Many reform-oriented chief prosecutors have adopted policies categorically declining to prosecute certain offenses, but little is known about how these policies affect police behavior. This article examines how police enforcement responds to these policies. Using Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s 2022 declination policy as a case study, the analysis exploits New York City’s unique institutional structure—five independently elected prosecutors served by a single police department—to implement a difference-in-differences design. Drawing on precinct-month arrest and summons data from 2016 to 2024, I find that the policy reduced arrests for covered offenses while modestly increasing the use of summonses, with no evidence of enforcement displacement to more serious offenses. These effects were concentrated in offenses subject to presumptive rather than categorical declination and varied across precincts. The findings highlight the importance of interorganizational relationships and informal signaling between prosecutors and police in shaping the practical impact of reform prosecution.

(1) Background: The purpose of this paper is to explicate the logic of community engagement in American policing. In the United States, the police are organized for crime control and social order through law enforcement. In fact, the terms police and law enforcement are often used interchangeably. This linguistic trap reifies the law-enforcer identity and disposition, while producing a logic of professional practice that prioritizes enforcement over more effective crime prevention activities. We ask, “Are there better ways to organize the police to make communities safer?” If so, what could the police do and why? To answer these questions, we first explore the structure of American policing and the logic it creates. We then examine latent community dynamics and their impact on public safety. (2) Methods: Using survey data from a statewide probability sample of households, the authors examine the impact of these dynamic processes on crime, informal social control, and support for those returning to the community from prison. (3) Findings: The findings demonstrate, in measurable ways, the essential function of community-engagement in creating safe, strong neighborhoods. (4) Conclusions: The study’s findings suggest a new framework for policing that prioritizes community engagement for relationship building and problem-oriented policing over more aggressive law enforcement campaigns.

This study examines the effectiveness of the Jambi Regional Police in enforcing criminal law in the digital era, particularly in addressing online gambling offences, from the perspective of Islamic law. The rapid development of information technology has transformed crime from physical spaces into cyberspace, characterised by anonymity, speed, and transnational reach, thereby requiring adaptive law enforcement strategies. This research adopts a qualitative juridical-empirical approach. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with law enforcement officers at the Jambi Regional Police, analysis of case documents, and examination of relevant legal frameworks, particularly Indonesia’s Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE Law). The findings reveal that the Jambi Regional Police have implemented several strategic measures in combating digital crimes, including cyber patrols, digital forensic investigations, seizure of electronic evidence, and inter-agency coordination. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of law enforcement remains constrained by technological limitations, complex digital evidence requirements, the transnational nature of cybercrime, and limited public digital legal awareness. From an Islamic law perspective, police actions against online gambling align with the objectives of maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah, particularly the protection of religion (ḥifẓ al-dīn), property (ḥifẓ al-māl), and intellect (ḥifẓ al-‘aql). This study concludes that while digital criminal law enforcement by the Jambi Regional Police is fundamentally appropriate, it requires strengthened institutional capacity, integration of Islamic legal values, and adaptive policy reforms to enhance effectiveness and substantive justice.

The Abu Dhabi Police Traffic Department has increasingly adopted innovative Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance traffic management, operational efficiency, and public safety. However, empirical evidence on how officers’ perceptions of specific ICT innovation characteristics influence individual job performance remains limited. This study investigates the perceived impact of ICT innovation on job performance using a hierarchical ranking approach grounded in the Diffusion of Innovation theory. Data were collected through structured questionnaires distributed to operational and executive staff, yielding 338 valid responses. Descriptive statistics and mean index-based hierarchical ranking were employed to evaluate the relative importance of five ICT innovation attributes: relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, observability, and complexity. The findings reveal consistently high perceptions across all attributes, indicating a strong positive relationship between ICT innovation and officers’ job performance. Relative advantage emerged as the most influential factor, followed by compatibility and trialability, while observability and low complexity provided additional supportive effects. The narrow range of mean scores reflects strong consensus among respondents regarding the effectiveness of ICT systems in improving work efficiency, decision-making accuracy, and routine task performance. This study contributes empirical evidence to the limited literature on ICT innovation in policing and highlights the critical role of officers’ perceptions in shaping technology adoption. The findings provide practical guidance for the Abu Dhabi Police and other public sector law enforcement organizations seeking to optimize ICT investments to enhance employee performance, operational efficiency, and service delivery outcomes.

