Police Reform Research Articles

The Role of Leadership Training in Developing Effective Police Supervisors

The purpose of the article was to examine how well police supervisors are equipped to lead their teams effectively and morally by means of leadership training programs. The disparity between the abilities needed for efficient supervision and those needed for police officers was the main topic of discussion. The fundamental abilities that police supervisors must possess are teamwork, communication, decision-making, and conflict resolution. The effectiveness of leadership development programs in providing supervisors with these competencies. The possible advantages of efficient leadership development, such as higher officer safety, decreased misbehavior, and better public reputation. The Main Points/Determinations: Officers may not be sufficiently prepared for the intricacies of supervisory responsibilities by traditional police training. Supervisors who participate in excellent leadership development programs can acquire the skills needed to effectively lead their teams. Gaining these abilities can result in better decision-making, more communication, and a happier workplace. Good leadership development programs may help reduce police misconduct and provide a safer atmosphere for both the public and cops. Reviewing previous studies on the effects of police leadership training was the methodology/approach. Examine the fundamental abilities deemed necessary for police supervisors. Examine how these abilities are addressed in leadership training programs through curriculum analysis or participant/developer interviews. Examine any connections that might exist between good leadership development and outcomes that are favorable to the public or less wrongdoing (this could include data analysis or case studies). The study's significance and implications were that it made clear how crucial it is to fund thoughtfully crafted leadership development initiatives for police supervisors. Police agencies may cultivate a more professional, ethical, and community-focused force by providing supervisors with the required training. Good leadership development programs can increase public confidence, lower misbehavior, and make everyone's surroundings safer. The leaders of the police department (chiefs, training officers) were in attendance. Government officers and policymakers. scholars and researchers in criminal justice. Neighborhood groups that support police reform. This training prepares police officers for supervisory roles by equipping them with the skills necessary to lead effectively. Through communication, decision-making, and conflict resolution training, supervisors become better equipped to handle challenging situations. The program also fosters team building by teaching motivation, delegation, and trust- building techniques. Ultimately, effective leadership training enhances public perception of the police, reduces misconduct, and improves officer safety.

Police reform in public housing contexts: Body‐worn cameras, surveillance, and harm reduction in New York City Housing Authority Developments

AbstractResearch summaryThe concern of crime in New York City public housing complexes motivated heightened police patrol of buildings and the enforcement of trespass laws. The 2013 federal court settlement of Davis et al. v. City of New York et al. mandated that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) implement a series of reforms, including the deployment of body‐worn cameras (BWCs) on officers, to address unconstitutional use of criminal trespass enforcement and stop and frisk practices in public housing developments. This study employed a stepped wedge quasi‐experimental design that involved the sequential crossover of public housing service area clusters from control to BWC implementation until all NYPD housing bureau officers were equipped with BWCs. Panel regression models at the individual officer and service area levels were used to estimate BWC program impacts on outcomes between 2015 and 2019. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the impact of the BWCs on the lawfulness of officer stop reports that were randomly selected for audit between 2017 and 2019. Results show that BWC deployment in public housing reduced excessive enforcement, citizen complaints, and use of force by NYPD housing officers. Findings further suggest that BWCs can help reduce constitutionally problematic stops and frisks of citizens.Policy implicationsProblematic police activities in public housing contexts can be reformed using BWCs. When coupled with routine supervisory review of video footage, the deployment of BWCs on public housing officers can improve compliance with department directives to reduce enforcement actions and increase documentation of citizen stops.

Police reform from the top down: Experimental evidence on police executive support for civilian oversight

AbstractThe accountability of police to the public is imperative for a functioning democracy. The opinions of police executives—pivotal actors for implementing oversight policies—are an understudied, critical component of successful reform efforts. We use a pre‐registered survey experiment administered to all U.S. municipal police chiefs and county sheriffs to assess whether police executives’ attitudes towards civilian oversight are responsive to 1) state‐level public opinion (drawing on an original n = 16,840 survey) and 2) prior adoption of civilian review boards in large agencies. Results from over 1,300 police executives reveal that law enforcement leaders are responsive to elite peer adoption but much less to public opinion, despite overwhelming public support. Compared to appointed municipal police chiefs, elected sheriffs are less likely to support any civilian oversight. Our findings hold implications for reformers: we find that existing civilian oversight regimes are largely popular, and that it is possible to move police executive opinion towards support for civilian oversight.

Scrutiny of Police Institutions and the Spectre of Culture

AbstractThis article revisits the concept of police culture and its explanatory value in understanding the recent scandals that have rocked policing in England and Wales. It focusses on concerns around the prevalence of sexism and violence against women and girls (VAWG) within policing and explores whether an increase in the diversity of police officers has pushed aspects of police culture into specific specialist and less visible areas of policing. The article suggests that any attempts at substantive police reform need to consider radical organisational and structural change, including a new narrative for British policing. Such a narrative needs political and social support and will require wider engagement beyond internally focussed police discussions.

