Police Reports Research Articles

A Script Analysis of Successful Police Interventions Involving Individuals in Crisis

This study uses script analysis in criminology to identify steps and actions performed by police officers during their encounters with individuals in crisis to obtain their cooperation peacefully. Data were collected from 130 police reports. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were respectively used to identify the main steps of police interventions and to estimate the effect of police actions on reactions from the person in crisis. A six-step script was identified: (1) receiving the emergency call; (2) arriving at the scene; (3) assessing the situation; (4) engaging with the person in crisis; (5) managing the situation; and (6) completing the intervention. During their interventions, officers use several techniques to obtain the cooperation of the person in crisis or de-escalate the crisis. Results indicate that support techniques (e.g., involving the person in finding a solution) lead to cooperation and permit effective de-escalation of the crisis. Conversely, individuals in crisis were less likely to cooperate or calm down when the police used nonphysical (e.g., using threats, disapproving of the person’s behavior) or physical control techniques (e.g., using constraint or intermediate weapons). Measures likely to improve police interventions with individuals in crisis are discussed, using the script analysis as a framework.

Compressed gas diving fatalities in Australian waters 2014 to 2018.

This study aimed to investigate compressed gas diving deaths in Australia from 2014-2018 and make comparison to those from 2001-2013 to identify ongoing problems and assess countermeasures. Media reports and the National Coronial Information System were searched to identify scuba diving deaths for 2014-2018, inclusive. Data were extracted from the witness and police reports, medical histories, and autopsies. An Excel® database was created and a chain of events analysis conducted. Comparisons were made with the earlier report. Forty-two fatalities were identified, 38 using scuba and four using surface-supplied breathing apparatus involving 30 males and 12 females. The mean age of victims was 49.7 years, six years higher than the previous cohort. Fifty-four percent were obese. Six victims were unqualified, three were under instruction and at least 28 were experienced divers, significantly more than in the previous cohort. Health-related predisposing factors, predominantly obesity and cardiac-related, were identified as likely contributory to 26 incidents, and planning shortcomings to at least 22 deaths. One-third of the disabling conditions were primary drowning and one-quarter were cardiac. Three divers died subsequent to carbon monoxide poisoning and three likely from immersion pulmonary oedema. Advancing age, obesity and the associated cardiac disease have become increasingly prevalent in diving fatalities and the need for appropriate assessment of fitness to dive is evident.

Estimation of Driving Direction of Traffic Accident Vehicles for Improving Traffic Safety

Traffic accidents are widely recognized as being a significant societal disaster that causes severe human, economic, and social damage. While various factors, such as environmental, road, and human factors are commonly associated with traffic accidents, this study proposes a novel approach to consider the directionality of traffic accidents. It examines its impact on traffic safety in Chungcheongnam-do province, South Korea. Using police reports, we estimated the directionality of each accident by calculating the angle between its occurrence site and destination. Our experimental results revealed a statistically significant association between the directionality of traffic accidents and their incidence rates in Chungcheongnam-do province, with a higher frequency of accidents occurring in a Southbound direction. These findings suggest that considering the directionality of traffic accidents could enhance the effectiveness of traffic safety policies and interventions. Further research is needed to explore this approach’s underlying mechanisms and potential applications. Nevertheless, this study provides important insights for policy makers and practitioners to develop targeted and practical measures for improving traffic safety.

Gambling, social integration and sources of strain in cases of suicide: exploring police investigation reports

In this qualitative sociological study we explore the significance of social integration and social strain in gambling suicides. There is evidence that gambling and suicidality are associated. Mental distress is common among people experiencing gambling harm. Indebtedness and financial losses are also associated with suicidality among people experiencing gambling harm. The significance of social factors and social context on gambling suicides is understudied. Social integration theory proposes that social ties, such as marriage, can protect people from suicide. Strain theory explains suicide by social factors causing strain. Our research question is: How are social integration and different sources of strain related to cases of gambling suicides? The data consists of police investigation reports of 21 suicide cases. The data was analyzed with thematic content analysis. The results show variation in the social integration and strain the deceased experienced before their deaths. None of the deceased were without social ties. The entanglement of different sources of strain was manifest. The results suggest that a typology consisting of four categories of suicide contexts can be distinguished by the respective strength of integration and the number of different strains. We conclude that gambling policy with a focus on harm prevention is also a matter of suicide prevention.