Background and Research Aims: Pangolins are the most trafficked wild mammals globally, driven by highly lucrative commercial demand for their scales and meat, with China remaining a primary consumer despite trade bans. This study aims to analyze the market dynamics of illegal pangolin trade in China to inform effective conservation strategies. Methods: We examined 603 court cases from 2011 to 2022, sourced from the China Judgments Online website, involving 24,924 kg of pangolin scales and 9,400 pangolins. Data were collected through keyword searches and manual review of relevant webpage content on the China Judgments Online platform. Data analysis focused on smuggling routes, domestic trade patterns, and correlations with provincial GPP, population size, and police enforcement. Results: Seized pangolin shipments predominantly originated from Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Nigeria, with the latter serving as the largest-scale exporter. Domestically, Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi were key sources of trafficked pangolins, while Hebei and Guangdong supplied the most scales. Guangdong exhibited the highest demand, with the greatest number of smuggled pangolins and scale weight. Individual counts and scale weight negatively correlated with provincial GPP but positively with population size. Police enforcement positively correlated with case frequency and individual counts. Conclusion: The illegal pangolin trade in China is driven by high demand in southern provinces, particularly Guangdong, with significant international sourcing from Southeast Asia and Africa. Socioeconomic factors like population size and lower GPP influence trade intensity, while enforcement impacts case detection. Implications for Conservation: Targeted interventions in high-demand provinces like Guangdong and enhanced border controls at key smuggling routes (e.g., Vietnam, Nigeria) are critical. Strengthening police enforcement and addressing socioeconomic drivers in populous, lower-GPP regions can reduce trade. These insights support global pangolin conservation by guiding policy and enforcement strategies.

State Regulation of Federal Police

A drone, officially referred to as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), is a comprehensive system that includes the aircraft itself, the ground-based control and communication equipment, and the mission payloads. Police drones are unmanned aerial systems that are technically and institutionally designed and managed specifically for public missions carried out by the police and other law enforcement agencies, such as maintaining public order, preventing and investigating crime, and responding to disasters. Drones that were once used primarily for military purposes are now being actively employed in the civilian sector, and they are also being used in various areas of police work, including public order maintenance, criminal investigations, traffic information collection, and the management of assemblies and demonstrations. Although the use of police drones in policing is subject to significant legal restrictions due to concerns over privacy and the protection of human rights, it is expected that their role will become increasingly important in current and future police activities. This paper therefore examines the current status of police drone operations and discusses how police drones can be utilized in the present and in the near future. In discussing the operation and utilization of police drones, this study first reviews, in the theoretical background, the concepts of drones and police drones, as well as the concept of police activities, and then examines the legal basis for police drone use and prior research on the topic. It subsequently analyzes the current operational status of police drones in Korea and in foreign police agencies, and proposes four categories of utilization strategies for police drones: (1) mission-specific utilization; (2) utilization from a technological and operational perspective; (3) utilization from a legal, institutional, and human-rights protection perspective; and (4) utilization from the perspective of personnel, organization, and education. From a technological perspective, further advances in drone technology can largely be left to the scientific and engineering fields, whereas the operation of drones in police work is still at an early stage. However, given that drones are likely to become indispensable to future police activities, there is a clear need for improvements in many areas, including legal reforms and training for drone operation. Finally, this study was conducted using a literature-based research method, and it acknowledges a limitation in that the scope of the analysis could not be expanded further due to constraints inherent in the available literature.

