Police Foundation Research Articles

The Fight Against Cop City

On Saturday, March 4, I arrived at Intrenchment Creek Park in DeKalb County, Georgia, for the first day of a week of action against a $90 million construction project undertaken by the Atlanta Police Foundation—a private entity, backed by local CEOs and political leaders, that advances police interests. The foundation wants to raze eighty-five acres of public forest to build the largest police training facility in the United States, complete with a firing range, a burn building, and a “kill house” designed to mimic urban combat scenarios. It also argues that the facility will boost morale among officers. The size and scale of the project, and the destruction and deforestation it will require, have led a growing number of activists, organizers, and community members to object to what they call “Cop City.” The campaign against Cop City is simultaneously a campaign to defend the Weelaunee Forest, the name used for the area by the Muscogee Creek people forcibly displaced by settlers from the land in the early 1800s before it became the site of the notorious Atlanta Prison Farm. These elements of the campaign—the histories on which it draws, what it’s fighting against and for, who it is bringing together, and how—have given it tremendous staying power despite extraordinary odds.

Police relational accountabilities: The paralysis of police accountability?

Abstract This article examines the new relational accountabilities of Chief Constables, Police, and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) in England and Wales. Referring to a number of recent reports and reviews, the discussion initially focuses on the effectiveness of these relationships and, in particular, the inefficiency of PCPs. Using new empirical data obtained through interviews with senior stakeholders in policing at regional and national levels, and relevant persons in Government, this research shows PCPs are impotent and ineffective. This article develops current understanding, showing that PCPs may cause a new unforeseen consequence. Namely, the exercise of accountability and the governance of policing may be unusually reactive to the ‘one-to-one’ accountability relationship between PCCs and Chief Constables. This research is all the more important in light of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services finding in 2022 that there is an ‘atmosphere of mistrust and fear’ between PCCs and Chief Constables and The Police Foundation reporting ‘a crisis of confidence’, recommending ‘root and branch reform’ (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services 2022). Such recommendations are made to strengthen the exercise of accountability and the governance of policing. Specifically, the Home Secretary is encouraged to review the Policing Protocol Order (2011) and issue a Memorandum of Understanding to ensure ‘effective, constructive working relationships’ are not just a quixotic pursuit but a practical reality that safeguards the governance of policing.

Depicting the Work of Police Foundations on Social Media: A Visual Communication Analysis

Visual imagery is a fundamental element of our communication systems. Unlike spoken or written words that deliver meaning one word at a time, images convey multiple messages instantly with powerful impact. This study explores the content embedded in the social media images used by nonprofit police foundations in the United States through archeological visual analysis. Findings reveal that public service organizations navigate curation choices when selecting images for social media accounts, such as how best to depict the mission of the organization. The prioritization of image curation is imperative, especially with the growth of social media as a space for promoting encounters with, not just information distribution to, citizens. In the public service, the importance of image curation lies in the potential to reinforce the work of organizations, but the risk is miscommunication with consequences for public trust.