Deep Learning-Based Black Spot Identification on Greek Road Networks

Black spot identification, a spatiotemporal phenomenon, involves analysing the geographical location and time-based occurrence of road accidents. Typically, this analysis examines specific locations on road networks during set time periods to pinpoint areas with a higher concentration of accidents, known as black spots. By evaluating these problem areas, researchers can uncover the underlying causes and reasons for increased collision rates, such as road design, traffic volume, driver behaviour, weather, and infrastructure. However, challenges in identifying black spots include limited data availability, data quality, and assessing contributing factors. Additionally, evolving road design, infrastructure, and vehicle safety technology can affect black spot analysis and determination. This study focused on traffic accidents in Greek road networks to recognize black spots, utilizing data from police and government-issued car crash reports. The study produced a publicly available dataset called Black Spots of North Greece (BSNG) and a highly accurate identification method.

Bicyclist crashes with cars and SUVs: Injury severity and risk factors

Objective The popularity of bicycle travel has increased in recent years alongside a comparable increase in the risk of injury or death for those cyclists. The current study was conducted to investigate the differences in injury outcomes between bicyclists struck by SUVs and those struck by cars and to uncover the mechanisms behind injury patterns that have been observed in past research. Methods We analyzed 71 single-vehicle crashes from the Vulnerable Road User Injury Prevention Alliance pedestrian crash database, focusing on crashes involving an SUV or car. Each crash from this database included an in-depth analysis of police reports, bicyclist medical records, crash reconstructions, and injury attribution by a panel of experts. Results Bicyclist injuries from crashes with SUVs were more severe than those from crashes with cars, particularly with respect to head injuries. The greater injury severity associated with SUVs was related to these vehicles’ tendency to produce injuries from ground contact or from vehicle components near the ground. In contrast, cars were much less likely to produce ground injuries and instead tended to distribute less severe injuries across multiple vehicle components. Conclusions The pattern of results suggest that the size and shape of SUV front ends are responsible for the differences in bicyclist injury outcomes. In particular, we found that SUV crashes inflicted more severe head injuries compared with car crashes and that SUVs were disproportionately likely to throw bicyclists to the ground and run them over.

July 2023

July 2023

The Effects of Race and Gender When Predicting Intimate Partner Violence Recidivism in Police Reports Using the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment

Despite a growth in risk assessment for intimate partner violence (IPV), validation research has focused on men’s violence against women leading to a dearth of research among other genders and racialized populations. We examined validity of an IPV risk assessment tool in 448 Black and White men and women identified as IPV perpetrators by a United States urban police service. The Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) predicted new police reports of IPV in a fixed 2-year follow up (baserate = 33%, AUC = 0.59). Predictive effects were mostly small, with few significant differences between groups. Further research should examine the benefits and potential harms of IPV risk assessment to individuals who identify within minority race and gender groups.

African Vernacular Symbols of Black Intersex Children in Sinethemba Ngubane's Installations (2007-2016)

African Vernacular Symbols of Black Intersex Children in Sinethemba Ngubane's Installations (2007-2016)

Kajian Linguistik Forensik dalam Penyidikan Kasus Pembunuhan Engeline

This study discusses the study of forensic linguistics in the investigative stage. The purpose of this study is to provide a general understanding of the role of linguistics in legal investigations. This study uses a Forensic Linguistics approach which is supported by three theories, namely the context of the situation, the cooperation principle, and the meaning of ideology. The context of the situation in the discourse includes three dimensions, namely the field of discourse, the tenor of discourse, and mode of discourse. The field of discourse in the text discusses the details of the chronology of events in which there are a witness, suspect, and investigators as tenor in the discourse. Mode of disourse has an oral form. In the principle of cooperation, the witness and suspect violate the maxim of quantity and quality due to doubts in disclosing facts. The meaning of ideology contained in the police reports is that the final decision is determined by the police because of the ideology of power they have.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Activities of law enforcement agencies and the court in bringing offenders to administrative responsibility for domestic violence