Beyond racial resentment: Systemic racism beliefs and public attitudes toward criminal justice institutions and reforms

AbstractIntroductionSystemic racism theory has become a central part of academic and public discussions about criminal justice institutions and reforms. Little, however, is known about the association between people's belief in the ubiquity of systemic racism and their attitudes toward criminal justice institutions and reforms.MethodsTo fill this gap, we examine the association between systemic racism beliefs and support for police, police reform, and the BLM movement using a national YouGov sample of 1125 U.S. adults.ResultsSystemic racism beliefs are associated with Americans’ attitudes toward all three outcomes, net of a wide range of controls, including negative experiences with police, political ideology, and most notably, racial resentment.ConclusionOur study provides compelling evidence that belief in systemic racism is an important driver of Americans’ support for police, police reforms, and BLM.

Police reforms in India: A Human Rights Concern

Abstract The police, an integral component of the justice system, are primarily tasked with maintaining law and order, particularly through the enforcement of criminal codes. According to the Royal Commission on Police Powers and Procedures in 1929, a policeman is an individual employed by the state to perform duties that, if desired, could have been undertaken voluntarily. Today, the term “police” refers to the civil executive force of a state entrusted with maintaining public order and enforcing regulations for crime prevention and apprehension. In contemporary times, the role of the police extends beyond crime prevention and detection to encompass various welfare activities such as assisting in traffic management, crowd control at public gatherings, aiding fire brigades and flood rescue operations, and resolving minor disputes among the public. However, this paper does not solely focus on the definition of the police. Instead, it provides an overview of police reforms in India, highlighting the challenges faced by the Indian police system and proposing solutions to address these challenges. Additionally, it explores the legal standpoint on police reforms. Keyword– Indian Police, Public Order, Royal Commission, Criminal Codes, Traffic Management

The Protection of Human Rights Defenders in the National Policy of Police Reforms in Indonesia

This research is intended to find scientific arguments to ensure that Indonesia’s National Police reform agenda must be carried out with systematic efforts that can promote and protect human rights defenders. This research uses the descriptive qualitative method using conceptual, statutory, and historical approaches. Library sources as the primary data. This research collects data in the field of literature study, such as books, journals, and credible periodical reports. Finally, the problems are analyzed using the qualitative method. Police Bureaucratic Reform is the ideal patron of the National Police, which is carried out gradually and systematically. Through this instrument, human rights policing can provide certainty for promoting and protecting human rights to human rights defenders. The result of this research convinces and invites the government officers, parliament, NHRIs, and civil society, including human rights defenders, to openly and periodically monitor and evaluate the implementation of National Police bureaucratic reform.

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

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

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

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

Counterfactuals in mainstream media: A pathway for blame attribution and policy endorsement in police lethal force incidents

AbstractPrevious research demonstrates that exposure to police lethal force through the media impacts individuals' support for police reform, but the mechanism driving this support is underexplored. The current study examines how news media counterfactuals (i.e., creating alternative outcomes for events that have already occurred) influence individuals' processing of police lethal force incidents, and how these perceptions, in turn, impact support for police reform. In a 2 (victim race: Black vs. White) × 3 (counterfactual target: victim, officer, or no counterfactual control) factorial design, 925 participants read a news article summarizing a lethal force incident, assigned blame for both the officer and victim, and reported their endorsement for various police reforms. Results indicated counterfactual target impacted blame attributions, and these blame attributions predicted endorsement of police reform while controlling for Attitudes Towards Police Legitimacy (APLS). These findings illustrate how media counterfactuals can influence blame, and importantly, influence perceptions of various police reforms.

The Jim Crow Militia: Paramilitary Police Reform and Law-and-Order Liberalism in Mississippi

The Jim Crow Militia: Paramilitary Police Reform and Law-and-Order Liberalism in Mississippi

Perception of safety and cooperativeness among police officers serving in public areas, and identification of public security problems in Fejér County

Aim: As part of Árpád Budavári’s doctoral research entitled “Chances of police reform and community-based” policing, the authors conducted a survey in 2020–2021 among the police officers serving in the public areas of the Fejér County Police Headquarters, to investigate the policemen’s understanding of security, their cooperativeness, and to identify of public security problems in Fejér county. Methodology: The hypothesis of the survey is that the police show signs of cooperative problem solving with communities in society, and it is also possible to identify intervention needs that can improve the problem sensitivity and cooperative competences of the police. The results of the survey on a sample 310 policemen were compared with the results of a survey on a sample of 500 citizens in Székesfehérvár conducted in 2016, which was used to assess the extent to which the understanding of security and the perception of security actors are the same and the extent to which they differ between the two target groups. Findings: The results of the survey clearly show the recognition of the importance of cooperation with the public and the demand for cooperation. It is observed, however, that this is hindered by several factors. It can also be concluded that members of police do not currently recognise the importance and effectiveness of public security institutions other than the police. Further research is needed to reveal the reasons behind this phenomenon. Value: By comparing the opinions of the police with those of the public, and by revealing the willingness of police officers to cooperate, the research results will contribute to the diagnosis of the state of the police and to the identification of the needs for change.