자치경찰제도 실질화를 위한 실천 전략에 관한 연구

In Korea, the autonomous police system began to be implemented nationwide from July 1, 2021, but a transitional autonomous police system was implemented through a unilateral model that is somewhat far from the dual autonomous police system that the academic world and civic groups have been hoping to introduce, which has caused disappointment. In addition, the era of autonomous police has begun in the absence of interest from the majority of the public and the skeptical views of on-site police, leading to many concerns. Some say that the unification model for the autonomous police system is referred to as a deformed autonomous police system that only incites confusion in police activities and expands the overload of work and legal obligations of the on-site police, and there are various criticisms such as the ‘autonomous police system’ with autonomous police work without autonomous police, or ‘autonomous police with a half satisfactory pattern,’ etc. Therefore, in the practical limitations of the current unification model inevitably being developed until the revision of the law and the expansion of local finance, the purpose of this study is to present a strategy for implementing a successful autonomous police system that is likely to create similar effects to the introduction of the dual model. A brief summary of practical strategies for the substantialization of autonomous police system is as follows. First, it is necessary to develop a close public security cooperation model with a local autonomy organization as a practical plan related to office work allocation. Second, to increase the public security satisfaction of local residents, it is necessary to actively reflect the voices of citizens in public security policy and build a public security cooperation network that can cooperate. Third, to maximize security capabilities such as information sharing and mutual cooperation between the local autonomy organization and the autonomous police, an autonomous police development research institute should be established to support academically and theoretically and to suggest a reasonable mid- to long-term model for autonomous police development. Next, as a practical plan related to human resource and finance, first, criteria should be prepared to reasonably and fairly evaluate the work and performance of autonomous police. Second, a security big data analysis department should be established to ensure that scientific and objective workload analysis can be conducted to see if manpower is appropriate to respond to local safety needs related to autonomous police affairs. Third, because recent criminal behavior is unpredictable, widespread, and intelligent, as there is a limit to responding only with regular police officers, auxiliary police should be actively utilized to supplement the security gap. Lastly, because there is a difference in the security situation or the budget management of local governments by region, as differential autonomous police services may appear, this study proposed the introduction of autonomous police foundation operation by benchmarking the cases of developed countries.

Raising Money for Government and Connecting Community: The Isomorphic Rise of Nonprofit Police Foundations Across the U.S.

Private philanthropic support for government agencies continues to expand into different areas of public services, especially at the local level where libraries, parks and recreation departments, and police departments have benefited. The resources generated by a dedicated government-supporting nonprofit can play a significant role in enhancing the work of government, not only through resources, but through community engagement. In this article, we focus on police foundations, registered 501(c)3 nonprofits that exist to support police departments. Using NCCS nonprofit data and data collected from organizational websites, we create a database of 243 police foundations that identifies their mission statements, websites and activities, and the characteristics of the communities in which they are found across the U.S. In doing so, we argue that, rather than government failure or inadequacy to meet the needs of communities, police foundations are the result of isomorphism among professionalized police departments seeking to enhance their work and connection to the community. While funding for additional equipment and training are the most common activities of police foundations, the similarity in programs serving the community gives some indication of the proliferation of best practices in public safety.

Hiding behind the Veil of Action Fraud: The Police Response to Economic Crime in England and Wales and Evaluating the Case for Regionalization or a National Economic Crime Agency

Abstract This article explores the policing structures that emerged in the noughties in England and Wales to tackle economic crime, such as Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. This article reviews some of the growing literature on these structures, in-particular, two reports by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services and a major investigation by the Police Foundation which provides a critical review of the police response to economic crime. This article argues the central problem is the lack of investigative capacity, among others. It also argues Action Fraud, which has become commonly derided, has become a useful veil from which the police to hide their inadequate response. This article argues radical change is required to address the investigative gap through either regionalization or a national solution, through a National Economic Crime Agency. This article considers some of the arguments for against such approaches and calls for a debate to commence on the future structures for policing economic crime.

Police and Crime Commissioners: A Dislocated Expectation?

AbstractThe calls in 2019 and 2020 for a Royal Commission, combined with the launch of The Strategic Review by The Police Foundation and the recommendation by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services for ‘profound and far reaching police reform’, evidence a thirst for refinement, and potentially, significant change to the governance of policing. Using new empirical data obtained through elite research interviews with some of the most senior stakeholders in policing at a regional and national level, this article explores the ability of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to hold Chief Constables to account. Attention is drawn to how the accountability of Chief Constables to PCCs may have significant strengths, such as enhanced visibility, increased frequency, and improved scrutiny. However, the accountability of Chief Constables may also be frustrated and possibly compromised. Indeed, accountability might be exercised inconsistently, susceptible to significant variance and contingent on the calibre and vagaries of PCCs. As such, recommendations are made to strengthen governance arrangements to ensure Chief Constables are robustly held to account. Specifically, the Home Secretary is encouraged to review The Policing Protocol Order and issue an Accountability Code of Practice.