The scientific article examines the activities of law enforcement agencies, in particular the police and the court, in bringing offenders to administrative responsibility for domestic violence. The article discusses the concept of domestic violence, forms and manifestations of domestic violence. The provisions of the legislation providing for administrative responsibility have been studied. It is noted that administrative responsibility is provided for in Article 173-2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
 It was emphasized that according to the Criminal Code of Administrative Offenses, the police are obliged to draw up a protocol on an administrative offense provided for in Article 173-2 of the Criminal Code of Administrative Offenses. In addition, the employees of this law enforcement agency are obliged to collect evidence to confirm the story set out in the protocol. After that, the case materials are transferred to the court.
 Some problems of the implementation of administrative responsibility are disclosed, in particular, it is stated that the practical application of Article 173-2 is quite difficult. The problem is that the legislator does not quite clearly describe the objective side of this offense, and the acts of interpretation interpret the content of the said norm quite inconsistently.
 It was emphasized that there are certain problems in proof. It is noted that the resolutions under Art. 173-2 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses demonstrate that the following are usually used in evidence: a protocol on an administrative offense, police reports, explanations of a person who is brought to administrative responsibility, explanations of a victim, a statement about the commission of domestic violence, an urgent restraining order, a form for assessing the risks of committing domestic violence, printouts of messages from "Viber" and "Telegram", video recordings.
 It is noted that the closure of the proceedings usually occurs due to insufficient evidence of guilt according to the set plot of the protocol, which usually results from the following reasons: unqualified police officers; court practice on domestic violence is not yet sufficiently developed; the circumstances of the offense usually occur TETA-TET; victims neglect their rights to gather evidence.
 It was emphasized that significant steps have already been taken at the legislative level to improve the situation in combating domestic violence. However, as practice shows, the procedure of proof in cases is imperfect. The urgent need to strengthen control over offenders by the police was emphasized.

Doing Gender, Avoiding Crime: The Gendered Meaning of Criminal Behavior and the Gender Gap in Offending in the United States

Men are overrepresented in criminal offending, arrest, and incarceration rates, resulting in a gender gap in crime data. I use the mathematical structure and propositions of affect control theory to understand how the symbolic meanings society holds for gender and crime relate to this observed difference in women’s and men’s offending. While criminal behaviors are deviant for both men and women, I hypothesize that they produce even more deflection when enacted by a woman actor than by a man actor in computer simulations. This first hypothesis is supported in a dataset containing 109 criminal behaviors drawn from three affect control theory dictionaries collected in English in the United States in 1998, 2002 to 2004, and 2012 to 2014. Second, I hypothesize that when a crime produces a greater gender gap in deflection in simulations, there will be a greater observed gender gap in alleged offending. I test this hypothesis using four sources of crime data: victim self-reports, police reports, arrest data, and juvenile court statistics. I find hypothesis support using all data sources except victim self-reports. Affect control theory provides an explicit social psychological understanding of how gendered meanings of behavior translate into criminal behavior as recorded in offending data (e.g., Uniform Crime Report).

