Patrol Officers Research Articles

Voices from La Frontera

Established in 1972, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Institute of Oral History (IOH) holds the largest collection of border-related oral histories in the United States. Containing interviews dating back to the 1960s, the collection is particularly strong with themes related to labor, immigration, the Bracero Program, and the Mexican Revolution. This article explores the history of the U.S. Border Patrol as gleaned from UTEP oral histories. El Paso and the Border Patrol have a very long and complicated history. The first officers were stationed in El Paso and the first training academy was there. Today, the presence of the Border Patrol is ubiquitous. Using the collection, we investigate what oral histories can tell us that official government documents cannot. How did Border Patrol officers feel about their work and about the people they encountered trying to enter the United States? How did the day-to-day work of Border Patrol officers change over time while the mission of the agency “to detect and prevent the illegal entry of individuals into the United States” remained the same? The article also sheds light on the response of migrants and immigration advocates to the work of the Border Patrol.

Law enforcement officer perceptions of the Good Samaritan law and their role in the opioid epidemic in the United States

PurposeGood Samaritan laws were enacted to reduce overdose deaths by lowering the barriers to reporting for victims and witnesses and allowing law enforcement officers to carry and administer Narcan to those suspected of an opioid-related overdose The purpose of this study is to understand how officers perceive the impact of opioid overdose reduction initiatives in the United States and their role in the opioid epidemic.Design/methodology/approachMixed methods were used in two phases to examine perceptions among law enforcement officers in a Massachusetts police department. First, qualitative methods were used to interview nine patrol officers during participant observations in the form of ride-alongs. Second, patrol officers and officers who volunteer with the department opioid outreach program were surveyed.FindingsOfficers generally held mixed feelings about the state’s Good Samaritan law. They saw the importance of saving the lives of those experiencing an overdose and keeping other first responders safe, but also in enforcing laws against possession of illegal drugs that presents a public safety threat, including the accidental exposure to fentanyl. Despite mixed feelings, officers still believed it to be important that they are trained and able to administer Narcan since they are often the first to arrive on scene.Originality/valueThis study adds to the research on officers’ perceptions of their role in the opioid epidemic, their ability to administer Narcan and the impact of Good Samaritan laws on their community.

Police accountability and officer misconduct: moderation effects by officers’ gender and race for body-worn cameras and an early intervention system

PurposeMuch empirical work has examined body-worn cameras (BWCs), and there is a growing interest in early intervention systems (EISs) in policing. Whether the effects of these accountability mechanisms are stable by officer gender and race remains unknown – important assumptions of each program despite differences in misconduct levels and policing practices by subgroups of officers (i.e. male vs female officers, White vs Black and Hispanic officers).Design/methodology/approachThe current study uses data from a large Southwestern police department to examine the influence of BWCs and an EIS on alleged and sustained patrol officer misconduct between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2020.FindingsIn line with expectations and the intended goal of these programs, the effects of BWCs and the EIS on officer misconduct were stable by officer gender and race.Originality/valueGiven the importance of addressing officer misconduct to build and maintain community trust and the rapid expansion of BWCs and EISs across the United States, it is vital that police departments consider the accountability programs they implement and the equity of these programs. The current study provides insight into this process in one agency and offers policy implications and directions for future research.

Testing the invariance of warrior and guardian orientations on the prioritization of procedural justice: Do officer demographics matter?

PurposeThe current study sought to better understand the factors that contribute to whether officers value procedurally just interaction techniques and contribute to the limited research examining how the effects of warrior and guardian mentalities may vary based on individual officer characteristics.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data collected from patrol officers in two geographically different and ethnically diverse United States police departments allowed for an examination of the generality of warrior and guardian orientations on perceptions of procedural justice across gender, race and/or ethnicity, military service, education, and experience.FindingsThere was a largely invariant effect of the mentalities on officer attitudes toward procedural justice, except for officers of color. In this sample, the guardian effect on prioritizing procedural justice was stronger for officers of color than for White officers.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on our theoretical understanding of the warrior/guardian framework and offers practical implications for police leaders and policymakers in their effort to improve police-community relations.