‘Valuable Lives to Save’ vs. ‘Babysitting These People While They Try to Kill Themselves’: Changing Police Attitudes Towards Safe Consumption Sites

Abstract North American police responses to the ‘drug issue’ have long been shaped by a crime control rather than a harm reduction imperative. Consequently, police officers’ responses to safe consumption sites (SCSs), where people who use illicit drugs can reduce personal health risks by administering previously obtained drugs in the presence of trained staff, were initially hostile. This paper draws on interview data from police officers in two western Canadian cities to highlight an apparent softening in attitudes, perhaps due to the current fentanyl-driven drug poisoning crisis. While some officers clearly recognized their public health benefits, others accepted SCSs, acknowledging the futility of a continued ‘war on drugs’. Some voiced reservations about SCSs, but not because of a generic ‘drugs are bad’ sentiment. Rather, they worried about specific downstream implications for communities and police work. These findings, reflecting apparent changes in police officers’ responses to SCSs, are discussed in the context of contemporary debates about police culture and the possibilities and desirability of pursuing police reform.

｢경찰관직무집행법｣ 제11조의5 물리력 사용 경찰관의 형사책임 감면조항의 타당성에 관한 연구

Public distrust of police grew over two police officers’ poor response to an attempted murder case in Incheon, Korea on November 15, 2021. The incident resulted in a public outcry for police reform and measures to address police incompetence as a female officer left the crime scene while a victim was stabbed in her neck. After the incident, the Korean National Police Agency initiated a revision to the Act of the Performance of Duties by Police Officers on the ground that the potential for criminal liability from use of police force is a primary obstacle to officers’ proactive law enforcement in the field. As the National Assembly approved the revision, police officers can be immune to criminal liability or their liability can be mitigated when they meet the requirements in the immunity clause. Nevertheless, the legislation faces strong opposition as it fails to adopt the concept of objectively reasonable mistakes in use of police force situations. In this regard, the current study critically reviewed the adequacy of the immunity clause within the context of legal nature of police force, police use of force standards as well as immunity to criminal liability clauses in 41 states in the United States of America. The present study proposed several policy implications for proper use of police force including the revision of the current immunity clause, changes in police officers’ weapon carrying systems and police officer requalification systems.

On the Role of Police Shootings, Recognition of Systemic Racism, and Empathy on White Americans' Support for Police Reform.

The police kill Black Americans at disproportionate rates. Despite this, White Americans remain mixed on support for policing-related policy reform. We examined whether bearing witness to police violence leads to support for policy reforms. Across three studies (N = 943), White participants either viewed a news video about an unarmed Black man killed at the hands of police or in a car accident due to a collision with another driver. Participants lower but not higher in symbolic racism reported more empathy after viewing a police shooting (vs. car accident) news video (Studies 1-3). Empathy predicted policing-related policy reform support (Studies 1-3) and mediated the relationship between condition and policy reform support (Studies 1 and 3), among those lower in symbolic racism (Studies 1-2). Results suggest that empathy for Black victims of police violence predicts policy support but only among those who recognize that such violence is systemic in nature.

EXAMINING THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN EXECUTION OF POLICE REFORMS IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

This research investigates the intricate dynamics between media coverage and public perceptions of police reforms in Punjab, Pakistan, adopting a positivist paradigm. Grounded in quantitative approach, the study employs a cross-sectional research design with a structured survey questionnaire administered to residents of Lahore. Stratified random sampling ensures a representative sample across demographic factors. Findings reveal positive perception of media coverage, with respondents acknowledging extensive & unbiased reporting on police reform initiatives. Correlation & regression analyses indicate moderate to strong positive relationship between various media coverage variables and public perceptions, that are influential and diverse media coverage positively impacts attitudes, support for the reform initiatives, & confidence in transparency. Challenges in media-government interaction are recognized, emphasizing limited access to information, yet perceived cooperation between media and authorities. Opportunities for media advocacy and transparency are identified, aligning with watchdog role of the media. The study contributes deep insights into the interplay between media and public perceptions of police reforms, offering valuable implications for policymakers and media practitioners seeking to enhance transparency and public engagement in the realm of the law enforcement required reforms.