Objectives This study explored the status and causative factors of drug driving behavior among professional drivers in China, by examining their perceptions of impairment caused by legal and illegal drugs, attitudes toward police enforcement and legal regulation, and factors predicting the behavior. Methods The current study recruited a sample of professional Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) transport drivers completing a designed questionnaire. A total of 294 individuals, ranging in age between 19 and 58 years (M = 48.03, SD = 4.46) are engaged. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, Path Analysis, and Bayesian Network Learning. Results The participants rated illegal drugs as more dangerous than legal ones, of which the full list is provided in the online supplement. One-way ANOVA revealed significant differences in impairment ratings across legal drug categories (p < .001), with alcohol (D1) perceived as the most impairing. Path Analysis identified that the perceived risk of drug driving (β = 0.26, p < .001) and attitude toward legal supervision (β = 0.23, p < .001) were significant direct predictors of self-reported drug driving behavior. Subsequently, the Bayesian Network model quantified this relationship, showing that drivers who perceived the highest level of risk had a substantially lower probability (31.6%) of engaging in drug driving. Two-thirds of respondents supported enhanced legal supervision for this issue. Conclusions The findings highlight distinct perceptions and attitudes in this population, suggesting that targeted education and legal measures could effectively manage drug driving in the Chinese context.

Abstract The rapid evolution of AI-enabled future crimes, including synthetic identity fraud, deepfake scams, and cryptocurrency-based money laundering, has exposed critical gaps in traditional regulatory frameworks. Yet, few studies have examined how multi-layered responsive policing strategies can protect potential victims of future crimes in China and Southeast Asia, where digital payment adoption is surging. This article fills this gap by empirically investigating AI-empowered responsive regulation, drawing on 30 in-depth interviews with frontline police officers and 12 senior digital experts from major digital platforms in China and Southeast Asia. Our study introduces a novel AI-empowered “regulatory pyramid” framework, synthesizing insights from law enforcement and private-sector cybersecurity innovations to combat modular, adaptive, and decentralized crime networks. The AI-empowered regulatory pyramid is a set of tech-driven responsive policing at three layers: (1) AI-empowered capacity building for protecting potential victims, (2) restorative community policing disrupting cyber money mule networks, and (3) incapacitative policing targeting cybercrime syndicates. Empirical evidence indicates all three levels of responsive policing have been observed and are available in China, but cyberfraud policing practices in Southeast Asia often focus on capacity building due to a lack of state capacity and resources, which explains why the strict policing enforcement in China led to the relocation of cyberfraud criminals from China to Southeast Asia and the rise of transnational future crimes. We also found that while escalating enforcement via AI-empowered strategies yields short-term deterrence in China, long-term resilience depends on poverty-alleviation-oriented capacity-building and cross-border police cooperation against transnational future crimes.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across EU criminal justice systems is rapidly expanding, accompanied by an intense academic debate on the risks and challenges it poses to procedural safeguards and fundamental rights. Despite this accelerating trend, a significant gap remains due to the absence of a clear and comprehensive legal framework – both at national and supranational levels – specifically tailored to criminal procedural law. In this context FUTURE was born, an EU–funded research project that aims to support national legislators in adopting regulatory frameworks consistent with shared EU principles of due process and the protection of fundamental rights. This article presents the results of the project’s first phase, which focused on collecting empirical data on the use and development of AI in criminal proceedings across EU Member States. The study seeks to identify the main trends and typologies of AI applications throughout the various procedural stages, excluding activities that fall outside the scope of criminal proceedings stricto sensu (such as predictive policing or sentence enforcement). Data were obtained through a combination of different methodologies: the desk research conducted consulting databases, reports, academic studies, and publicly accessible documents from the Member States was complemented through a questionnaire addressed to professionals and academics. The analysis so far conducted outlines that in most EU countries, AI systems are already being used or are currently under development in the context of criminal proceeding. However, there is not always full transparency on the part of the public authorities on the use of AI in criminal proceedings. Moreover, the types of systems traced largely correspond to those most frequently discussed in the existing procedural law scholarship to date. Nonetheless, the systems that have so far attracted the greatest attention from legal scholars – such as risk assessment tools for recidivism or biometric recognition – are not necessarily the most widespread in practice. On the contrary, what seems to be gaining increasing ground are technologies – like data mining tools – that have so far received comparatively little attention, but deserve greater attention in the future due to their possible impact on criminal procedural principles and safeguards.