Testing the determinants of job satisfaction among police administrative officers in Taiwan

PurposeThe current paper aims to provide insights into the determinants associated with job satisfaction among police administrative (personnel) officers in Taiwan, especially both internal organizational predictors and unique external predictors related to the Chinese cultural context.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered from police administrative officers across major and medium-sized police agencies in Taiwan. Multiple regression models were employed to analyze the relationship between both internal factors to the organization (e.g. workplace fairness, supervisor support, self-efficacy) and external factors (related to traditional Chinese culture and its expectations) and job satisfaction.FindingsThe external factors of work-family life balance and financial benefits are strong predictors, emphasizing the cultural significance of family harmony and financial stability in Taiwanese society. This finding challenges the prevailing notion in the literature that the primary source of job satisfaction among police officers is derived from internal organizational factors. Collectively, the findings concluded the multi-faceted determinants of job satisfaction among administrative officers in Taiwan, intertwining both individual and internal organizational factors with broader external cultural influences.Practical implicationsThis study investigated the job satisfaction among administrative officers who play a key role in a police department. The findings showed that external factors exert a significant impact on job satisfaction. This offers a new frontier to examine job satisfaction among not only administrative officers but also patrol officers in Taiwan and Asian countries. In addition, training courses can be developed and focus on work-family relations when officers are off duty.Originality/valueWhile previous research has extensively explored job satisfaction among police officers in various roles and countries, by integrating internal organizational and external predictors, this study pioneers the focus on “police administrative officers” within Taiwanese police agencies.

REVIEW: Story of Rabaul eruptions has lessons for wider Pacific

Return to Volcano Town: Reassessing the 1937-43 volcanic eruptions at Rabaul, by R. Wally Johnson and Neville Threlfall (editors). Canberra: ANU Press, 2023. 410 pages, ISBN 9781760466039. EARLY one morning in 1953 my father and kiap David Hook set out from Popondetta to climb Mount Lamington in what was then the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. Mount Lamington had exploded in January 1951, the largest eruption on January 21 releasing a pyroclastic flow that roared down the mountain and killed an estimated 3000 people. The carriers working with my father and the patrol officer abandoned them as the approached the mountain and it was towards the end of the day that my father came home, his boots cut to ribbons by the volcanic rock, his clothes ragged and soaked in sweat and his pockets full of colour slide film.

Impact of Shiftwork on Retinal Vasculature Diameters over a 5-Year Period: A Preliminary Investigation Using the BCOPS Study Data.

Our aim was to investigate the impact of shiftwork on changes in central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE), a measure of arteriolar width, and central retinal venular equivalent (CRVE), a measure of venular width, over five years. The participants were 117 officers (72.7% men) examined at the first (2011-2014) and second (2015-2019) follow-up examinations in the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress study. Shiftwork data were obtained from the City of Buffalo, NY payroll records. Retinal diameters were measured using a standardized protocol. ANCOVA was used to compare mean change in CRAE and CRVE between the two examinations across shiftwork categories. Among men only, those who worked ≥70% hours on day shifts had a larger decrease in mean CRAE (-7.13 µm ± 2.51) compared to those who worked <70% day (-0.08 ± 0.96; p = 0.011). Among patrol officers, those who worked ≥70% day had a larger decrease in CRAE compared to those who worked <70% day (p = 0.015). Also, officers who worked ≥70% day had an increase in mean CRVE (µm) (4.56 ± 2.56) compared to those who worked <70% (-2.32 ± 1.32; p = 0.027). Over the five-year period, we observed adverse changes in arteriolar and venular diameters among officers who worked ≥70% on day shifts. The results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample sizes.

The final frontier: police culture for women in men’s spaces

PurposeThis study explores how police culture is experienced by women officers serving in positions where they are significantly underrepresented (i.e. leadership and elite specialty units) and the environmental factors that shape these experiences.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative analysis of transcripts from interviews with 71 women serving in male-dominated roles was conducted (N = 39 ranking women; N = 32 women on elite units).FindingsParticipants described five occupational, organizational and assignment-level factors that shaped their workplace experiences. While some contextual forces at play are similar for women working patrol (e.g. traditional police culture, the underrepresentation of women in law enforcement) unique position-level factors were also identified (e.g. the high-risk and consequential nature of the work).Practical implicationsWhile the cultural environment for women patrol officers has improved in the past few decades, the same cannot be said for women working in positions that are still dominated by men. More attention to this area of policing is needed to ensure gender diversity is achieved throughout organizations and not only in positions deemed suitable for women.Originality/valueThe study extends research on women in policing beyond the focus on patrol. Further, it explores the assignment- and rank-based perspectives of police culture, which are largely absent from the literature.

