at risk, on the one hand, and the caution they exhibit in dealing with firearms incidents. It recommends that police worldwide should re-consider pursuit policies and adopt tactics that reduce risks. The use of static road-checks is offered as a viable alternative. Language: en

PurposePolice high‐speed pursuits present a difficult area for police managers and policy makers because of the important need to balance public safety with the mandate to enforce laws. The issue of police pursuits has been relatively under‐researched in Australia. The overall purpose of the paper is to provide a descriptive analysis of the characteristics surrounding police pursuits in Queensland, Australia.Design/methodology/approachConsiders recent events involving high speed pursuit‐related fatal accidents and research into police pursuits which has illuminated clearly the significant risks for both community and police organisations associated with pursuits. Uses data collected in Queensland over a five‐year period.FindingsThe results show that approximately 630 pursuits occur per year in Queensland across the study period, and that half of all pursuits are initiated for traffic offences while an additional quarter are initiated for stolen cars. A total of 29 per cent of pursuits involved a collision, 11 per cent resulted in some sort of injury, and 11 people were killed during the five‐year study period. In relation to an issue that appears to justify the initiation of some police pursuits – that fleeing drivers provide opportunities for police to apprehend serious offenders – examination of the charges data against the fleeing driver showed that very few apprehended drivers were charged with crimes more serious than what was known at the time the pursuit was initiated.Originality/valueThe findings in this study illuminate the importance of adopting more restrictive police pursuit policies.

The adoption of quantitative risk assessments (QRA) for land-slide management decision-making has increased over the last few decades, particularly when projects threaten sensitive built environments and heritage sites. The QRA process provides a quantitative estimate of the level of risk that can then be evaluated against adopted criteria for decision-making purposes regarding the need for prevention and mitigation. Although the QRA process provides for considerations of uncertainty in landslide hazard (occurrence probability, volumes, velocities, runout distances, etc.) and consequence (e.g. quantity and vulnerability of exposed population and infrastructure); The uncertainty associated with quantification in the QRA process is seldom understood or quantified.  This presentation shares the outcome of a research project where the uncertainties associated with the QRA process were quantified in order to gain an understanding of the reliability in landslide QRA. The results are evaluated in terms of typical ranges within common risk tolerability criteria. The knowledge gained on this project was used to develop a simplified approach to consider uncertainty in QRA for practical purposes, which is illustrated for a section of highway exposed to rock fall hazards in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. The QRA was selected to inform decision-making for the selection of rock fall protection strategies at a location where environmental concerns, tourism activities, and economic activities are of significant value for the public. This significantly increased the complexity of the decision-making process, and therefore required a robust, clear approach for balancing public socio-economic expectations and safety. In the QRA process, uncertainty was associated with hazard and consequence quantification. The work elicited the plausible ranges for the input variables for risk calculation. The expected and the range in risk were calculated for the current conditions and considering the implementation of the mitigation option. The individual risk to highway users was considered low because of the limited exposure of any particular individual. The calculated current total risk (probability of fatality) was 2.9 × 10−4 with a plausible range between 2.0 × 10−5 and 5.5 × 10−3. The residual total risk considering implementation of the slope protection was calculated between 9.0 × 10−4 and 2.9 × 10−6, with an expected value of 4.5 × 10−5.The risk levels considering implementation of the mitigation options were evaluated against criteria previously used in Canada. These were considered an adequate balance between project costs, public safety, environmental concerns, tourism, and economic activities.