Introduction. In June 2025, Russia hosted a high-level premiere Seminar on depoliticized cooperation in criminal matters for BRICS member states and partner countries. The article is based on the author’s report and its discussion and other key deliverables of the seminar as well as takes stock of available solutions to overcome the current unacceptable state of affairs in this field. Materials and methods. The article explores relevant international treaties, domestic laws and regulations, and draft legislation. It is also sourced from case law of international courts, national and foreign jurisprudence, legal practices of interstate, domestic and foreign law enforcement and judicial authorities, as well as scholarly literature. The applied methodology includes the formal legal and comparative methods, methods of systemic and structural analysis, and synthesis of social and legal phenomena. Results of the study. The impact of global politics on international cooperation between judicial, police and other law enforcement authorities and financial intelligence units is a matter of fact. However, the domestic legislation on “unfriendly states” per se does not concern the area of interstate cooperation in criminal matters. The question is whether that impact is reasonable and/or lawful under international law. Currently, on the subject’s major points we have to answer in the negative, since the refusals of mutual assistance mostly run counter to the refusing countries’ binding international legal obligations, violating the pacta sunt servanda principle, and in many cases are against common sense. The article breaks down these political denials into categories and then analyzes each of them. They are (infrequent) direct political refusals of assistance, those camouflaged under the human rights cover blaming Russia for not being party to the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights anymore, as well as the phenomenon of “ghosting”. Switzerland’s destructive approach of a “judicial smoke screen” and the selective one by the United States and Canada stand out from the pack. The total damaging effect for various areas of life, assessed in the publication, is hard to overestimate. Discussion and conclusion. The paper takes stock of the prospects and all available solutions, such as exercising reciprocity, various peaceful means of settlement of disputes, submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice, discusses its case law on the subject of judicial assistance, as well as evaluates the feasibility of each option. It offers insights into relevant domestic legislative initiatives worked out by the Prosecutor General’s Office and aimed at enhancing the application of the principle “aut dedere aut judicare”, blocking foreign and international extraterritorial operations to gather evidence and intelligence on Russian soil, including electronic evidence in cyberspace, and in parallel strengthening Russia’s own use of extraterritorial mechanisms within what is permissible under international law, among others, within the framework of the new UN Convention against Cybercrime and improving the use of consular legal assistance by videoconferencing. At the same time, the Russian principal central authority for legal assistance in criminal matters opposes any dismantling of the existing treaty base, termination or suspension of the operation of bilateral and multilateral anti-crime and counter-terrorism treaties, including the Council of Europe conventions.

Ballistic armour is intended to save lives by absorbing the impact of bullets and preventing them from entering the wearer’s body. Especially for police enforcement, security, and military professionals. However, the research on armor that withstanding the impacts of shockwaves during the explosives are limited. This study evaluates a singular sandwich composite of silica aerogel, Sorbothane, and graphite (SiSG) against explosive shockwaves and ballistic impacts, marking the inaugural dual-mode assessment of lightweight structural armour. This optimised structure surpasses traditional materials in explosive and ballistic situations due to the unique amalgamation of aerogel’s exceptionally low density and thermal resistance, Sorbothane’s exceptional damping characteristics, and graphite’s elevated stiffness. To more accurately replicate real-world settings, we may get insights on item reactions upon impact near the target by conducting ballistic experiments at a confined range of 2 m, far less than the standard 55 m. The optimal, previously unreleased layer sequence—graphite strike face, aerogel intermediate, and Sorbothane backing—was established by combining these trials with extensive ANSYS finite-element simulations. The absence of apparent surface damage in shockwave-treated SiSG panels sets a new standard for the blast resistance of lightweight composites. This extensive set of testing and computer simulations establishes the foundation for next-generation multifunctional armour systems are the novelties which elicits this research. The experimental findings reveal that the sandwich composite, comprising silica aerogel, Sorbothane, and graphite layers, demonstrates superior resilience against both shockwaves and bullet impacts. The shockwave-treated materials exhibit no physical damage on their outer surfaces, affirming their ability to withstand explosions. This research underscores the critical role of material selection and design in enhancing structural resilience, contributing significantly to the advancement of material science and engineering.