Unpacking Police Endorsement of Myths Surrounding Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: Formation and Implications.

Drawing on a qualitative case study consisting of interviews with Danish police trainees, patrol officers, and police detectives, this article explores police endorsement of myths surrounding male-perpetrated intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) and its influence on police response to IPVAW incidents. The findings show that police officers begin to believe in the myths to cope with negative emotions arising from repeated exposure to IPVAW victims, who do not behave according to expected norms of being cooperative, responsible, and innocent. This makes police officers meet victims with skepticism, low spirit, and hopelessness, making them refrain from initiating further criminal investigations, opening criminal cases, and pursuing arrests.

Capitalizing on patrol intelligence: practitioner receptivity to patrol-driven intelligence-led policing

ABSTRACT Intelligence-led policing (ILP) approaches seek to utilize a variety of strategies capitalizing on intelligence and analysis to reduce, address, and prevent crime or harm. Often, the application of these strategies involves a top-down approach. An exception to this is the Phoenix Police Department’s patrol-driven Intelligence Officer Program (IOP). This article examines the extent to which personnel from the department are receptive to this specific patrol-driven ILP approach. More specifically, responses from surveys of patrol officers, intelligence officers, and their supervisors are used to explore the perceived value of the program to patrol activities and the patrol function more broadly. Results suggest that stakeholders seem to be enthusiastic about the IOP. Importantly, it is demonstrated that more familiarity and engagement with programs can encourage greater receptivity to policing innovations such as patrol-driven ILP programs. Potential avenues for research are also discussed.

A gendered assessment of police officers’ views towards promotion, specialized units, and expected rank at retirement

Abstract Women are vastly underrepresented among the police officers who work in supervisory and specialized unit capacities. While prior research has identified numerous potential barriers to the advancement of women within policing, there have been few direct comparisons of how these factors might differentially impact male and female officers when it comes to the importance they place on being promoted, moving to a specialized unit, and their expected rank at retirement. To help address these limitations, the current study draws on survey data from a sample of 565 patrol officers employed at a large metropolitan agency. Using a series of multivariate analyses, factors such as officer gender, race, tenure, and job satisfaction were all found to be consistently linked with the outcome variables. The gender-specific models also uncovered that while being a parent had a marginal negative association with female officers’ views towards the importance of moving to a specialized unit, having prior military experience was positively linked with specialized unit importance among women. Further, female officers were also more likely to choose detective as their expected rank at retirement when compared to males. With these findings in mind, this study closes with a discussion of several policy implications and areas for future research to expand.

Masculinity contest cultures and organizational outcomes in police organizations

Abstract As a male-dominated occupation that has historically valued strength, risk-taking, and control, policing may be particularly susceptible to masculinity contest cultures (MCC), characterized by social norms that valorize physical ability, avoid weakness, prioritize work, and promote dominance. Through surveys of patrol officers from five Canadian police agencies (n = 238), this study explored the existence of MCCs and their relationship with organizational outcomes. The study suggested that an officer’s perception of their work within an MCC can predict job engagement (b = −0.48, P &amp;lt; .001), work meaning (b = −0.35, P &amp;lt; .001), self-reported performance (b = −0.07, P &amp;lt; .001), and turnover intention (b = 0.07, P &amp;lt; .001) when controlling for gender, supervisory status, years of police service, and university education. Additionally, university degrees were a significant positive predictor of MCC scores (b = 2.40, P &amp;lt; .01), indicating that university-educated police officers perceive their workplace cultures as more masculine. As the first study that related MCCs to university education, job engagement, and work meaning in policing, it advances our understanding and provides insights into how these cultures relate to organizational outcomes. The results also have implications for policy and police administration.

Advancing police professionalism on the front lines with experiments and experience

Abstract We juxtapose two different visions for police reform, one based on programs and scientific experiments, the other on street-level practices and experience. Our purpose is to consider a closer marriage between them. To this end, we have outlined a training model based on the police craft, and designed to help patrol officers reflect mindfully on the numerous and varied situational factors that characterize mundane but perplexing encounters with the public. This model is inspired by the Aristotelian concept of perception or discernment. Its focus is not on outcomes but on decision-making processes that lead to choosing well in the kind of complex and uncertain environment of everyday police work.

