Police Agencies Research Articles

Community Policing: The Successful Implementation of Organizational Change

The goal of community policing is to improve interaction and collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and the people and neighborhoods they serve. Its primary objectives are to reduce and prevent crime and increase residents' sense of security. Community policing starts from the top of the management and flows down to the very lowest level of the police department. Thus, police managers play an important role in the change process. The goal of this study is to analyze the successful implementation of organizational change in police agencies. This article first lays out the definition of community policing, its key components, advantages, and its differences from traditional policing. Then it discusses the process of change, the sources, and strategies of resistance to change. In the conclusion section, this study makes recommendations for a successful implementation of the organizational change process.

Optimal policing with (and without) criminal search

AbstractWe develop a search-theoretic model, in which a police agency allocates scarce resources across neighborhoods—heterogeneous in “vigilance” and valuables—to minimize crime, while potential criminals decide whether, and if so, when and where to commit a crime. When criminals sequentially search for the best target, the optimal police allocation depends on the difference in vigilance levels across neighborhoods, prioritizing neighborhoods with low vigilance. However, in the absence of criminal search, the optimal allocation depends on the degree of rent inequality among neighborhoods, with a priority placed on neighborhoods with higher rents. We also identify conditions under which policing all neighborhoods equally is optimal. Our findings underscore that an optimal policing design must not only consider neighborhood characteristics but also other factors that may impact criminals’ decision-making, including whether they engage in active search.

Does the public want the police to stop, stopping? An experimental look at the impact of outcome data on public perceptions of police discretionary traffic stops

Abstract Objectives To assess whether data on traffic stop outcomes causally impacts public approval of discretionary traffic stops as a crime control strategy. Methods We distributed an original online survey experiment randomly assigning respondents (N = 4740) into either the (1) contraband condition, (2) disparity condition, or (3) the control condition. Results In comparison to the control condition, the contraband condition significantly increased respondent support of discretionary traffic stops as a crime-fighting tool. Black respondents assigned the contraband treatment were significantly more likely to support the use of discretionary traffic stops compared to Black respondents assigned the control condition. Conclusions Although scrutiny exists regarding the efficacy of discretionary traffic stops, public opinion may be shifted if they are provided with information on the outcomes of such stops. Police agencies should consider coupling evidence-based strategies with data on the outcomes of crime control strategies, which may also address community desire for more transparency. Minority civilians may support crime control strategies if presented with data on such strategies’ effectiveness.

Faktor Penyebab dan Upaya Penanggulangan Penggunaan Bahan Peledak dalam Pencurian Ikan di Perairan Laut Sawu, Kabupaten Kupang

This study aims to determine and explain the factors causing the use of explosives in fish theft in the waters of the Sawu Sea, Kupang Regency and also to determine and explain the countermeasures against the use of explosives in fish theft in the waters of the Sawu Sea, Kupang Regency. This research is a qualitative study with empirical or sociological legal research methods and the object of research is causal factors and countermeasures. Data collection using interview techniques and literature study. The data analysis technique used is qualitative descriptive technique. The results of this study show that there are six factors causing the use of explosives in fish theft in the waters of the Sawu Sea, Kupang Regency, namely: (1) weak legal awareness factor, (2) motive factor, (3) weak economic factor, (4) weak law enforcement factor, (5) weak supervision factor, and (6) difficult to detect crime scene factor. Countermeasures carried out by the police and government agencies are premitive efforts, namely initial efforts made by competent government parties to provide appeals to avoid criminal acts. Preventive efforts are efforts made to provide prevention of community action both social problems and crime so as not to reach the threshold of disturbance and become a real disturbance. Repressive efforts are efforts made by competent parties when there has been a criminal offense or crime whose actions are in the form of law enforcement by imposing penalties.

Judicial Review of the Authority to Investigate Financial Crimes after the Constitutional Court Decision Number 59/PUU-XXI/2023: Comparison of Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Germany