Interprofessional education using a simulated disaster exercise

Abstract A simulated disaster exercise at a large community college in Toronto, Canada was an interprofessional exercise for students from health professions (nursing, and pharmacy technician) and emergency management programs (paramedics, pre-service fire, and police foundations). The objectives of this exercise were to provide students with an interprofessional learning experience and to allow students to practice their skills in a simulated disaster. The exercise was held over a 3-h period during the college's February 2019 study week. It consisted of multiple related scenarios revolving around a simulated bomb-blast in a high-rise apartment building. Students from the five programs worked alongside faculty and professionals from clinical partner sites, and students from the paramedic and nursing programs also participated in roles as victims. A debrief was conducted following the event. The event was evaluated with a survey that contained open-and closed-ended questions, and 47% of the students participated in the survey. Student participants reported a high level of satisfaction and 89% reported that it demonstrated the importance of interprofessional practice. Two themes arose from the student comments: collaborating with different professions, and learning about interprofessional roles. There is a need for follow-up to find out about the impact of this event on students’ future practice.

From Black Power to Broken Windows: Liberal Philanthropy and the Carceral State

During the 1960s, the Ford Foundation was one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States. This article examines the shifting strategies which Ford deployed in an attempt to tackle urban disorder in U.S. cities between 1965 and 1982. From 1966 to 1969, Ford engaged in a series of experimental projects which sought to dampen unrest through “community action” and grassroots mobilization, many of which required working with Black Power organizations. Yet, after this generated considerable political controversy, the foundation shifted toward funding liberal police reform, establishing the Police Foundation in 1970, a Washington-based organization whose research provided the intellectual underpinning for “Broken Windows” policing. Studying the Ford Foundation’s programming during this period can illuminate the understudied contribution of liberal philanthropy to the rise of the carceral state, as well as the connections between the grassroots antipoverty efforts of the 1960s and the punitive turn of the 1970s.

Public police’s philanthropy and Twitter communications in Canada

PurposePolice services, police associations and police foundations now engage in philanthropy and these efforts are communicated using social media. This paper examines social media framing of the philanthropic and charitable work of police in Canada.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from discourse and semiotic analyses, the authors examined the ways that police communications frame contributions to charity and community’s well-being. Tweets were analyzed for themes, hashtags and images that conveyed the philanthropic work of police services, police associations as well as police foundations.FindingsThe authors discovered four main forms of framing in these social media communications, focusing on community, diversity, youth and crime prevention. The authors argue that police used these communications as mechanisms to flaunt social capital and to boost perceptions of legitimacy and benevolence.Research limitations/implicationsMore analyses are needed to examine such representations over time and in multiple jurisdictions.Practical implicationsExamining police communications about philanthropy not only reveals insights about the politics of giving but also the political use of social media by police.Originality/valueSocial media is used by organizations to position themselves in social networks. The increased use of social media by police, for promoting philanthropic work, is political in the sense that it aims to bolster a sense of legitimacy.

Implementing a Police Foundation Degree—Insights from South Wales

AbstractThe recent announcement by the College of Policing in England and Wales that policing is soon to become a degree entry profession should come as no surprise. For the past decade or so, a professionalization agenda has slowly pushed police forces in England and Wales to recognize that policing is irrevocably changing. Police officers now need to be equipped with higher educational skills, abilities, and knowledge to allow them to function in a complex landscape. However, attempts have been made in the past to establish degree or similar-type programmes involving partnerships between police forces and different universities, with varying levels of success. This article explores a foundation degree programme in a partnership between a local police organization and the University of Glamorgan. It explores the rationale behind the implementation of the programme, its content, and its aims and objectives. It also critically examines the positive and negative aspects of such a programme, and will have resonance for the future.

‘If You’re Gonna Make a Decision, You Should Understand the Rationale’: Are Police Leadership Programs Preparing Canadian Police Leaders for Evidence-Based Policing?

Abstract Recently, we have seen a steady growth in the number of police practitioners and agencies adopting evidence-based policing (EBP). At its core, EBP rests on a central tenet: police decision-making should be ‘based on scientific evidence about what works best’ (Sherman, L. W. (1998). Evidence Based Policing. Washington, DC: Police Foundation). While this proposition seems straightforward, it places a responsibility on police leaders for which they may be unprepared. Understanding how best to commission, resource, appreciate the strengths and limitations of and/or make actionable the products of research, requires senior officers to have some level of familiarity with the research process. One potential source of that knowledge is police leader training and education. However, no one has yet explored the question of whether police leadership programs are adequately preparing senior officers for the world of EBP. To examine this issue, the authors present the results of an analysis of 29 in-depth qualitative interviews with senior Canadian police officers.