“Government by Inspection”: Australian Rule in the “Forgotten West” of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, 1960–73

Australian rule in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea (TPNG) was conducted in large part by a system of patrol officers, the “kiaps”. This article examines rule‐by‐kiap in the two remote, westernmost districts of the late‐Territory (Western and West Sepik) between 1960 and 1973, drawing upon archival sources and interviews with former officers. Australian colonial rule in these districts should be understood as “government by inspection”. The extension of infrastructures of access and the conduct of the census were dominant preoccupations of the Administration, and demonstrations of force were routine. Rule‐by‐kiap was characteristic of much of TPNG across the years of Australian rule but persisted later in these remote districts, due to their late consolidation under the control of the colonial state. Accordingly, longstanding preoccupations such as the census became linked to new imperatives, such as the conduct of elections.

The Practice of Public-Private Partnership -The Influence and Reflection of Quasi-Public Preschool Policies

&lt;p&gt;為因應少子女化，我國於2018年開始實施少子化對策計畫，並以擴展平價教保服務及減輕家長負擔為政策重點，而準公共幼兒園為當中相當重要的政策工具。該政策目標除了要讓家長免於負擔沉重托育與教育費用之壓力，並擴展平價教保服務，更有確保教保品質的意圖。不過該政策效果如何？目前成果相當有限。因此，本研究以地方政府主管科人員、巡輔員、幼兒園主管與教保服務人員為對象，運用訪談進行文本資料的蒐集與探究。研究顯示準公共幼兒園政策使整體教保服務提供的量能明顯擴增，價格平實，可充分滿足家庭需求，教保服務人員待遇有被合理保障，也對減緩師資流動稍具效果。惟此政策仍有侷限，包括部份私幼業者仍對該政策的信任不足而影響參與意願；而管控與評鑑標準略為於寬鬆，教保品質也就良莠不齊；或是經營者理念不夠正派，教保服務人員對專業成長的配合度不高，教學補助未必善用於品質提升；最後，中央推動此政策，但所需經費由地方政府部份買單，或是要求地方政府在時限內達成一定績效，都讓地方政府承受不小的壓力。&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A low national fertility rate brings various challenges to society, and many policies promoted by the Taiwan government in the past 20 years have focused on how to solve related social problems caused by declining rates. In response to the country&amp;rsquo;s low birth rate, Taiwan began to implement a plan of countermeasures for it since 2018. Among the policies focused on expanding affordable care and education services and reducing parental burdens, quasi-public preschools are one of the important policy tools. In addition to alleviating parents from the burden of heavy childcare and education costs and expanding affordable care and education services, this policy also aims to ensure the quality of care and education. However, the policy has so far achieved limited results. Therefore, this study conducted data collection and exploration by interviewing local government officials responsible for this area, auxiliary patrol officers, preschool supervisors, and care and education service personnel. The findings show that the quasi-public preschool policy could significantly expand the capacity of the overall care and education services at reasonable prices, which could fully meet the needs of families. A reasonable guarantee for the remuneration of care and education service personnel also has a slight effect on slowing down the turnover of teachers. However, this policy still has some limitations. Some private preschool practitioners still have insufficient trust in this policy. Moreover, slightly lax control and evaluation standards have led to the uneven quality of care and education. If the operators have bad faith and the care and education service personnel show low coordination willingness in their professional growth, then the teaching subsidies may not be used in quality improvement. Finally, while the central government has promoted this policy, local governments have been under great pressure to locate financial sources to pay for it in part or to achieve certain performance goals within a limited time frame.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

Experiencing Deportation as Dirty Work? The Case of Dutch Escort Officers

In addition to guarding national frontiers, some border patrol officers also escort illegal immigrants abroad. This article analyses this work from an interest in officers’ (moral) experiences and how these relate to the circumstances in which they work, such as occupational culture, policy and procedures. Therefore, the notions of dirty work and moral injury are used as conceptual frameworks, and 14 Dutch escort officers were interviewed about their experiences. This article adds to dirty work analyses by developing an understanding of how workers’ experiences relate to both formal and moral legitimacies and a possible tension between the two. In addition, it extends the literature on moral injury by describing context-dependent forms of impact that escape clinical diagnoses. Theoretically, this article shows that the occupational resources that are elsewhere seen as tools for navigating ‘necessary evils’ can in fact hide the impact of this kind of work.