Financial crime refers to all illegal actions carried out by individuals or groups with the aim of obtaining financial gain. In facing this challenge, it is important for policy makers and legal practitioners to continue to carry out in-depth reviews of the authority to investigate financial crime. This research aims to examine the authority in investigating financial crime after the Constitutional Court Decision Number 59/PUU-XXI/2023 through a comparison between Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Germany. The method used in this research uses a conceptual approach and a comparative approach with normative research types. The research results show that the authority to investigate financial crime after the Constitutional Court decision Number 59/PUU-XXI/2023 has experienced significant changes in Indonesia. In Indonesia, the Constitutional Court decision Number 59/PUU-XXI/2023 regulates that investigators must be under the control and supervision of the National Police. This decision confirms the position of the National Police as an institution that has the authority to supervise and control the financial crime investigation process. This is expected to increase effectiveness and efficiency in law enforcement in the financial sector, as well as ensuring that the investigation process is carried out in a transparent and accountable manner. In comparison, in Australia, financial crime investigative powers are managed by several agencies, including the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Japan has a Financial Services Agency (FSA) and a National Police Agency (NPA) which coordinate the investigation of financial crimes. Meanwhile, in Germany, the authority to investigate financial crimes falls under the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) and financial supervisory institutions such as BaFin. This comparison shows that each country has a different approach in regulating the authority to investigate financial crime. In Indonesia, the confirmation of control and supervision by the National Police is expected to increase cooperation between law enforcement agencies and strengthen efforts to eradicate financial crime.

Cyber Crime Countermeasures Policies Carried Out Within the Scope of Illegal Online Loans

Fintech Lending or online loans provide convenience for everyone who will borrow funds only with internet media or applications. However, with this convenience, illegal online loans have emerged which cause cyber crime in the scope of illegal online loans such as intimidation collection, extortion, fraud and even death threats and sexual harassment. This study analyzes both repressive and preventive countermeasures policies in tackling cyber crime in illegal online lending. This research uses juridical normative methods with primary materials of laws and regulations. Repressive efforts in law enforcement in cyber crimes in online loans carried out by the National Police, Prosecutors, Judges, and community agencies are influenced by legal factors, law enforcement factors, facilities or facilities factors. Preventive efforts in tackling these crimes by direct education to the community through socialization, seminars, discussions and dialogues.

Finding the path of least resistance: An examination of officer communication tactics and their impact on suspect compliance

AbstractResearch SummaryThis study investigated the impact of patrol officer communication tactics on suspect compliance by using Systematic Social Observation (SSO) to code 438 body‐worn camera and dashcam video recordings from two police agencies. Specifically, we examined officer tenor/demeanor, use of noncoercive directives, use of verbal coercion, and accusations, while controlling for a host of suspect and situational factors. Results showed that when officers presented a positive tenor/demeanor or employed noncoercive verbal tactics, suspects were significantly more likely to comply. Conversely, use of coercive verbal tactics and accusatory language did not have a significant impact on suspect compliance. In addition, negative suspect demeanor, suspect impairment, and suspect elevated emotional state negatively affected compliance.Policy ImplicationsRecent calls for police reform have focused on producing less coercive outcomes by explicitly recognizing the role that officers have in managing encounters rather than simply reacting to suspect behaviors. An increased focus on officer communication strategies in both police training and practice is likely to promote suspect compliance while reducing the need for officer use of force. Similarly, it is likely that more coercive verbal strategies have little impact on suspect compliance and may lead to negative perceptions of police interactions and law enforcement in general.

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.

The effect of formal de‐policing on police traffic stop behavior and crime: Early evidence from LAPD's policy to restrict discretionary traffic stops

AbstractResearch SummaryOn March 1, 2022, correspondence from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) headquarters stated that officers can no longer use minor infractions (e.g., equipment violations) as a pretextual reason to further investigate drivers for criminal behavior. If LAPD officers are to execute a discretionary stop, they must activate their body‐worn cameras and reasonably articulate to the civilian why they are being investigated. The intent is to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in stops and build trust of the police within the community. Critics of the policy argue that elevated crime rates will result due to the crime suppression effect of such stops. This study examines racial differences in stops before and after the policy change, as well as whether Part 1 violent and property crimes increased. Descriptive findings show that while the counts of stops, arrests, and contraband seizures during stops decreased, the percentage of non‐White civilians stopped decreased only minimally following the intervention. Results from using Bayesian synthetic control methods indicate an increase in both violent and property crimes post‐intervention compared with the synthetic counterfactual. The increase in violent crimes has a low probability of being different from the counterfactual, whereas the increase in property crimes has a high probability, suggesting that the intervention led to a real change in property crimes compared with what would have been expected under the counterfactual.Policy ImplicationsThis study provides preliminary evidence that emerging policies intended to restrict discretionary stops may not have the intended effect on racial disparities in police traffic stops. Instead, agencies passing similar policies may expect to see the potential unintended consequence of a spike in jurisdictional property crimes. We argue that such types of stops across a jurisdiction may have a general deterrent effect on more common and calculative crimes such as property crimes. To combat violent crimes, agencies should consider focusing discretionary stops in known hot spots. Further, our findings offer implications for research on the effects of de‐policing on crime. Police agencies should monitor potential unintended impacts of these policies if enacted and be prepared to deal with such consequences.