In New Mexico and many other jurisdictions, judges may detain defendants pretrial if the prosecutor proves, through clear and convincing evidence, that releasing them would pose a danger to the public. However, some policymakers argue that certain classes of defendants should have a “rebuttable presumption” of dangerousness, shifting the burden of proof to the defense. Using data on over 15,000 felony defendants who were released pretrial in a 4‐year period in New Mexico, we measure how many of them would have been detained by various presumptions, and what fraction of these defendants in fact posed a danger in the sense that they were charged with a new crime during pretrial supervision. We consider presumptions based on the current charge, past convictions, past failures to appear, past violations of conditions of release, and combinations of these drawn from recent legislative proposals. We find that for all these criteria, at most 8% of the defendants they identify are charged pretrial with a new violent crime (felony or misdemeanor), and at most 5% are charged with a new violent felony. The false‐positive rate, that is, the fraction of defendants these policies would detain who are not charged with any new crime pretrial, ranges from 71% to 90%. The broadest legislative proposals, such as detaining all defendants charged with a violent felony, are little more accurate than detaining a random sample of defendants released under the current system, and would jail 20 or more people to prevent a single violent felony. We also consider detention recommendations based on risk scores from the Arnold Public Safety Assessment (PSA). Among released defendants with the highest risk score and the “violence flag,” 7% are charged with a new violent felony and 71% are false positives. We conclude that these criteria for rebuttable presumptions do not accurately target dangerous defendants: they cast wide nets and recommend detention for many pretrial defendants who do not pose a danger to the public.

Millennials and Generation Z in Batam City play a significant role in the local economic dynamics, particularly in investment activities. This study aims to analyze the influence of investment experience, financial behavior, and risk tolerance on investment decisions among Millennials and Gen Z. The study highlights the importance of financial literacy and experience in shaping rational investment behavior among young investors in urban economic settings. A quantitative approach was employed, utilizing Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS software for data analysis. Data were collected through an online survey using purposive sampling, involving 204 respondents residing in Batam who are actively investing in the stock market. The results indicate that investment experience significantly influences both investment decisions and risk tolerance. Similarly, financial behavior shows a significant effect on both variables. Furthermore, risk tolerance has a significant impact on investment decisions. These findings suggest that the higher the investment experience and the better the financial behavior, the greater the individual’s risk tolerance, which in turn affects their investment decisions.

Flight into adverse weather continues to be a significant hazard for General Aviation (GA) pilots. Weather-related crashes have a significantly higher fatality rate than other GA crashes. Previous research has identified lack of situational awareness, risk perception, and risk tolerance as possible explanations for why pilots would continue into adverse weather. However, very little is known about the nature of these encounters or the differences between pilots who avoid adverse weather and those who do not. Visitors to a web site described an experience with adverse weather and completed a range of measures of personal characteristics. The resulting data from 364 pilots were carefully screened and subject to a discriminant function analysis. Two significant functions were found. The first, accounting for 69% of the variance, reflected measures of risk awareness and pilot judgment while the second differentiated pilots in terms of their experience levels. The variables measured in this study enabled us to correctly discriminate between the three groups of pilots considerably better (53% correct classifications) than would have been possible by chance (33% correct classifications). The implications of these findings for targeting safety interventions are discussed.

The existing body of research into the environmental and socio-economic benefits of green infrastructure supports the case for it to be positioned as a form of critical infrastructure, particularly in urban settings. It is broadly recognized that extreme weather and climate change pose significant risks to critical infrastructure systems linked to the provision of services, including electricity, water, communications, and transport, and consequently risk assessments and associated adaptation strategies are common practice. However, although green infrastructure is also at risk from extreme weather and climate change, threatening the realization of benefits that it can deliver in urban settings, associated risks to green infrastructure are not widely understood or assessed in practice. This paper discusses the status of existing research on this topic and uses this as a foundation for a Greater Manchester (UK) case study that assesses the risk of low water availability to grassed areas, which represent a key element of the city-region’s green infrastructure. In doing so, the paper demonstrates how risks linked to extreme weather and climate change can be assessed spatially to inform green infrastructure planning. In summary, this paper aims to raise awareness of extreme weather and climate change risk to urban green infrastructure, present an empirical case study and associated methodological approach on this topic, and ultimately support efforts to enhance the resilience of urban green infrastructure to extreme weather and climate change.

