Police Agencies Research Articles

Increasing Police Presence: Examining Race, Ethnicity, and Perceived Neighborhood Disadvantage as Correlates of Support

AbstractGiven its empirical and public support, increasing police presence seems to be a viable preventive policy option for police agencies. However, the theoretical and empirical literature is not clear on whether this support would vary along race/ethnicity and perceived neighborhood disadvantage, which is relevant given that policies of this kind would likely have a greater impact on disadvantaged communities of color. Using survey data from a national sample, we found that racial and ethnic identity were unrelated to support for increased police presence, while perceived neighborhood disorder was related to greater support for police presence. We also found that neighborhood disorder, social cohesion, and informal social control were indirectly related to support for increased police presence through perceptions of police legitimacy and fear of crime, demonstrating some evidence of the overpolicing-underpolicing paradox in disadvantaged communities. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Supplemental Material for Psychological Science From Research to Policy: Eyewitness Identifications in Pennsylvania Police Agencies

Supplemental Material for Psychological Science From Research to Policy: Eyewitness Identifications in Pennsylvania Police Agencies

Tuskulėnai Mass Burial Grounds Occurence: 1944 or 1945?

The purpose of this article is to establish the date when Soviet secret police agencies started to use the territory of Tuskulėnai Manor as mass burial grounds in Vilnius. The remains of people executed at the inner prison of the NKGB (MGB) of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic were buried there. At the same time, another question had to be answered: who choose this place, Tuskulėnai Manor, as a location suitable for mass graves. Historiographical sources frequently apply a simplified scheme, stating that the territory of Tuskulėnai Manor started to be used as mass burial grounds from the date when at the inner prison of the NKGB of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic death penalties started to be carried out, i.e., from the 28th September 1944. Still, when analysing more closely the data of archeologic excavations 1994-1996 in the territory of Tuskulėnai Manor, as well as reports of 2003 and NKGB (MGB) documents, some doubts occur whether there could be remains of 45 people buried that had been executed at secret police inner prison in September –December of the year 1944. Statistical analysis allows us to think than in autumn and winter of 1944, the territory of Tuskulėnai Manor had not been used for mass graves. NKGB (MGB) officers could bury the remains of the executed people employing other ways that had not been new for them: in single graves in the woods in Vilnius neighbourhood or in old cemeteries. Such methods were applied by the Soviet secret police agencies from the year 1950. Historiographical sources claim that the territory of Tuskulėnai Manor had been chosen for mass graves by Ivan Tkachenko, a lieutenant general, who had been appointed an authorized person by NKGB and NKVD of the USSR for Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. This fact is confirmed in the documents of the Soviet secret police institutions. Still, there is no exact date of choosing this location indicated in these documents. I. Tkachenko, to coordinate activity of the repressive structures as an authorized person to Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was appointed on 14th December 1944, while execution of prisoners at the inner prison of NKGB of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic started on 28th September 1944. Such a chronological mismatch suggests that I. Tkachenko selected the territory of Tuskulėnai Manor for mass graves at the end of 1944 or at the beginning of 1945. New documents found in the archives confirm that Tuskulėnai Manor was handed over to the NKGB of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic in January of 1945. Therefore, it can be stated, that the remains of people executed in the inner prison of the NKGB of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, first had been buried in the territory of Tuskulėnai Manor in January of 1945, while before that date, the Soviet secret police agencies applied different methods.

Shades in technological frames: exploring police attitudes toward body-worn cameras in Chicago