Joining forces: Combining police and external expertise for cold case reviews

Cold case reviews within police and law enforcement agencies are challenging, not the least owing to the amount of time required to carefully review documentation, forensic exhibit holdings and various other casefile information. Most federal and state agencies are time poor, meaning there are very few dedicated cold case teams fortunate enough to have an abundance of police and expert staff resources. Universities and education organisations, however, have large troves of various expertise, alongside expansive human resources, by way of their academic and student body. In certain circumstances, the academic expertise and course offerings of a university may be well suited to assisting law enforcement in reviewing cold cases.There is growing desire for university courses to generate job ready graduates. In the field of law enforcement and policing this is difficult, as safety and the security of sensitive material and evidence is paramount. Educators strive to create workplace simulations, and with the correct mix of academic expertise, course offerings and industry linkages, the emerging opportunity for real cold case collaboration is possible. One such example is the Cold Case Review @ Murdoch (CCR) initiative. Since 2020, CCR has worked with the Lower Saxony Police Academy in Germany to develop the novel International Cold Case Analysis Project (ICCAP), now incorporating over 25 member institutions, to assist in solving real cases from both Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) and federal police jurisdictions. One case, known as “The North Sea Man” has shown great success and demonstrates the power of joining forces between law enforcement and external agencies to help advance cold cases.

Speaking of reform: Experimental insights into influencing police executives' perspectives on civilian oversight

AbstractResearch summaryThis study investigates how information about public opinion and peer practices influences police executives' views on civilian review boards. We applied structural topic modeling in an experimental paradigm, a novel approach diverging from traditional experimental survey methods, to the open‐ended responses of 1331 police executives collected in an original survey experiment. This technique enables the capture of subtle shifts in belief directly from the executives' own words. The experiment systematically varied the information provided to police executives, including state‐level public opinion data from a representative sample of 16,840 U.S. residents, and peer practices in major city police agencies. Our findings reveal that police executives, although generally aligned in their views, demonstrate a readiness to update their beliefs when presented with cohesive local public opinion and information about peer practices in policing.Policy implicationsIn a democratic society, the core policy beliefs of police executives critically shape the existence and efficacy of civilian oversight mechanisms. Our findings demonstrate the adaptability of police executives in updating their policy positions, reflecting their commitment to informed decision making in response to the dynamic nature of police governance. We find that police executives are willing to update their beliefs related to the public's ability to oversee policing in an unbiased and qualified manner when presented with information about reforms adopted by peer agencies. In contrast, information about public demand for more aggressive forms of oversight can lead to a backlash, increasing the likelihood of police executives to favor existing oversight mechanisms and to doubt the public's qualification. For executives, reformers, and scholars, these findings highlight the limitations of public opinion and benefits of peer influence as mechanisms for policy learning in policing.

Safety of Vascular Neck Restraint Applied by Law Enforcement Officers

One use of force option available to officers in some police agencies is the vascular neck restraint (VNR). Using this technique, pressure is applied to the sides of the neck. If properly executed, VNR can result in either voluntary compliance or temporary unconsciousness. Based on a review of records from three police agencies, VNR performed by trained police officers was found to be both safe and effective. The data revealed no fatalities or significant injuries. The real-world effectiveness of the VNR technique was estimated to be 92.6%. Calls to ban neck manipulation techniques by police officers due to safety concerns may be unnecessary. Banning a safe and effective use of force option may be counterproductive, by forcing officers to utilize other options with higher risks of injury.

Challenges Faced by Women Officers as They Pursue Promotions

Written survey responses from 226 women police officers from the U.S. were analyzed to identify challenges women face in the police promotions process. Participants identified six challenges. The top responses were: (1) gender bias among the decision makers, (2) cronyism (i.e., the promotion of friends or associates), and (3) doubt in women’s policing abilities. Police agencies looking to diversify their upper ranks must simultaneously pursue an objective promotions process and reflect on how male-dominated organizational cultures can spill into promotions decisions to disadvantage women.

Police Recruitment Videos and their Relevance for Attracting Officers

Police recruitment videos are a widely used and highly salient form of police marketing. These videos can attract prospective applicants, communicate information about a policing career with a given agency, and help prospective applicants to assess their potential fit with that agency. Police agencies tend to highlight the more thrilling and high-risk elements of policing in their recruitment videos rather than the more community-oriented and low-risk elements of policing. The content of recruitment videos could impact who decides to pursue policing careers, the behaviour of officers once hired, as well as officer satisfaction and retention. Police leaders should pay careful attention to the content of their recruitment videos.