This study examines public judgment of Indonesia’s proposed selective 12% VAT increase on luxury goods, announced by President Prabowo Subianto, through an appraisal analysis of YouTube comments. Employing a qualitative approach that integrates Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) with Appraisal Theory, the research focuses on the Judgment subsystem—specifically Social Esteem (ability, persistence, normality) and Social Sanction (honesty and ethical conduct)—to explore how netizens evaluate government policy. By analyzing these online reactions, the study reveals the moral and evaluative dimensions that shape public perceptions of fiscal decisions. Findings indicate that language in political discourse functions as a key tool for expressing social and ethical judgments. The comments reflect polarized attitudes toward the policy, demonstrating steadfastness in both support and opposition. The critiques frequently question the government’s capacity to implement effective reforms and challenge deviations from perceived social norms. Additionally, propriety judgments dominate discussions on the fairness of taxing the middle class while allegedly favoring the wealthy. This analysis highlights that public responses to political decisions are embedded in moral evaluations of truthfulness, competence, fairness, and ethical conduct. Negative judgments arise primarily from perceived mismatches between government actions and public expectations.

Nowadays, public safety is a key concern, particularly in fast urbanizing areas, urban development plans, and “smart city” projects where strong security measures have been implemented due to new security threats. The increasing trend of urbanization should be reflected in a coordinated approach to establishing efficient urban security systems. Current security systems have numerous constraints, including threat identification, on-the-spot analysis, and communication. These limitations become particularly emphasized in extremely complex urban areas with high populations and a broad range of activities. GuardianWatch, a groundbreaking AI-powered surveillance system, was developed in reaction to the above-mentioned difficulties with the primary goal of improving urban security. Real- time monitoring, detection, and alerting capabilities for a wide range of security concerns are precisely what GuardianWatch does. This includes identifying firearms, detecting physical aggressions, keeping an account of auto accidents, and identifying license plates. To achieve these goals under various urban settings and varying lighting and image quality issues, GuardianWatch employs a variety of cutting-edge artificial intelligence algorithms. This all-in-one innovative platform has tailored its algorithmic approach to the novel urban security settings with innovative artificial intelligence algorithms including YOLO v8, SK’s image models, TensorFlow, Haar cascades, and PyTorch.

This research addresses the pivotal role of societal perceptions in influencing the acceptance and effectiveness of CCTV surveillance for enhancing public safety. The study aims to answer the research question: How do public attitudes shape the efficacy of CCTV systems in promoting public safety and security? The research investigates the complex relationship between public sentiment and the practical outcomes of CCTV surveillance. It delves into the challenges and opportunities arising from varying societal attitudes towards the deployment of surveillance technologies in public spaces. A mixed-methods approach will be employed, combining quantitative surveys to gauge public perceptions and qualitative interviews to capture nuanced views. The research will collect data from diverse demographics to ensure a comprehensive understanding of how different societal groups perceive and respond to CCTV surveillance. This research contributes to the existing literature by offering a nuanced exploration of the impact of societal attitudes on the effectiveness of CCTV systems. The findings aim to inform policymakers, urban planners, and security professionals on the importance of aligning surveillance strategies with public expectations, ultimately enhancing the overall success of public safety initiatives. The mixed-methods approach provides a robust and comprehensive analysis, enriching the understanding of the intricate interplay between societal perceptions and the practical outcomes of CCTV surveillance

To Drive or Not to Drive: The 3-Month Seizure-Free Interval for People With Epilepsy

This study examines public legitimacy judgments toward airlines and aviation authorities during the most severe earthquakes in Türkiye by analyzing social media posts. The research explores public expectations and reactions during disasters using content analysis of posts tagging these organizations. The study shows that the public expects aviation organizations to go beyond their traditional air transportation services, highlighting a heightened demand for their role in corporate social responsibility. The study contributes to the legitimacy literature by demonstrating that legitimacy is divided into two judgments -perceived appropriate or inappropriate- and that this situation changes rapidly as expectations beyond traditional service are formed during disasters. By analyzing real-time data shared during the disaster, this research provides critical insights for aviation organizations to address societal needs in future crises proactively. Moreover, it highlights the essential role of transportation in ensuring public welfare and calls on scholars to further explore this critical intersection of corporate social responsibility, legitimacy, and disaster response, urging more proactive engagement with these urgent societal challenges.