Prophylactic relationship between mental health disorder symptoms and physical activity of Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cadets during the cadet training program.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police report experiencing extremely frequent potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTE). In a recent study, approximately half of participating RCMP screened positive for one or more mental disorders, which is approximately five times the diagnostic proportion for the general Canadian population. Increased reporting of mental health symptoms been linked to PPTE exposures. Programs promoting physical activity may be useful interventions to supplement or pair with mental health interventions, providing anxiolytic, antidepressant, and stress-buffering effects. The current study was designed to assess the relationship between physical activity behaviors and reported mental health disorder symptoms of cadets during the Royal Mounted Canadian Police (RCMP) Cadet Training Program (CTP). The current study also examined the relationship between exercise and mental health disorder symptoms of cadets during the CTP. The study included data from 394 cadets (76.1% male). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a series of t-tests were used to assess several differences across sociodemographic groups. Bivariate Spearman's Rank correlations were performed between the average number of active calories burned per day, as recorded by Apple Watches, and changes in self-reported mental health disorder symptoms (i.e., Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD], Major Depressive Disorder [MDD], Posttraumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD], Social Anxiety Disorder [SAD]. Alcohol Use Disorders [AUD], Panic Disorder [PD]) from pre-training (starting the CTP) to pre-deployment (completing the CTP) 26 weeks later. There were statistically significant correlations between physical activity and self-reported mental health disorder symptom scores during CTP. Cadets who performed more physical activity from pre-training to pre-deployment had statistically significantly greater decreases in symptoms of GAD (ρ = -0.472, p < 0.001), MDD (ρ = -0.307, p < 0.001), PTSD (ρ = -0.343, p < 0.001), and AUD (ρ = -0.085, p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant relationship between physical activity and changes in PD symptoms (ρ = -0.037, p > 0.05). There were also no statistically significant relationships between pre-CTP mental health disorder symptom scores and the volume of physical activity performed during CTP. There was evidence of a significant relationship between reductions in mental health disorder symptom scores and physical activity during the 26-week CTP. The results highlight the role that exercise can play as an important tool for reducing mental health disorder symptoms, considering there was no relationship between pre-CTP baseline mental health scores and physical activity performed during CTP. Further research is needed to understand differences in physical activity behaviours among cadets and serving RCMP.

Prices of flower and resin in cannabis social clubs: Analyses of register data from 220,000 collections.

Cannabis social clubs (CSC) are community-based non-profit organisations that aim to minimise cannabis-related harm for their members. This contribution seeks to: (i) compare the cost of cannabis flower and resin in CSCs to the national average retail price on the illegal market; and (ii) identify possible quantity discounts for cannabis flower and resin distributed to members of CSCs. Routine data from four CSCs located in Barcelona, Spain, contained information on n = 220,465 collections of cannabis resin and flower (0.01-39 g per collection). The costs for 1 g of cannabis flower and resin per collection were determined. The mean national prices on illicit cannabis were obtained from Spanish police reports. On average, members paid 6.19€ for 1 g flower (median: 6€; interquartile range: 6-7€) and 8.54€ for 1 g resin (median: 7€; interquartile range: 6-9€), with less variations for flower than for resin. Compared to the national average, prices appeared to be higher for cannabis products distributed in CSCs, but comparisons were limited by a lack of data on the variation of national prices. For resin, doubling the quantity was associated with a 20.7% (95% confidence interval 20.4-21.2%; p < 0.001) fee discount. Cannabis in CSCs may be more costly than the estimated national average for the illicit market. No meaningful price discount could be observed for flower but for resin. Pricing policies pursued by CSCs may help to disincentivise consumption of larger amounts but may also bar socioeconomically disadvantaged users from accessing safer alternatives than the illegal market.

Legal Protection Of Wife's Victims Of Husband's Violence From Viewed From The KDRT Law And Dayak Customary Law, Uud Danum

Law Number 23 of 2004 concerning the Elimination of Domestic Violence and the 2001 Uud Danum Dayak Customary Law Book have provided protection for wives who are victims of domestic violence by their husbands. The protection provided by Law Number 23 of 2004 concerning the Elimination of Domestic Violence is provided from the time the victim makes a police report, when he is questioned and arrives at a court decision. Legal protection provided by Tomakung to wives who are victims of violence (hotuhui) by husbands by paying fines and implementing siro sahkik to restore conditions damaged by violence (hotuhui) between husband and wife. Factors that cause domestic violence by husbands are caused by internal and external factors. Internal factors are caused by wives who cheat, wasteful with money, lazy to cook. Internal factors in husbands are due to being lazy to work, not having a job, having an affair, gambling and being an alcoholic drink addict. The government should provide jobs for all levels of education that are evenly distributed from villages to cities. The government should, in helping the poor, not provide social assistance in the form of direct cash assistance because a small nominal amount of money is only enough to buy alcohol and play gambling. The increase in domestic violence is not solely the fault of the citizens but due to a lack of community awareness raising by the central and regional governments that is right on target because today the Government is building more infrastructure than building the mental and spiritual Indonesian people themselves.