Bayesian Network를 이용한 수상 레저사고 위험 요인 분석

Since 2016, the incidence of marine leisure accidents has doubled approximately. In response to the growing societal call for accident prevention, the Central Marine Safety Tribunal and the Maritime Police Agency have been systematically managing safety accidents by publishing marine safety tribunal decisions, annual reports, and statistical data. In this study, based on these tribunal decisions, Bayesian Network analysis and accident fault ratios were utilized to analyze the risk factors contributing to accidents. The analysis revealed that in accidents involving collisions, negligence of boundaries (0.444) showed the highest priority, while accidents involving capsizing identified non-compliance with safe speed (0.384) and absence of distress signal equipment (0.384) as high priorities. In accidents leading to sinking, negligence of boundaries (0.8) was highlighted. For future, more detailed accident prevention plans in marine leisure activities, there is a need for legal and institutional research to improve marine accident tribunal decisions and restore data reliability

지방자치와 자치경찰 실태 검토

At the present time, when the autonomous police system is being implemented, it is necessary to review the meaning of the autonomous police system and whether it is in line with the purpose of the local autonomy system through its actual situation. The purpose of the autonomous police system is to establish regional security through a police system that matches the local circumstances. The autonomous police system must be institutionalized to meet the needs of regional security and suit the characteristics of each region. However, it is questionable whether the autonomous police system currently in effect is structured and operated to suit the characteristics of the region. The constitutional purpose of local autonomy is to implement self-governance to improve the welfare of residents. When approaching local autonomy from the perspective of promoting the welfare of residents, it is necessary to reexamine the extent to which the autonomous police system is contributing to improving the welfare of residents. The autonomous police system must be organized and operated to reflect the opinions of residents. However, the current police law has limitations in that it does not provide an opportunity for the autonomous police committee, which is an autonomous police agency, to reflect the opinions of residents. According to the current law, the Autonomous Police Committee directs and supervises the city/provincial police chiefs regarding autonomous police affairs. However, it cannot be said that these autonomous police committees have a status that allows them to actually perform their functions in command and supervision of city/provincial police chiefs. The Autonomous Police Committee is granted the status of a consensus-based administrative agency for autonomous police affairs, but exercises command and supervision rights through deliberation and voting rights only on simple administrative affairs, not direct autonomous police affairs. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the current state of the law and presented improvement measures to meet the purpose of local autonomy, which is to promote the welfare of residents in order to achieve institutional guarantee of local autonomy. However, the limitations of this study are that the analysis of the actual situation was conducted through a literature review, and it was limited to the actual state of the legislation and the actual state of the system.

Impact of Ethical Dilemmas on Decision Making in Ambiguous Situations among Police Employees

This research explored the relationship between ethical dilemmas and decision-making in ambiguous situations among n=200 police officers in Punjab, Pakistan, employing a mixed-methods approach that integrated quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. Guided by ethical decision-making and psychological theories, the study examined how organizational support and years of experience influence officers' ability to navigate ethical challenges. The findings reveal that while higher organizational support was slightly linked to improved ethical decision-making, this relationship was not statistically significant. Conversely, more excellent experience was associated with enhanced decision-making capabilities, though no strong correlation was found between the frequency of ethical dilemmas and decision-making effectiveness. Psychological factors, including stress, cognitive biases, and emotional responses, significantly impact decision-making processes, supporting the hypothesis that these elements are critical in shaping how officers handle ambiguous situations. This study is crucial as it provides a nuanced understanding of how organizational and psychological factors contribute to ethical decision-making in law enforcement. It highlights the need for enhanced organizational support systems, continuous professional development, and targeted psychological interventions, such as stress management and cognitive bias training, to equip officers for ethical decision-making better. By addressing the gaps identified and proposing directions for future research, this study offers valuable insights into improving ethical practices within police agencies, ultimately contributing to more effective and moral law enforcement.