ABSTRACT What the police do, and how civilians interpret their actions, shapes institutional trust and the legitimacy of law enforcement. Yet in many democracies, both officer behaviuor and public expectations remain fragile. This paper studies how expectations about police enforcement align – or misalign – with actual patterns of behaviuor among future Colombian officers. Using a behavioural game and an incentivized prediction survey, we analyze how police trainees choose between sanctions and rewards under discretionary conditions and how civilians anticipate these choices. Our findings show that while resource distributions were generally equitable, police students were more likely to reward in-group members and sanction out-group members. Citizens, however, systematically overestimated the officers' willingness to enforce fairness, particularly through sanctions. Moreover, incentivizing prediction accuracy improved belief calibration. By combining experimental games and incentivized belief surveys, our study contributes to the literatures on discretionary policing and public trust by illustrating how identity and incentives shape both police behaviuor and citizen expectations.

Racial trauma profoundly affects mental health. This study quantitatively explored the connection between police harassment and racial trauma, by investigating the prevalence and impact of police harassment among university students of color, exploring variations by race, gender, and location. Participants (N = 403) completed validated scales measuring racial trauma Racial Trauma Scale-9, perceptions of police Perceptions of Police Scale, and experiences of police harassment police and law enforcement. Regression analyses examined police harassment as a predictor of racial trauma while controlling for demographic variables and preexisting attitudes about police. Findings revealed significant differences in harassment frequencies across environments. Students reported higher harassment in metropolitan areas compared with campus (p < .001). Nonbinary and multiracial participants experienced the highest harassment levels, with Black and Middle Eastern/North African participants also reporting elevated rates. Regression analysis indicated that police harassment independently predicted racial trauma (p = .004), even after controlling for covariates. Perceptions of police bias correlated with both police harassment (r = 0.21, p < .01) and racial trauma (r = 0.34, p < .01), highlighting the systemic nature of discriminatory practices. These results demonstrate the compounded vulnerabilities experienced by those with marginalized racial and gender identities, reflecting systemic discrimination in law enforcement practices. The findings emphasize the need for targeted interventions to address racialized policing. Future research should explore the intersections of identity and systemic bias in greater detail, informing policies that promote equity and reduce harm in policing and broader societal contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

ABSTRACT Police officers and camera-based enforcement systems are commonly used to enforce similar offences, yet there has been limited literature examining the differences in effectiveness of these enforcement types. As such, this study examined differences in deterrence, procedural justice and legitimacy perceptions between police and camera enforcement for speeding, as well as examined the unique effect of each enforcement method on speeding behaviour. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 2258 licensed drivers across four Australian states. The study compared perceptions of certainty, severity and swiftness of punishment as well as punishment avoidance, agreeance, fairness, trustworthy motives, and legitimacy across both enforcement types. Further, a series of 6 linear regressions were conducted to assess the unique impact of police and camera enforcement at three speeding offence ranges (1–10, 11–20, 20+ kmph over the limit). The results demonstrated drivers were more confident that camera-based systems would detect and sanction low and mid-range speeding, while police officers were viewed as more trustworthy, fairer, and legitimate. The use of camera enforcement deterred low-range speeding, while police officer enforcement did not significantly deter speeding of any range. Drivers who supported or agreed with the enforcement of speed limits reported lower offending rates. This study is the first to empirically compare the differential deterrent, procedural justice and legitimacy effects of police and camera-based speed enforcement. The findings highlight the need for a complementary enforcement strategy, integrating and leveraging the strengths of both methodologies to enhance driver deterrence and perceived legitimacy in enforcement efforts.

