Police-community Relations Research Articles

Understanding the Limits of Technology’s Impact on Police Effectiveness

Technology has become a major source of expenditure and innovation in law enforcement and is assumed to hold great potential for enhancing police work. But does technology achieve these expectations? The current state of research on technology in policing is unclear about the links between technologies and outcomes such as work efficiencies, effectiveness in crime control, or improved police–community relationships. In this article, we present findings from a mixed-methods, multiagency study that examines factors that may mediate the connection between technology adoption and outcome effectiveness in policing. We find that police view technology through technological and organizational frames determined by traditional and reactive policing approaches. These frames may limit technology’s potential in the current reform era and cause unintended consequences.

Police body worn cameras: a mixed method approach assessing perceptions of efficacy

Purpose The importance of body-worn cameras (BWC) in policing cannot be overstated. This is not a hyperbolic statement – use of force incidents in Ferguson and Baltimore, the ensuing riots, coupled with critical long term implications for police community relations demonstrate the need for BWC data. Few studies have been published on the use of BWCs and little is known about officer perceptions, administrator decision making, and agency use of BWC data. No published studies incorporate qualitative data, which lends important context and depth, in the interpretation of officer survey data. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The current study presents a mixed-method study of a large university police agency prior to full implementation of BWC. A survey of patrol officers and supervisors, using a census approach with near full participation, coupled with focus group interviews, produced data on perceptions, concerns, and expectations of full BWC implementation. Findings Findings point to officer concerns regarding the utilization of BWC data and administrative expectations regarding complaint reduction and officer assessment. Originality/value Important implications regarding training and policy are presented. BWC data represent an important tool for agency decision makers but have numerous potential negative uses. Understanding officer concerns juxtaposed with administrator expectations, through both survey and qualitative data, advance the knowledge on BWC.

Improving the Police Complaints System: Stakeholder Collaboration as a Vehicle for Systems Change

Systems change efforts seek to alter the status quo by shifting the form and function of a targeted system. Evaluation is a critical component, yet little research has examined a collaborative forum as a vehicle for change in the criminal justice system. Over 150 citizens and police were brought together to work collaboratively at improving a Canadian police complaints system. Using survey, participant observation, and focus group data, this study investigates the perceptions of this Forum as a vehicle for systems change in police oversight mechanisms. We find the Forum provided both opportunities for, and barriers to, collaborative systems change work. However, these findings need to be understood within the context of police-community relations as fear and mistrust of police influence problem definitions and potential solutions. Therefore, the collaboratives model is not a one-size-fits-all approach to systems change work in the criminal justice system.

They Protect Our Homeland but Neglect Our Community

Objectives:Terrorism is becoming a priority among police agencies in many Western democracies. Scholars argue that increasing homeland security responsibilities can erode police–community relations, in that people perceive the police as neglecting local crime problems for homeland security concerns.Methods:Using Israel as a case study, we evaluate, through path analyses, whether Israeli Jews who perceive that the Israeli National Police (INP) values homeland security more than its crime responsibilities have lower evaluations of police legitimacy and, in turn, are less willing to cooperate with the police.Results:The findings demonstrate that those who believe the INP neglects its crime responsibilities for homeland security view the police as less legitimate, and lower evaluations of police legitimacy decrease willingness to cooperate. The overall indirect effect of perceived neglect on cooperation is not significant.Conclusions:Based on the findings, it is clear that perceptions of what the police ought...

Officer Perceptions of Body-Worn Cameras Before and After Deployment

Over the past few years, several events have highlighted the strained relationship between the police and residents in many communities. Police officer body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been advocated as a tool by which police–community relations can be strengthened, while simultaneously increasing transparency and accountability of police departments. Support for BWCs from the public and federal government is strong, and some studies have examined police perceptions of BWCs. However, comparisons of officer perceptions of BWCs in different departments are lacking, as are assessments of officer attitudes pre- and post-BWC deployment. This study compares officer perceptions of BWCs in three police departments in the western United States between 2013 and 2015, both before and after BWC program implementation. The similarities and differences among officer perceptions across departments are examined, and the authors consider the implications of findings for police departments moving forward with BWC technology.