Results from an effectiveness evaluation of anti-bias training on police behavior and public perceptions of discrimination

PurposeThe authors evaluated the impact of an anti-bias training intervention for improving police behavior during interactions with community members and public perceptions of discrimination.Design/methodology/approachFifty patrol officers from a diverse municipal agency were randomly selected to participate in an anti-bias intervention. Before and after the intervention, a random selection of Body Worn Camera (BWC) videos from the intervention group as well as from a control group of officers was coded using a validated tool for coding police “performance” during interactions with the public. Discrimination-based community member complaints were also collected before and after the intervention for treatment and control group officers.FindingsThe treatment group had a small but significant increase in performance scores compared to control group officers, F = 4.736, p = 0.009, R2ß < 0.01. They also had a small but significantly reduced number of discrimination-based complaints compared to control group officers, F = 3.042, p = 0.049, p2 = 0.015. These results suggest that anti-bias training could have an impact on officer behaviors during interactions with public and perceptions of discrimination.Originality/valueAlthough these results are from a single municipal police department, this is the first study to suggest that anti-bias trainings may have a positive behavioral impact on police officers as well as the first to illustrate the potential for their impact on community members' perceptions of biased treatment by officers.

Обучение сотрудников патрульно-постовой службы полиции преодолению речевых провокаций со стороны граждан

Abstract: Introduction. The article describes one of the typical difficult professional situations associated with checking documents from a citizen. The growing negative psychological impact on the personnel of the internal affairs bodies and the law enforcement system is emphasized. As an example of reflecting such an impact, the results of approbation of the author’s Methodology for creating templates for&#x0D; overcoming verbal provocations from citizens are given.&#x0D; Research methods – theoretical analysis of scientific literature and regulatory legal acts; questionnaire survey, content and frequency analyses, expert assessments, self-assessment.&#x0D; Results. The article presents the results of a formative experiment on the ex-ample of the professional activities of police patrol officers. It is shown that the developed methodology for creating templates to overcome speech provocations by citizens: a) allows you to reflect the negative psychological impact exerted by citizens; b) can be attributed to express training methods for police patrol officers; c) increases the state of psychological security and professional success in difficult service situations. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the introduction of the topic of psychological security of police patrol officers in professional situations containing speech provocations of citizens into the circle of scientific problems; and in the theoretical justification of the organizational and methodological solution to this problem. The practical significance of the study lies in the description and implementation of the method of express training for employees of internal affairs bodies on protection from negative psychological impact by developing a Method for creating templates to overcome speech provocations from citizens.

Due Process in a Search of Electronic System by Patrol Officer

The criminal justice system has stipulated the legal framework for a fair and justifiable search. A search is justifiable when there is a subpoena, or strong suspicion of crime by the police. However, the coercion and arbitrary act of a law enforcement officer are still in practice, for instance like the case portrayed in East Jakarta. Although the case did not represent entirely the behaviour of all of the law enforcement, the standard of fair search must be enforced. This article discusses the legal procedures of a justifiable search of electronic systems suspected to be a tool of a crime and determines whether this search would violate a right to privacy. It provides academic discussion and evaluation of criminal law procedure in practice. The main discussion is conducted using doctrinal research, scrutinizing the provisions within Electronic Information and Transaction Law (EITL), Criminal Law Procedure Law (CLPL), and Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) to determine the parameters of justifiable search of an electronic system conforming to the due process of law. The research finds that not every patrol officer has the justified measures to do a search on an alleged person, unless there is enough probable cause to do so as stipulated in the CLPL. The searches of a civilian cell phone which is not in accordance with CLPL, EITL, and PDPL should be considered as illegal and the officer who conducts them should be held accountable for it.

Beyond the scene: The importance of time consumed on incident report task components in workload-based patrol allocation and deployment assessments

Based on the conclusions of a workload-based assessment of patrol staffing needs conducted at a Canadian police force between 2012 and 2016, this article highlights the importance of capturing time spent on components of calls for service (CFS) that result in an incident report for police allocation and deployment analyses. Initial Computer-Aided Dispatch System (CAD) data analysis suggested that CFS that results in an incident report have a significantly higher completion time than other types of calls. In order to account for CFS handling phases that were not captured by CAD data, a survey was conducted to measure the time spent on the scene, the time spent by backup units on the call, the time spent with the person arrested or taken in charge and time spent on subsequent administrative duties. Research findings suggest that CFS that require the completion of an incident report generate most of the reactive workload of patrol officers, even if they frequently constitute a minority of calls. Results also reveal that the use of supplemental data to assess the workload generated by incidents reports may allow the use of a workload-based approach in police agencies that record less than 15 000 citizen-initiated calls for service per year.