Purpose The change in Thailand to a super-aged society means that elder protection has become a national priority. Although elder abuse is reported to the police and law enforcement is usually the first responder, they are not trained in protecting older people, particularly in cases of emotional abuse and economic exploitation. This study aims to present the prevalence of elder abuse in urban Thailand and examine the role, perception and limitations of law enforcement in elder protection. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a sequential, explanatory, mixed-methods design to collect survey data, specifically with 500 older adults, stratified randomly. Face-to-face surveys explored elder abuse, legal knowledge and awareness, and perceptions of police involvement in elder protection. Qualitative data were obtained through 20 key informant interviews (police, social workers, medical personnel and legal professionals). Quantitative data analysis included t-tests, ANOVA and regression; qualitative knowledge was thematically coded. Findings The form of elder abuse most commonly observed by older adults was emotional (44.2%) and economic (39.8%); rates were higher for emotional and economic abuse among female older adults and those with lower education. The best predictor of how older adults viewed police effectiveness was the level of education, legal knowledge, and previous engagement with police. The qualitative findings revealed challenges related to legal ambiguity, poor inter-agency coordination, and officer burnout. Cultural restrictions on families with elder abuse and the privatization of family violence were also issues to address. Research limitations/implications The study focused solely on urban contexts located in Bangkok; therefore, it may not consider rural or minority ethnospecific experiences. While this limits representational validity, sampling of key informants in this study created a selection bias across institutional perspectives. Although limitations impacted the representational validity of the general findings, the mixed-methods approach permitted strong data triangulation to imply, point to recommendations and generate future work with action. Future studies should concern rural–urban disparity, longitudinal movements in elder abuse and comparisons as to how law enforcement protections vulnerable elderly individuals in the local or international contexts. Practical implications The importance of implementing integrated Elder Protection Units within the Royal Thai Police, standardized inter-agency referral protocols in elder protection cases and training in elder rights and trauma-informed policing can effectuate real change in elder protection. The call for policy reform based on systemic gaps in public legal education, community awareness of empowering older persons through volunteers, is an actionable strategy with immediate implications to boost elder protection in Thailand and improve the consideration of older individuals’ dignity and rights through their engagement with social justice. Social implications Elder abuse identified within social structures by culture and silence is difficult to amend in Thailand. This research indicated that systemic deficits in policing, social protection and factors beyond themselves impacted individual factors in reporting elder abuse or neglect, endorsed normalization through silent family structures and spell blindness through the lack of responses by police as a symptom of systemic failures. Framing elder abuse as human rights concerns instead of individual ones promotes reformulation of police responder roles and behavior, catalyses engagement of community in the matter and promotes protection of elder persons' rights and dignity toward aging respectfully together. Originality/value This research is one of the few studies in Thailand to use amixed-methods design to investigate elder abuse and the role of law enforcement. The topic of this study focuses on a seldom discussed venue of the police as operational and perception lenses in how to contribute to restoring elder protection and protection in an aging society. The theoretical framework draws from social ecology, routine activity theories, victimology and costs that create nodes between criminology points of view and social welfare policy. The evidence draws on local and global lessons learned in monitoring and creating actionable recommendations with a reorganization of the role of police in elder protection matters contributing globally to the conversation of aging rights, and policing in the Asian region.