PurposeThis study employed technological frames of reference (TFR) theory to explore officer attitudes toward body-worn cameras (BWCs) in the Chicago Police Department (CPD), identifying frames that may undermine compliance.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 officers, focusing on their perceptions of the BWCs’ purpose, adoption catalysts, effectiveness metrics and benefits and drawbacks.FindingsOfficers viewed BWCs primarily as tools for oversight and cited external influences and the department’s desire to be perceived as progressive as key catalysts for BWC adoption. There was widespread uncertainty regarding the criteria CPD uses to gauge BWC effectiveness. The protective feature of the cameras was cited as the primary benefit of the technology, while privacy intrusion and discretion were identified as key drawbacks. Noteworthy nuances were observed across these perceptual domains.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focuses on a single police agency, limiting its generalizability. Nevertheless, it holds value for departments experiencing BWC policy compliance issues and those preparing to implement the cameras.Practical implicationsInsights into officers’ technological frames help identify perspectives that threaten desired use of BWCs and highlight necessary training and policy interventions that align officers' BWC readings with departmental goals to enhance policy compliance.Originality/valueThis study is among the few that employ TFR theory to examine officer perceptions of BWCs in a large urban police agency.

‘It’s a set up’: examining the relationship between bail conditions and the revolving door of justice

ABSTRACT Research has consistently drawn attention to how pre-trial release with bail conditions has the unintended consequence of setting accused up to accumulate further criminal charges. In response, legislative reforms to increase the courts’ knowledge of the barriers accused face in complying with bail conditions have ensued. In light of these reforms, we assess whether and how bail conditions are still setting accused up to fail, using data from in-depth interviews with bail supervisors in Ontario, Canada. Given their involvement with the courts, accused, police and social service agencies, this sample provides a unique lens to observe how pre-trial conditions contribute to the revolving door of the criminal justice system. Our findings reveal evidence of a continuing trend whereby courts assign conditions with which accused have little realistic chance of complying; both systemic barriers and more mundane errors continue to undermine accused chances of adhering to conditions of bail. Nevertheless, some shifts in the types of conditions assigned are evident, notably regarding more tailored abstinence and treatment conditions. Importantly, however, bail supervisors caution that releasing accused with fewer conditions alone is insufficient to set accused up for success.

The dawn of a sexual assault relief center: A 12-year fact-finding survey of victims of sexual assault conducted since2010 by SACHICO, Japan's first rape crisis center.

In Japan, amidst insufficient legal provisions and governmental support, in 2010, the first rape crisis center, the Sexual Assault Crisis Healing Intervention Center Osaka (SACHICO) was established. We compared SACHICO visitor data from 2010 to 2021 with National Police Agency statistics to clarify the current situation of sexual assault victims in Japan and considered future issues for Japan to address. This study was a cross-sectional study that analyzed the data described below. All visitations to SACHICO between April 2010 and December 2021 were considered targets for data totaling. Data on crime statistics were gathered from the official governmental statistics portal site. A total of 12 036 visitations occurred, of which 3189 were first-time consultations; 3100 initial medical examinations were conducted, and no medical examination was conducted in the remaining 89 cases (2.7%). The number of initial medical examinations increased 3.7 times from 2010 to 2021. Victims under the age of 19 comprised 60% of the total number of initial medical examinations (1863/3100). The reporting rate for all 3100 initial medical examinations was only 31.3% (969/3100) of the cases. The proportion of forcible sexual intercourse versus forcible indecency were the converse of those observed among acknowledged cases nationwide and in Osaka Prefecture. For several years, the number of initial medical consultations at SACHICO has exceeded that of acknowledged cases in Osaka Prefecture. Support for victims of sexual assault in Japan is still insufficient. It is necessary to strengthen the system of rape crisis centers system to realize an unbroken chain of support for victims.

Change in the collision avoidance performance of autonomous emergency braking systems