Dreams of Accountability, Guaranteed Surveillance: The Promises and Costs of Body-Worn Cameras

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Perceived accountability and public attitudes toward local police

Recent national events have brought the issue of police-community relations into the public eye. Even though a large body of academic research exists on the predictors of public attitude toward police, very little is known about how public perceptions of police accountability influence satisfaction with the police. This study seeks to fill that gap by using ordered logistic regression and multi-year community-level survey data from one Western city (n = 3725) to examine the relationship between satisfaction with police accountability and overall attitudes toward the police. The results indicate that respondent satisfaction with police accountability was a strong, consistent predictor of satisfaction with local police, even after controlling for other important variables, such as race/ethnicity and community context. The findings suggest that public perceptions relating to the control of police officer conduct should be considered when assessing the predictors of attitudes toward the police.

Community policing in Kenya

The World Bank (2010) refers to Kenya’s capital as one of the most crime-ridden cities in Africa; crime and violence is a daily occurrence for most Kenyans. In an effort to improve community–police relations in Kenya following the post-election violence in 2007, the Ransley Report made recommendations to the Kenyan police that are based on democratic policing principles. A lack of police accountability and civilian oversight of the police were highlighted as key issues within the report. It was recognised that the lack of procedural justice leads to a lack of trust and collaboration between communities and the police (Republic of Kenya, 2009). It is, however, acknowledged that the police service in Kenya is unsupported, under-resourced and works in challenging circumstances (CHRI, 2007; CHRI, 2014) and therefore currently there is a need for complementary community safety projects and resources. From qualitative research conducted in Kenya in 2015 this paper will argue that policing can be improved within Kenya if there is community collective action, with supported leadership, which operates in collaboration with police adhering to democratic policing principles, although this is not without its challenges.

Local Leaders Say Police-Community Relations are Good Throughout Michigan, But Those In Large Cities are Concerned About Potential Unrest Over Police Use-of-Force

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of police-community relations, concern over the potential for civil unrest, and the use of a range of law enforcement policies, practices, and equipment in their jurisdiction. The findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the Fall 2015 wave of the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS).

Assessing police–community relationships: is there a gap in perceptions between police officers and residents?

ABSTRACTThe notion that community residents are key players responsible for the well-being of the larger society has become a cornerstone of approaches to modern policing in democratic societies. That is, residents partner with police to help maintain social order. An essential element of successful implementation of any programme is communication and understanding between various parties in the partnership. In this paper, we examine whether there is congruence between police officers and residents in how they perceive their relationships on various dimensions of police–community relations. These dimensions include residents’ respect for police and their willingness to cooperate in various community-policing activities. Using survey data collected in 2011 from a larger project with a national sample of 581 Slovenian police officers and 959 residents, we analyse both groups’ perceptions of community support of and willingness to partner with police officers. Results show that, on the one hand, residents appeared to have respect and confidence in police and were willing to cooperate with police officers in various crime prevention and community-policing activities. On the other hand, we find police officers’ perceptions of residents’ willingness to cooperate with the police ranked lower than residents’ reflections on these matters. On many of the dimensions of police–community partnerships, residents appeared more willing to cooperate and support the police compared to what officers perceived of residents’ willingness. This research identifies a gap in perceptions of citizen support of the police between Slovenian residents and police officers, which has to be bridged to make community policing more effective.

Performing the Peace: Using Playback Theatre in the Strengthening of Police-Community Relations.

Police-community relations have catapulted onto the national stage after several high-profile instances of alleged police brutality. Blame and hostility can be barriers to positive police-community relations. Playback is a form of audience-inspired, improvisational theater designed to promote connectivity and empathy through storytelling. We tested the feasibility and acceptability of an arts-based intervention, bringing together police officers and formerly incarcerated individuals from the same community in Memphis, Tennessee. We collected pre/post quantitative data from five police officers and five ex-offenders who took part in the intervention, as well as qualitative data to provide contextual information. The project was feasible and acceptable to participants. Participants showed gains in their ability to make meaning of stressful life experiences. The officers and ex-offenders showed parallel gains in their increased positive attitudes toward the other group. This study demonstrates that creating contexts of safety and understanding necessary to address relational problems is both feasible and acceptable to law enforcement and ex-offenders.