Guardian versus warrior cops: predicting officers’ support for procedural justice and coercive policing

ABSTRACT In response to incidents of police brutality perpetrated against ethnic/racial minorities, there have been calls worldwide for reform in the way policing is done in minority communities. As part of this reform process, police agencies have been encouraged to examine the policing styles (or orientations) that different officers adopt when carrying out their duties. Prior research finds that ‘warrior’ and ‘guardian’ policing orientations are associated with officers’ support for either coercive or procedural justice policing, respectively. Warrior-oriented officers tend to support using coercive policing more than guardian-oriented officers, while guardian-oriented officers tend to support using procedural justice policing more than warrior-oriented officers. What remains understudied is why this is so. Drawing on survey data of 306 Australian police officers working in ethnically diverse and disadvantaged communities, this study tests whether officers’ cynicism toward the public and their confidence in their own legitimacy (i.e. self-legitimacy) might explain the tendency of warrior-oriented and guardian-oriented officers to support either coercive or procedural justice policing, respectively. Our findings confirm that the two policing orientations are conceptually distinct, and that warrior-oriented officers are more likely to support coercive policing, while guardian-oriented officers are more likely to support procedural justice policing. Importantly, we find that officers’ cynicism and self-legitimacy partially mediate some of these relationships. The implications of these findings for both policing scholarship and practice are discussed.

Camera-Based Crime Behavior Detection and Classification

Increasing numbers of public and private locations now have surveillance cameras installed to make those areas more secure. Even though many organizations still hire someone to monitor the cameras, the person hired is more likely to miss some unexpected events in the video feeds because of human error. Several researchers have worked on surveillance data and have presented a number of approaches for automatically detecting aberrant events. To keep track of all the video data that accumulate, a supervisor is often required. To analyze the video data automatically, we recommend using neural networks to identify the crimes happening in the real world. Through our approach, it will be easier for police agencies to discover and assess criminal activity more quickly using our method, which will reduce the burden on their staff. In this paper, we aim to provide anomaly detection using surveillance videos as input specifically for the crimes of arson, burglary, stealing, and vandalism. It will provide an efficient and adaptable crime-detection system if integrated across the smart city infrastructure. In our project, we trained multiple accurate deep learning models for object detection and crime classification for arson, burglary and vandalism. For arson, the videos were trained using YOLOv5. Similarly for burglary and vandalism, we trained using YOLOv7 and YOLOv6, respectively. When the models were compared, YOLOv7 performed better with the highest mAP of 87. In this, we could not compare the model’s performance based on crime type because all the datasets for each crime type varied. So, for arson YOLOv5 performed well with 80% mAP and for vandalism, YOLOv6 performed well with 86% mAP. This paper designed an automatic identification of crime types based on camera or surveillance video in the absence of a monitoring person, and alerts registered users about crimes such as arson, burglary, and vandalism through an SMS service. To detect the object of the crime in the video, we trained five different machine learning models: Improved YOLOv5 for arson, Faster RCNN and YOLOv7 for burglary, and SSD MobileNet and YOLOv6 for vandalism. Other than improved models, we innovated by building ensemble models of all three crime types. The main aim of the project is to provide security to the society without human involvement and make affordable surveillance cameras to detect and classify crimes. In addition, we implemented the Web system design using the built package in Python, which is Gradio. This helps the registered user of the Twilio communication tool to receive alert messages when any suspicious activity happens around their communities.

Informing the recruitment crisis in policing: Evaluating which incentives can entice the best candidates among college students

AbstractResearch SummaryScrutiny over the quality of police work continues to increase, at the same time that a recruitment crisis may hinder policing services. Moreover, this crisis exists despite numerous work incentives for officers, which are potentially competitive salaries, early pensions, and legal protections. Using a sample of 604 undergraduate students—a natural recruiting pool for police agencies—this study explores the predictors of students’ interest in a career in policing. In addition, we conducted a randomized survey experiment to identify the effect of work incentives on students’ willingness to apply to be a police officer upon graduation. Specifically, we manipulated the starting salary, years of service until pension eligibility, and the protection afforded against lawsuits. Finally, we tested whether the effect of these incentives differs across the quality of applicants (i.e., grade point average [GPA], ability to pass existing application criteria, and subjective qualities that comprise honesty, teamwork, and compassion) and their preexisting interest in a career in policing. We found that students are generally uninterested in becoming police officers, particularly when their GPA is high. Though the starting salary was the most impactful of all incentives, some lawsuit protection is key for enticing the best students. In contrast, conditions for pension had only modest if any effects.Policy ImplicationsRecruiting is key to improving the quality of policing, particularly when many potential candidates are overlooking the career. However, research on the causes and consequences of police recruitment strategies is limited. This study implements rigorous research methods to investigate how to increase the pool of high‐quality applicants to police agencies. Findings support sensible and potentially cost‐effective policy decisions in regard to police recruiting, which should focus on increasing the starting salary, and on more effectively communicating the value of other existing benefits of the career that comprise lawsuit protection and attractive pension plans.