Objective This study quantifies the change in collision avoidance performance of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems for traffic accidents in Japan since 2015. Method This study used data on Japanese traffic accidents compiled by Japan’s National Police Agency. The data included only accidents involving loss of or injury to human life; accidents involving only property damage were excluded. We restricted our analysis to collisions between two 4-wheel vehicles and considered only collisions for which we could determine whether the primary party’s car was equipped with an AEB system. Both Poisson and negative binomial mixed-effects regression analyses were conducted using the data for 2021 and 2022 to measure the collision avoidance performance of first registered cars in 2015 to 2020 equipped with AEB systems compared with cars without AEB systems first registered in 2015. Collision avoidance performance was measured for 2 types of intervehicle collisions: rear-end collisions and right-turn collisions. Collision avoidance performance for rear-end collisions was also measured for each of the 3 car types—Standard, small, and light cars. Results The collision reduction rate for rear-end collisions increases with the year of first registration and for cars equipped with AEB systems first registered in 2020 compared with non-AEB-equipped cars first registered in 2015 is 69.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 67.0%–71.1%), indicating that the performance of AEB systems has dramatically improved in terms of preventing rear-end collisions. For right-turn collisions, the rate increased to 20.4% (95% CI 5.9%–32.6%) for cars equipped with AEB systems first registered in 2019. However, no clear trend is observed. Conclusions This study evaluated a time series of the collision reduction performance of AEB systems using an original methodology. Japan’s New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) has included AEB’s effectiveness in reducing damage from traffic collisions as an evaluation item since FY2014. The results could demonstrate the effectiveness of JNCAP.

“Video is only one little perspective”: Officer perceptions of body-worn cameras in a small community-oriented agency

This paper examines officer perceptions of body-worn cameras (BWCs) through semi-structured in-depth interviews with officers across ranks in a small community-oriented police agency. Giving voice to officers in a small agency, this study broadens prior knowledge gained from big agency studies and deepens existing understanding of officer perceptions of BWCs beyond a binary classification (either support or resistance). This approach provides a useful angle for scholars to bridge some gaps in the current literature and informs practitioners on how to improve policies for better utilization of BWCs in daily policing operations.

Police Involvement in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Qualitative Exploration of Law Enforcement Roles and Contributing Organizational Factors

Objectives Many American police organizations respond to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This study sought to: 1) explore variation in the role of police in OHCA across emergency medical systems and 2) identify factors influencing this variation. Methods We conducted a qualitative multisite case study analysis using data collected through semi-structured key informant interviews and multidisciplinary focus groups with telecommunicators, fire, police, emergency medical services, and hospital personnel across nine Michigan emergency systems of care. Sites were sampled based on return of spontaneous circulation rates, trauma region, geography, rurality, and population density. Data were analyzed to examine police role in OHCA and the organizational factors that contribute to these roles. Transcripts and coded data were explored using iterative thematic analysis and matrices. Results Interviews included approximately 160 public safety informants of varying administrative levels (i.e., field staff, mid-level managers, and leadership). Across systems, police played four on-scene roles in OHCA response: 1) early responder, 2) resuscitation team member, 3) security, and 4) information gathering. Less consistently, police performed supplementary roles as telecommunicators and cardiac arrest educators. We found that factors including administrative structure of the police agency, resources (e.g., human and material), organizational culture, medical training, deployment and response policies, nature of response environment, and relationships with other prehospital stakeholders contributed to the degree certain roles were present. Conclusions Police serve numerous on-scene and supplementary roles in OHCA response across jurisdictions. Their roles were influenced by multiple factors at each site. Future studies may help to better understand the value of and how to optimize police engagement in OHCA response.

East London Project: a participatory mixed-method evaluation on how removing enforcement could affect sex workers' safety, health and access to services in East London