Police foundation governance and accountability: Corporate interlocks and private, nonprofit influence on public police

Police foundations are new private organizations used by public police services to raise corporate monies in North America. This article examines problems of governance and accountability arising in relation to police foundations and police services. Drawing from interviews, freedom of information requests and records from city archives, we analyze interlocks between corporations and police foundations via board membership. Because of the influence and control directors exercise by voting on projects and vetting other board members, links between corporations and police foundations raise ethical questions about the power of board members to influence police spending and procurement. We analyze data pertaining to four themes in literature on nonprofit organizations and directorate interlocking: philanthropy; influence and control; cooptation; and reciprocity. In conclusion, we reflect on the implications of our findings for literatures on public police governance and accountability.

Going to the dogs? Police, donations, and K9s

Purpose Most existing literature on K9 units has focused on the relationship between police handler and canine, or questions about use of force. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between private donations to public police departments, an increasingly accepted institutional practice in the policing world, and K9 units. Specifically, the authors examine rationales for sponsoring and financially supporting K9 units in Canada and the USA. Design/methodology/approach The authors focus on four main themes that emerged in analysis of media articles, interview transcripts, and the results of freedom of information requests. Findings These four rationales or repertoires of discourse are: police dogs as heroes; dogs as crime fighters; cute K9s; and police dogs as uncontroversial donation recipients. Originality/value After drawing attention to the expanding role of police foundations in these funding endeavors, the authors reflect on what these findings mean for understanding private sponsorship of public police as well as K9 units in North America and elsewhere. The authors draw attention to the possibility of perceived and actual corruption when private, corporate monies become the main channel through which K9 and other police units are funded.

Can higher education reduce the negative consequences of police occupational culture amongst new recruits?

PurposeThere is considerable evidence to illustrate police occupational culture can negatively influence service delivery and organizational reform. To counteract this, and to improve professionalism, the police services of England and Wales will become a graduate profession from 2020, although little empirical evidence exists as to what impact this will have. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of a police degree course on its students.Design/methodology/approachInitially, a survey was conducted with 383 university students studying for criminal justice-related undergraduate degrees in a UK university. This indicated Police Foundation degree students (n=84), identified themselves as being different, and behaving differently, to other university students. To explore the reasons for this, four focus groups were conducted with this cohort, during their two-year degree programme.FindingsThe study found that the Police Foundation degree students quickly assimilated a police identity, which affected their attitudes and behavior. The process led to a strengthening of ties within their own student group, at the expense of wider student socialization.Originality/valueThe study provides new findings in relation to undergraduate students who undertake a university-based degree programme, tailored to a future police career. The results have implications for both police policy makers and those in higher education as it highlights the strength of police occupational culture and the implications for the design of future police-related degree programmes.

Funnelling through foundations and crime stoppers: how public police create and span inter-organisational boundaries

ABSTRACTPublic police require a reliable supply of resources to operate effectively, and police increasingly seek resources from private organisations and individuals. Since police departments are public bodies, they encounter boundaries in doing so. The key challenge for public police is how to access private resources for initiatives while seeming to avoid real or alleged influence from private entities providing them. This article examines policing across inter-organisational boundaries and boundary negotiation by investigating two kinds of private organisations – police foundations and Crime Stoppers organisations – operating in Canadian jurisdictions, and which reflect significant trends in public police practices. Both organisational models were established by public police in the United States in 1970s, have proliferated, and now commonly operate adjacent to – but not within – North American police departments. Both models, and especially how they connect, create distance from, and otherwise relate to public police, lend insight into how boundaries are maintained, negotiated, and spanned. Implications of these arrangements for future research and the public good are discussed.