Implications of EndSARS Protest on National Security and Development

The EndSARS protest, which was sparked by public outcry against police brutality, had a significant impact on Nigeria’s national security and development. The protest primarily called for the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit notorious for its human rights abuses. Underlying issues such as poor governance, rampant corruption, and the Federal Government's failure to reform the Nigerian police system were key factors leading to the massive demonstrations in 2020. Citizens were frustrated with the systemic negligence and lack of accountability, which prompted them to demand justice and police reforms. This paper adopts a descriptive approach to analyze the situation and highlights the importance of the government taking proactive measures to address security issues. The protesters’ grievances reflect a broader societal need for transparency, accountability, and fairness in governance. Therefore, it is crucial for the Federal Government to listen to the voice of the people and implement reforms that ensure the protection of citizens' rights and improve police conduct. By addressing these concerns, the government can help prevent the recurrence of such protests, which may escalate into more dangerous and widespread movements in the future. The paper argues that if the underlying factors are left unchecked, future protests could have far more severe consequences for national stability and development. Thus, the government must act decisively to reform the system and restore public trust.

Local Governments, Pandemic Aid, and Community Violence Intervention

Expenditures on police departments account for significant portions of local government budgets in the United States. Yet activism on police reform and changing views on the causes of violence have called into question law enforcement's role in public safety. While intergovernmental transfers have historically supported traditional policing, the American Rescue Plan Act's Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) affords cities the opportunity to disrupt the status quo by providing them with the federal funds and flexibility to reshape their public safety policies around Community Violence Interventions (CVIs). This article examines how 13 cities that participated in a White House convened collaborative used CSLFRF aid to support CVIs. Our analysis reveals significant variation in how these cities in allocated CSLFRF dollars to CVI programs, suggesting that the combination of federal aid and White House encouragement has thus far led to incremental policy changes, whose durability remains an open question.

Police custody in rural Scotland: negotiating boundaries, risk and organisational change

PurposeThis paper explores the challenging nexus of police custody, risk and intra-organisational boundaries in the context of a recently reformed national police service. Police custody is an often-hidden aspect of policing, away from the public gaze and scrutiny. Although there is increasing recognition of the importance of rural policing (e.g. Harkness (2020); Mawby and Yarwood (2011); Ruddell and Jones (2020); Yarwood and Wooff (2016)), there has been little or no focus on rural police custody. This paper seeks to begin to redress this by focussing on the challenges faced by rural police custody in the context of large-scale organisational change.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on data from a study funded by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (2016–2018), entitled “Measuring Risk and Efficiency in Police Custody in Scotland”. The paper adopts a qualitative methodology to develop an understanding of the varying nature of police custody across Scotland. Two contrasting case study locations were selected, one urban and one rural. 12 semi-structured interviews and 15 hours of observation were carried out. Data was transcribed, coded and analysed and thematic analysis enabled themes to be developed. This paper draws on the data from the rural custody suite.FindingsDrawing on the theoretical framework of Giacomantonio (2014) and more recent considerations of abstract policing Terpstra et al. (2019), this paper offers insights into the ways that police custody in rural Scotland has been organised, against the backdrop of challenging organisational change. I argue that as policing services in Scotland have become increasingly “abstract” from communities, police custody as a national division has witnessed the impact of this more greatly than other parts of local policing. Intra-organisational management around staffing has led to complex management of risk, illustrating some of the challenges of national organisational change on police custody.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on the impact of large scale organisational change on rural police custody and intra-organisational relationships and dynamics. Rural policing is still a largely neglected area of study and rural police custody is even less understood. This paper therefore provides an original contribution by focusing on this under-researched area of policing. It also illustrates complexity around risk, staffing and management of people being held in rural police custody suites. It is therefore of value to policing scholars in other contexts, as well as rural criminology more generally. It has applicability to international contexts where macro level policing reform is occurring.

How Democratic Police Reforms Fail: A Law and Development Perspective on Institutional Processes of Change and Resistance

Abstract Democratic police reform (DPR) is a type of institutional reform that aims to make polices compatible with democratic political regimes. Though distinct approaches have been attempted in distinct contextual circumstances, promoting DPR has proven remarkably difficult. Successful cases are hard to find; across the globe, DPR efforts have had unsatisfactory outcomes, amounting to little or no sustainable change in dysfunctional police forces. What explains this systematic failure of DPR? Existing research has focused on determining the sociopolitical circumstances and/or reform methods that correlate with positive or negative DPR outcomes. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding how DPR fails – that is, the processes through which the above-mentioned variables interact with the police’s organizational environments, rules, and resistance mechanisms to produce unsatisfactory outcomes/failed reform. This paper proposes that an analytical framework based on law and development scholarship can help police reform scholars address these gaps. To develop this argument, I review and discuss existing theorizations on DPR failure, demonstrating the potential contributions of a law and development perspective. I suggest that a framework based on this perspective nuances existing approaches by emphasizing the contentious processes surrounding reform enactment and implementation. Unpacking these processes can represent a new research agenda for police reform scholarship.