Factors influencing public satisfaction with the local police: a study in Saskatoon, Canada

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore determining factors that account for variation in public satisfaction with the local police in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.Design/methodology/approach– An integrated method was used to gather the data for this study, including official survey data conducted by Insightrix, and interviews with citizens in Saskatoon.Findings– This research found that demographic factors including age, race (in this study, Aboriginal status in particular), education, and income, perception of neighborhood safety, citizen-police interaction, and learning about crime from news media all have impact on public attitudes toward the police, to different degrees. The gap or distance between the police and the Aboriginal community was highlighted as a major factor.Research limitations/implications– Further research should be done to compare statistical patterns in other same-level cities in Canada.Practical implications– This paper indicates that Saskatoon Police Service in the future should provide a more structured avenue for citizen participation in establishing safe neighborhoods, more structured cultural sensitivity training, and create a wider channel through which community residents with various social backgrounds can demand some measure of accountability for police work in their area.Originality/value– The paper is of value to law enforcement policy-makers and academic researchers with interest in policing and police-community relationship.

Implementation of Sector Policing in Hillbrow

Sector policing is one of the “new” policing methods introduced by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the post democratic South Africa1. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the implementation of sector policing in Hillbrow, a suburb in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. The study assessed the roles of different stakeholders in the application of the sector policing approach in the research area. The scientific inquiry employed the case study research design, while data was collected through semi-structured as well as focus group interviews. The study confirmed that application of sector policing have yielded positive outcomes in terms of preventing and combating crime in Hillbrow. This includes improve police service delivery as well enhanced community-police relations. It was also found that there is a variety of challenges that limit the effectiveness of sector policing in the area. These incorporate, among others, allegations of criminality by some of the members of the SAPS and Patrollers based in Hillbrow, inadequate training and insufficient resource allocation. In order to intensive the fight against crime in Hillbrow, it is recommended that more resources should be allocated and key stakeholders involved in the implementation of sector policing should be adequately trained DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n3p135

The Impact of Negative Publicity on Police Self-legitimacy

High-profile events involving police use of force in various cities throughout the US and internationally have garnered enormous media coverage and demonstrated the importance of police-community relations. To date little empirical attention has focused on how such events may negatively impact police officers. Using survey data from 567 officers, this study considers whether perceptions of negative publicity are adversely related to officers’ sense of self-legitimacy (i.e. the confidence they have in their authority). Findings revealed officers who felt less motivated as a result of negative publicity expressed less self-legitimacy. However, the degree to which officers felt their job had become more dangerous as a result of negative publicity was not significantly related to self-legitimacy. These findings increase our understanding of the sources of self-legitimacy and reveal that negative publicity surrounding law enforcement presents a unique challenge to officers’ confidence in their authority, which can have important implications for the community.

Global perspectives on preventing violence and upholding justice

The prevention of violence and the pursuit of justice are two fundamental aims of civil society that have long been recognized and supported across the globe [1]. Far too often, however, they are addressed independently: one initiative focused on preventing violence and another on upholding justice. This is also the case in criminological research and scholarship, but there are some exceptions. Perhaps one of the best examples is the U.S. National Research Council’s report on fair and effective policing [2]. The report called for more concrete action to integrate these two principles in addressing crime and violence: greater use of effective policing strategies coupled with improved police fairness and legitimacy can produce better outcomes for the community [3, 4]. If society places more emphasis on the prevention of violence—in communities, schools, and families—might we be able to reduce some of the need for formal social control as well as inculcate a greater sense of justice for individuals and the community at-large? This is what Meares [5] refers to as an overt curriculum, which is rooted in democracy and fairness. If law enforcement as well as other branches of the criminal justice system exercise greater fairness toward suspected and convicted offenders, might we be able to improve police-community relations and help to reduce future acts of violence by these groups? It is these questions that guided the development of this special issue of Crime, Law and Social Change. We recognize that these are big picture questions and we do not pretend to answer them in full. Through a series of thoughtful, scholarly articles, we Crime Law Soc Change (2015) 64:205–209 DOI 10.1007/s10611-015-9594-2

Stop, Question, and Frisk in New York City: A Study of Public Opinions

New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk program has been a contentious police practice for more than 40 years. There is extensive research that examines attitudes toward the police; however, empirical research has yet to analyze citizens’ perceptions of stop-and-frisk. This study uses data from pedestrians to uncover their opinions of stop-and-frisk. Results demonstrate that several demographic characteristics predicted attitudes toward stop-and-frisk; minorities and younger citizens had less positive views, and unfavorable opinions were linked to living in New York City; having less education; being unemployed; having lower income; not married; no children; having been previously frisked by police; and vicarious experiences of others with stop-and-frisk. The results provide insights into demographic and experiential factors that influence attitudes toward stop-and-frisk. As perceived unfairness often undermines police authority, identifying factors that predict unfavorable attitudes toward police practices can aide in allocating resources to further efforts to improve police–community relations.