Additional Ideas for Putting Out the Flames

It is hard to argue with the central thesis of the focal article (Ruggs et al., 2016) that industrial–organizational (I-O) psychology has much to offer police departments in helping them meet their mission. As an example, the Los Angeles Police Department provides a clear statement that is representative of most police agencies: It is the mission of the Los Angeles Police Department to safeguard the lives and property of the people we serve, to reduce the incidence and fear of crime, and to enhance public safety while working with the diverse communities to improve their quality of life. Our mandate is to do so with honor and integrity, while at all times conducting ourselves with the highest ethical standards to maintain public confidence. (Los Angeles Police Foundation & LAPD, 2016)

First Responder Accuracy Using SALT after Brief Initial Training.

Mass-casualty incidents (MCIs) present a unique challenge with regards to triage as patient volume often outweighs the number of available Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers. A possible strategy to optimize existing triage systems includes the use of other first responder groups, namely fire and police, to decrease the triage time during MCIs, allowing for more rapid initiation of life-saving treatment and prioritization of patient transport. Hypothesis First-year primary care paramedic (PCP), fire, and police trainees can apply with similar accuracy an internationally recognized MCI triage tool, Sort, Assess, Life-saving interventions, Treatment/transport (SALT), immediately following a brief training session, and again three months later. All students enrolled in the PCP, fire, and police foundation programs at two community colleges were invited to participate in a 30-minute didactic session on SALT. Immediately following this session, a 17-item, paper-based test was administered to assess the students' ability to understand and apply SALT. Three months later, the same test was given to assess knowledge retention. Of the 464 trainees who completed the initial test, 364 (78.4%) completed the three month follow-up test. Initial test scores were higher (P<.05) for PCPs (87.0%) compared to fire (80.2%) and police (68.0%) trainees. The mean test score for all respondents was higher following the initial didactic session compared to the three month follow-up test (75% vs 64.7%; Δ 10.3%; 95% CI, 8.0%-12.6%). Three month test scores for PCPs (75.4%) were similar to fire (71.4%) students (Δ 4.0%; 95% CI, -2.1% to 10.1%). Both PCP and fire trainees significantly outperformed police (57.8%) trainees. Over-triage errors were the most common, followed by under-triage and then critical errors, for both the initial and follow-up tests. Amongst first responder trainees, PCPs were able to apply the SALT triage tool with the most accuracy, followed by fire, then police. Over-triage was the most frequent error, while critical errors were rare.

Intervening with Children and Families Exposed to Violence (Part II)

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsDean EssermanDean Esserman, Chief of Police, New Haven Department of Police Service, is a member of the New York and Massachusetts Bar. He currently holds a lecturer’s appointment at the Yale University Child Study Center. He also serves as a member of the National Board of the Vera Institute of Justice and the Local Support Initiatives Corporation (LISC) and is a member of the Police Foundation. Chief Esserman has spent virtually his entire adult life in public service as a law enforcement practitioner.

Knowledge management and performance, the traffic police department in the variouse province

Transportation industry in each country reflects the economic situation, and the extent of the country's industrial development and behavior management, especially knowledge management, traffic police foundation is very important. Safe management and road accidents necessitate the need to identify, understand and rigorous analysis, and training of personnel, and those involved in this phenomenon. Meanwhile, the special attention necessary training, as well as its management among the various provinces of the country, it seems to be necessary. In this study, we first mapped matrix provinces, according to the country's transport police department of education, was paid in 2010. Therefore, according to the first field studies and library, established the potential matrix, a matrix with 9 columns, including indicators, and 30 lines, including the provinces of the country. Then, using component -based methods, hierarchical cluster analysis, the provinces, based on education, transportation, graded and compared, was located. The results showed that, Tehran province, has the best performance, and the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Khorasan, Kermanshah, Hamadan, Fars, Hormozgan, East Azarbaijan, Gilan, South Khorasan, Bushehr, Yazd, Semnan, Golestan, Ardebil, Zanjan, Qazvin, Kurdistan, kohgiluyeh Boyer Ahmad, Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari, Qom, Lorestan and Ilam, has the weakest performance in knowledge management transport Police are.