Background Sex workers’ risk of violence and ill-health is shaped by their work environments, community and structural factors, including criminalisation. Aim We evaluated the impact of removing police enforcement on sex workers’ safety, health and access to services. Design Mixed-methods participatory study comprising qualitative research, a prospective cohort study, mathematical modelling and routine data collation. Setting Three boroughs in London, UK. Participants People aged ≥ 18 years, who provided in-person sexual services. Interventions Simulated removal of police enforcement. Outcomes Primary – recent or past experience of sexual, physical or emotional violence. Secondary – depression/anxiety symptoms, physical health, chlamydia/gonorrhoea, and service access. Results A combination of enforcement by police, local authorities and immigration, being denied justice when reporting violence, and linked cuts to specialist health and support services created harmful conditions for sex workers. This disproportionately affected cisgender and transgender women who work on the streets, use drugs, are migrants and/or women of colour. Among women (n = 197), street-based sex workers experienced higher levels than indoor sex workers of recent violence from clients (73% vs. 36%), police (42% vs. 7%) and others (67% vs. 17%); homelessness (65% vs. 7%); anxiety and depression (71% vs 35%); physical ill-health (57% vs 31%); and recent law enforcement (87% vs. 9%). For street-based sex workers, recent arrest was associated with violence from others (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)) 2.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11 to 6.94). Displacement by police was associated with client violence (AOR 4.35; 95% CI 1.36 to 13.90) as were financial difficulties (AOR 4.66; CI 1.64 to 13.24). Among indoor sex workers, unstable residency (AOR 3.19; 95% CI 1.36 to 7.49) and financial difficulties (AOR 3.66; 95% CI 1.64 to 8.18) contributed to risk of client violence. Among all genders (n = 288), ethnically and racially minoritised sex workers (26.4%) reported more police encounters than white sex workers, partly linked to increased representation in street settings (51.4% vs. 30.7%; p = 0.002) but associations remained after adjusting for work setting. Simulated removal of police displacement and homelessness was associated with a 71% reduction in violence (95% credible interval 55% to 83%). Participants called for a redirection of funds from enforcement towards respectful, peer-led services. Limitations Restriction to one urban locality prevents generalisability of findings. More interviews with under-represented participants (e.g. trans/non-binary sex workers) may have yielded further insights into inequities. Correlation between different risk factors restricted outcomes of interest for the modelling analyses, which were largely limited to experience of violence. Conclusion Our research adds to international evidence on the harms of criminalisation and enforcement, particularly for women who work on street and/or are racially or ethnically minoritised. Findings add weight to calls to decriminalise sex work, tackle institutionally racist, misogynist and otherwise discriminatory practices against sex workers in police and other agencies, and to (re)commission experience-based, peer-led services by and for sex workers particularly benefiting the most marginalised communities. Future work Realist informed trials, co-produced with sex workers, would provide rigorous evidence on effective approaches to protect sex workers’ health, safety and rights. Funding This synopsis presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme as award number 15/55/58.

군인의 죽음과 관련된 몇 가지 법적 과제

The death of a soldier signifies a profound sacrifice and dedication to the national community, and as such, it should be properly honored. It also reflects the values upheld by the nation. This article addresses various legal issues related to the death of soldiers, including distinctions between combat-related deaths, duty-related deaths, and other categories under the Military Personnel Act, as well as decisions regarding national merit and compensation under the National Merit Act and the Veterans' Compensation Act. Recently, the revision of the Military Court Act transferred the authority to investigate military deaths from the military to the National Police Agency, which is a positive development. However, considering that approximately 60-80% of recent military deaths are suicides, these cases often lack criminal allegations and are quickly concluded, potentially leading to inadequate investigations of significant unit-related factors. This highlights a limitation of the current system. The article also discusses issues such as the categorization of duty-related deaths, conflicts or inconsistencies between the National Merit Act and the Veterans' Compensation Act Enforcement Decree, among others. It is essential to establish a state agency independent of the military to investigate not only the deaths of soldiers but also the related unit-level factors. This is crucial to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. The Military Human Rights Protection Officer, who also serves as a standing commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission, could fulfill this role. Additionally, this agency should have the authority to review decisions regarding death classifications if objections are raised by the bereaved families. Currently, the Central Military Merit Review Committee, which operates under the Ministry of National Defense, is responsible for re-investigating the causes of death. This could be seen as a conflict of interest, as it involves self-judgment. To address this, it may be beneficial for a newly established Military Human Rights Supervisory Body to assume the final responsibility for re-investigations and death classification judgments. In summary, this new body should be responsible for 1) the protection of and policy development regarding military human rights, 2) the investigation of military death cases based on complaints from bereaved families or ex officio, and 3) the re-investigation and review of death classifications upon objections from the bereaved.