Free Radical: Ernest Chambers, Black Power, and the Politics of RaceTeklaAgbala Ali Johnson. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2012.

Radical: Ernest Chambers, Black Power, and the Politics of Race Tekla Agbala Ali Johnson. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2012.In Radical: Ernest Chambers, Black Power, and the Politics of Race, author Tekla Ali Johnson examines the critical role of Ernest Chambers's work in the city of Omaha, the state of Nebraska, and within the US. Johnson uses careful detail to illustrate Chambers's deep commitment to his constituents, portraying his work as human rights advocate, state senator for nearly forty years, and Black Nationalist ideologue as all intertwined for human liberation. The strength of the book lies in Johnson's ability to provide the reader with broad view of Chambers's political acumen by establishing context that overlaps his early life and collegiate experiences, where his political antennae were raised and developed, to the sociopolitical living conditions of Blacks in Omaha and throughout the United States. Chambers served as the only African American state senator in the Nebraskan Unicameral throughout his career. Johnson's presentation provides critical insights into how local and national civil rights and Black struggles, connected with the African liberation movement, galvanized Chambers's own political identity. According to Johnson, Chambers's overall philosophy centered on a belief in humanism where all people were treated humanely, and he openly expressed his discontent for the injustices all around him (36).Johnson divides the book into seven chapters where two main themes emerge: Chambers as Defender of the Downtrodden and Chambers as Free Radical. These themes, borrowed from chapter title and title of the work, are mutually inclusive for Chambers's work. In the first four chapters, the author provides framework for better understanding the political challenges that Blacks faced in Omaha by detailing Chambers's education as radical (Chapter One), his connections to the community (Chapters Two and Three), and his learning resulting from his early experiences in the legislature (Chapter Four). Each of these chapters sets the stage for the reader to better comprehend his work as Free Radical. The descriptor of Chambers's political activism as radical is first situated within his unwillingness to align himself with either major political party. This non-affiliation was important in how he attempted to navigate both the local Omaha and the Nebraskan political terrain. Thus, Chambers was free to represent his constituents from power basis that came directly from the people without the connections to major political party-for both their benefits and constraints. This political freedom also allowed creative and unfettered space to imagine leadership and representation without restriction. Flis connections to the community included his staunch advocacy of their basic human rights; he served as Co-Chair of the Police Community Relations Board in North Omaha and was highly engaged as parent advocate in the local schools. To help the reader hear Chambers's own voice, Johnson includes plethora of statements from his essays which were crafted for local and national media, remarks from occasional appearances on the news, snippets from range of memos, and quotes from his varied speaking engagements. …

Tennessee Citizen Police Academies: Program and Participant Characteristics

Citizen police academies (CPAs) are popular programs developed by police departments with the twin goals of educating the public about law enforcement and improving police-community relationships. Citizen police academies can help law enforcement agencies by providing them with graduates who may support police departments through volunteering, crime reporting, advocacy, and crime prevention. CPAs may aid citizens by providing them with opportunities to work with the police to make their communities safer. During the course of the citizen police academy, not only will participants have opportunities to learn more about the police depar'tment and their communities, but they may be given opportunities to patrol with police officers, solve mock crime scenes, or attend moot court. This study examines citizen police academies in Tennessee and provides an exploratory investigation of the programs and its participants. Data obtained from 31 police departments indicate CPA programs with more than a 20 year history in Tennessee. Results of a pretest and posttest of 4 citizen police academies’ participants found that attending these programs significantly and positively changed participants’ familiarity with the police chief, local law enforcement, community crime, and the criminal justice system.

The Community Voice in Policing

The demand for a greater community voice in police policy has been a major part of police–community relations in the United States for over 50 years. Civil rights activists have demanded a greater voice as a way to reduce racially discriminatory practices by local police departments. For the most part, those demands have been rejected. Recent developments related to U.S. Department of Justice investigations and settlements with local police departments have introduced a new element in the community voice issue. This article examines developments in Seattle, Washington, and the implementation of a Settlement Agreement between the Justice Department and the Seattle Police Department. Community representatives gained a voice in the development of a new Use of Force policy for the police. The article examines the dynamics of that development and discusses whether it serves as a model for other communities.

Focused Deterrence and Improved Police–Community Relations

Focused Deterrence and Improved Police–Community Relations