Abstract The experiences of Latina women and girls with state surveillance, and their responses to unfair policies and practices, remain underexplored. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Latinas—primarily of Mexican descent—living in San Diego, we examine how encounters with local police and immigration enforcement shape their political practices. Participants described repeated negative encounters with police and immigration enforcement agencies over the life course. These cumulative experiences fostered distrust of police and critical views of surveillance practices designed to restrict the mobility of immigrants and other systematically minoritized groups. In response, many of the women engaged in community organizing and adopted counter-surveillance strategies. Our findings show how patterned experiences with state surveillance generate political critique and action.

Encounter killing is a euphemism for extrajudicial executions by Police and Law enforcement agencies in South Asian region including India. This phenomenon presents a profound challenge to the constitutional fabric of India. This paper examines the debate surrounding these killings, which has been positioned between the imperative on the state to maintain law and order and the constitutional obligation of state to uphold the rule of law. The research paper traces the genealogy of encounter killings from their colonial antecedents and use in counter-insurgency to their present-day institutionalization as a tool for routine crime control by employing a qualitative, doctrinal, and comparative methodology. It critical analyses the legal framework including constitutional sanctity of life under Article 21, statutory provisions of private defence and use of force (Sections 34-44 BNS and Section 43 BNSS) which are often invoked as justification. It also evaluates the efficacy of judicial interventions, particularly the landmark 16-point guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. State of Maharashtra, and the oversight role of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The paper deconstructs the competing narratives of encounters as a “necessary evil” fueled by a failing criminal justice system, and as an “unruly horse” that tramples upon fundamental rights and fosters a culture of impunity. The analysis reveals that the persistence of encounter killings is linked to systematic weaknesses, the lack of political will for police reform and the failure of accountability mechanisms for the cure of which holistic reforms are necessary. The paper concludes by suggesting reforms which aimed at strengthening the rule of law, ensuring police accountability, and realigning policing with democratic and human rights principles.

Research on the ethics of life and death in organizations has overlooked the growing role of social media in shaping the ethical implications of organizational regulations on death. More specifically, while recent research suggests that memes are increasingly used to influence the reputation and perception of organizational actions, research on their roles in legitimating the organization of death is scant. This paper analyzes Internet memes legitimizing police slaughter in Brazilian favelas. Three primary discourses were identified: denying life worthiness, establishing actors deserving death, and upholding the police organization as executioners of death. This paper contributes to research on the ethics of organizational death in three different ways in a context of political polarization and growing authoritarism. First, it discusses how social media creates a legitimate discourse that makes death visible and gloats over its victims. Second, this discourse is enabled by social media memes, which divert the ethical debate on life and death, replacing it with superficial and transient engagement. Third, we discuss how memes can reinforce the role of the state police enforcement apparatus as an expression of racialized inequalities.

The Police and Law Enforcement (PLE) Scale assesses police-based discrimination and shows excellent psychometric properties among Black men. We posit that experiences with law enforcement vary at the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender and are linked to psychosocial outcomes. Replicate the factor structure of the PLE Scale in an independent sample of Black men (n = 198) and extend the measure by testing its psychometric comparability among Black women (n = 193), Latina women (n = 209), White women (n = 186), Latino men (n = 203), and White men (n = 198). We utilized a U.S.-based online sample (n = 1,187) of 18-26-year-olds. Measurement invariance tests were conducted; multigroup structural equation modeling examined the relationship between the PLE Scale and loneliness, access to environmental reward, depressive and anger rumination, and impulsive sexual behaviors. The PLE Scale replicates among Black men, does not display adequate psychometric properties among White women, and necessitates partial measurement invariance models across other groups. After accounting for differential item functioning, Black and Latino men report the highest levels of police-based discrimination. Similarities and differences were observed in the association between higher police-based discrimination and more loneliness, depressive, and anger rumination. Access to environmental reward and sexual behaviors displayed measurement bias that precluded comparisons. While this measure necessitates latent variable statistics to be applied across intersectional identities, it shows adequate psychometric properties to be useful in research among Black, Latino, and White men, Black women and Latina women (but not White women). Last, police-based discrimination appears to be particularly linked to rumination among men. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).