‘The ones in red:’ people who use drugs’ experiences of the Janus-faced nature of police volunteerism

ABSTRACT Championed as an economic strategy to enhance community safety and reduce the need for formal police response to social disorder, volunteer policing groups have become a common sight in many urban centres. They represent a key element of police civilianisation, with existing research unmasking how they differ from other civilian personnel and their relationship with sworn police officers. Far less, however, is known about how marginalised groups, such as People Experiencing Houselessness (PEH) and People Who Use Drugs (PWUD), experience and perceive police volunteers. Drawing upon 50 semi-structured interviews with unhoused PWUD in Lethbridge, Alberta (Canada), we interrogate how participants experienced, perceived, and engaged with an unpaid police volunteer group responsible for addressing downtown community safety – the Lethbridge Police Service’s Ambassador Watch Programme (The Watch). Our findings show participants held diverse and often conflicting perceptions of this group, with The Watch serving as 1) caring agents, 2) agents of surveillance and control, and 3) a medium for police intervention. We argue that despite some of the benefits provided by police volunteer groups, they may exacerbate harm and feelings of insecurity for marginalised people when organised and managed by police agencies.

The Influence of Performance Effectiveness, Procedural Justice and Social Capital on Public Trust In The Police In The Central Jakarta Metro Police Jurisdiction

Public trust in the police is a problematic issue for modern police everywhere, including in Indonesia. The police agency needs a high level of trust to be able to carry out its duties and functions as the person in charge of social order and law in society. This study intends to examine the influence of performance effectiveness, procedural justice and social capital on public trust in the police in Central Jakarta. The survey was conducted to 400 respondents using the cluster purposive random sampling method at the sub-district level. The results showed that the performance effectiveness variable had a significant effect (0.275), the procedural justice variable had no significant effect, and the social capital variable had a significant effect (0.133).

Broken promises in policing: understanding leadership, procedural justice and psychological health through the lens of psychological contract breach

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to empirically test the role of psychological contract breach in explaining the relationship between leadership style and procedural justice, burnout and psychological distress. This study provides important insights for police agencies who seek to positively impact, through the actions of their leaders, on both performance and psychological health of their officers. Drawing from the study findings, key recommendations for police leadership development programs are made.Design/methodology/approachThe current study with a large sample of Australian police (N = 1763), explores the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) leadership style and two sets of outcomes. The first is procedural justice, an important job performance outcome related to police practice. The second outcome includes two measures of psychological health, specifically burnout and psychological distress. Psychological contract breach (PCB) is investigated in the current research as a potential mediator in the relationship between leadership and (a) job performance and (b) psychological health.FindingsUsing mediated regression analyses, high LMX leadership is associated with lower PCB, higher procedural justice and reduced psychological health impairment amongst staff. The relationship between LMX and procedural justice was fully mediated by PCB, meaning that PCB explains the relationship between LMX and procedural justice. Partial mediation was found for both psychological health outcomes. As such, leadership style has a direct relationship with psychological health, and is partly explained by PCB.Originality/valueVery little research has considered the role of PCB in explaining how leadership style is related to job performance and psychological health outcomes in policing. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has empirically examined whether leadership style makes it more likely that a police officer will perceive PCB. And further, whether this breach is associated with reduced job performance (i.e. less procedural justice) and poorer psychological health (i.e. increased burnout and psychological distress).

Group Violence in Crime: Analyzing Crime Severity, Group Size, and Juvenile Involvement Through Police Statistics and Newspaper Articles in Japan

This study investigated the social psychological characteristics of group violence in crime using Japanese data. Two main hypotheses were examined: (1) crimes committed by groups, particularly larger groups, are more violent than those committed by individuals and (2) juvenile violent crimes are more likely to involve groups than adult violent crimes. Study 1 analyzed police agency crime statistical data and found that group crimes were more violent than individual crimes, with the level of violence increasing with group size. Additionally, juvenile crimes involved larger group sizes on average than adult crimes. Study 2 involved a quantitative text analysis of Japanese newspaper articles and revealed that articles containing group-related words frequently included terms associated with death and brutality, indicating a higher likelihood of fatal outcomes from group violence. Furthermore, co-occurrence analysis indicated a correlation between juvenile delinquency and group crimes. These findings support both hypotheses, providing evidence from non-Western data for research on group violence that predominantly relies on Western data.

Polycentric governance, epistocracy and the limits of policing knowledge in preparing for the climate crisis

ABSTRACT The last two decades have seen an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, placing complex demands on police and emergency services in the UK. Despite the growing recognition of the cascading and multidimensional threats, there is limited understanding of how policing and local governance actors are preparing for the climate crisis. In this paper, we argue that polycentric governance approaches, such as the Local Resilience Forums (LRFs), provide an essential focal point for emergency planning and disaster response activity that is rooted in localised contexts. However, while the LRFs are designed to benefit from the inclusion of a broad range of actors, dominant mentalities, knowledge hierarchies and powerful actors may limit their epistemic potential. We propose that a pathway towards a resilient and adaptive policing agenda for the Anthropocene necessitates acknowledging the limits of policing knowledge, expertise and traditional command-and-control mentalities. We draw on the notion of epistocracy to propose a policy and research agenda for police and partner agencies to harness the epistemic potential of LRFs. By adopting approaches to leverage pluralised forms of knowledge and identifying strategies for co-opting community-based actors in emergency planning and response activities, police and partner agencies can strengthen local capacity-building and better promote local resilience and adaptation efforts.

Blockchain-enabled transparent traffic enforcement for sustainable road safety in cities

With the progress of the times, cars have become an important means of transportation in our lives. However, with new cars of all kinds, road safety issues still cannot be effectively improved. While countries have responded by enforcing traffic laws and using electronic technology to enhance enforcement, challenges still need to be addressed, including blurred images and misjudgments by police agencies, and even exploiting loopholes in traffic enforcement frameworks to evade consequences through bribery or connections. exacerbating an accident and leaving victims and families in the lurch of the aftermath. To solve this problem, we proposed a data traceability law enforcement system based on blockchain and InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). The system ensures rapid traceability and protects law enforcement data from external attacks. The goal of leveraging blockchain’s decentralized nature and smart contracts is to instill accountability and fairness in road safety measures, mitigate the effects of corruption, and pave the way for a safer and more just transportation environment. Our experimental results show that under our stress test of 50 transactions per second, the throughput can be as high as 300 and the maximum delay can reach 2.01s, which is enough to experimentally prove that our system is feasible. Our approach is designed to solve the data corruption problem caused by the centralized server being paralyzed. It applies to all technology enforcement, with high flexibility and scalability for all participants to join or set privileges. we also provide an automated traffic law enforcement system in a smart city. To make the data storage more secure and fair, and not easily damaged by malicious people or tampered with by intentional attackers. This brings a breakthrough to the country’s program security.

Value of DNA mixture-to-mixture comparisons within an operational context

Since 1995, national forensic DNA databases have used a maximum number of contributors, and a minimum number of loci to reduce the risk of providing false leads. DNA profiles of biological traces that do not meet these criteria cannot be loaded into these databases. In 2023, about 10 % of more than 15,000 trace DNA profiles analyzed in western Switzerland were not compared at the national level, even though they were considered to be interpretable, mainly because they contained the DNA from more than two persons. In this situation, police services can request local comparisons with DNA profiles of known persons and/or with other traces, but this occurs in only a small proportion of cases, so that DNA mixtures are rarely used to help detect potential series. The development of probabilistic genotyping software and its associated tools have made possible the efficient performance of this type of comparison, which is based on likelihood ratios (LR) rather than on the number of shared alleles.To highlight potential common contributors for investigation and intelligence purposes, the present study used the mixture-to-mixture tool of the software STRmix v2.7 to compare 235 DNA profiles that cannot be searched the Swiss DNA database. These DNA profiles originated from traces collected by six different police services in 2021 and 2022. Traces were selected by the police based on information that indicated that they were from potential series. Associations between profiles were compared with expected investigative associations to define the value of this approach. Among the 27,495 pairwise comparisons of DNA profiles, 88 pairs (0.3 %) showed at least one potential common contributor when using a LR threshold of 1000. Of these 88 pairs, 60 (68.2 %) were qualified by the police services as “expected” (60/88), 22 (25.0 %) as “possible”, and six (6.8 %) as “unexpected”. Although it is important to consider the limits of this approach (e.g., adventitious or missed associations, cost/benefit evaluation, integration of DNA mixture comparison in the process), these findings indicate that non CODIS loadable DNA mixtures could provide police agencies with information concerning potential series at both the local and national level.

음주운전방지장치 부착 조건부면허 도입에 따른 정책적 및 기술적 고려사항에 관한 연구

Last year, there were 214 deaths from drunk driving traffic accidents in Korea, this rate is very high for 7.8% of all traffic accident deaths. Looking at the average drunk driving recidivism rate over the past five years, 44.5% of drunk drivers were repeat offenders. Despite the strengthening of drunk driving enforcement and punishments, drunk driving problems are still serious in Korea. In order to eradicate habitual drunk driving, an amendment to the Road Traffic Act about the legislation of alcohol ignition interlock device was passed last year in Korea, and it will be introduced in October of this year. In order to operate this system following the legalization of alcohol ignition interlock device effectively, the Road Traffic Act enforcement decree and enforcement rules must be established, and an operation manual must be also developed in accordance with Korean circumstances. To this end, this study was performed to identify policy issues and technical problems resulting from the introduction of alcohol ignition interlock device and to minimize them before operating this system targeting drunk driving repeat offenders. Policy issues were included the double punishment, privacy invasion due to excessive log data collection, operating costs, prior education programs and alcohol dependence of drunk drivers. Technical issues were also reviewed by considering National Police Agency standards, installation and operation management organizations and/or institutes, ignition prevention by proxy, log data management, system security, override function, and blood alcohol concentration display method. Finally, the limitations of this study and the implications of future researches were discussed. This study might be helpful to reduce alcohol related to traffic accidents effectively using an alcohol interlock system in Korea if policy makers can review these considerations closely.

Improving motorcyclist safety through hearing in all directions: survey results concerning a novel protective helmet with earpieces.

Every year over 200,000 motorcyclists are killed globally. One poorly understood risk factor for motorcycle crashes is the role of motorcyclists' ability to hear traffic and other sounds around them in all directions. Most motorcycle helmets protect the head and permit vision in the forward direction, but they impair the wearer's ability to hear. This study evaluated user perceptions of Protective Helmet with Earpieces Equipped, a novel system that affixes technology onto existing motorcycle helmets to allow motorcyclists to better hear the surrounding environment in all directions. 59 Colombian traffic police agents who rode motorcycles daily completed self-report surveys about their traditional motorcycle helmet, used a Protective Helmet with Earpieces Equipped helmet for two months, and then completed a follow-up survey. We tested two hypotheses: (a) at follow-up compared to baseline, motorcyclists would report decreases in perceived safety, comfort, and ability to detect sounds with their traditional helmet, as well as increased fatigue and stress from motorcycling with their traditional helmet, and (b) at follow-up, motorcyclists would report high perceived safety and perceived importance of hearing traffic sounds in all directions while motorcycling. Wilcoxon signed-rank test evaluated hypotheses. Participants rated perceived safety while using their traditional helmet to be significantly lower after using the Protective Helmet with Earpieces Equipped compared to before using it (Z=-3.5, p less than .001). There were no changes in other variables assessed. Following use of the new helmet, participants reported greatly improved safety (M=4.56, SD=0.54, where 4=safer and 5=substantially safer) and perceived the importance of hearing traffic sounds in all directions as high. Improved auditory perception could increase motorcyclist safety. Participating traffic agents felt the Protective Helmet with the Earpieces Equipped greatly improved their ability to hear and improved their motorcycling safety. Perceived safety while using their traditional helmet decreased following use of the alternative.