Developing a national database of police-reported fatal road traffic crashes for road safety research and management in India

Strengthening crash surveillance is an urgent priority for road safety in low- and middle-income countries. We reviewed the online availability and completeness of First Information Reports (FIRs; police reports) of road traffic crashes in India. We developed a relational database to record information extracted from FIRs, and implemented it for one state (Chhattisgarh, 2017–2019). We found that FIRs can be downloaded in bulk from government websites of 15 states and union territories. Another 14 provide access online but restrict bulk downloading, and 7 do not provide online access. For Chhattisgarh, 87% of registered FIRs could be downloaded. Most FIRs reported the date, time, collision-type, and vehicle-types, but important crash characteristics (e.g. infrastructure attributes) were missing. India needs to invest in building the crash surveillance capacity for research and safety management. However, in the interim, maintaining a national database of a sample of FIRs can provide useful policy guidance.

Suicidal Attempt among Psychiatry Patients Presented to the Department of Emergency of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

More than 700, 000 people die due to suicide every year. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds. A total of 77% of global suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries. There is an increasing number of suicide all over the world. There is limited data regarding this issue. The available data are based on police reports or on specific populations. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of suicidal attempts among psychiatry patients presented to the Department of Emergency of a tertiary care centre. A Descriptive cross-sectional study was done in a tertiary care centre from January 2019 to July 2020 after taking Ethical approval from the same institute. Beck Suicide Intent Scale, MINI-7, IPDE and PLESS were used to assess suicidal intent, psychiatric comorbidities, personality disorder and life stress event scores respectively. Bronfenbrenner's Social Ecological Model was used to access various stressors. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. The Prevalence of suicidal attempts among psychiatry patients in the emergency department was 265 (24.50%), (21.66-26.74, 95% Confidence Interval). The majority were females 135 (51%). The majority attempted at home 238 (89.81%). Poisoning was the most common mode of attempting suicide. The Prevalence of suicidal attempts among psychiatry patients was higher than in the other studies done in similar settings. comorbidity; cross-sectional studies; prevalence; psychosocial factors; suicide attempt.

Circumstances of suicide after registration with a national digital mental health service: an analysis of coroners' reports.

Little is known about the safety of mental healthcare provided remotely by digital mental health services (DMHS), which do not offer face-to-face contact. To examine the circumstances of suicide by patients registered with a national DMHS. Data from 59 033 consenting patients registered with a national DMHS, the MindSpot Clinic, between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2016 were linked with the Australian National Death Index and documents held by the National Coronial Information System (NCIS). Data extracted included demographic information, the nature of contact, duration between last contact and death, symptom scores and information in police, autopsy, toxicology and coroners' reports. Of the 59 033 patients, 90 (0.15%) died by suicide in a follow-up period of up to 5 years. The mean time between last contact and death was 560 days. Coroners' reports were located for 81/90 patients. Most (87.0%) were receiving face-to-face care around the time of death, 60.9% had a documented previous suicide attempt, 52.2% had been in hospital in the previous 6 months and 22.2% had severe mental illness, mainly schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Other common findings were current treatment with psychotropic medication (79.2%) and the presence of alcohol (41.6%), benzodiazepines (31.2%), and illegal drugs and non-prescribed opioids (20.8%) at time of death. Those who died by suicide after contact with the DMHS had more severe illness, were mostly engaged with face-to-face services and often had disinhibiting substances, especially benzodiazepines, present at the time of death.

21st Century Graffiti Dialog

Case studies with photos from 2012-2016 police and court reports tracked Dallas, Texas metropolitan area transit graffiti incidents. Comprised of primarily strings of Roman alphabet letters resulting in incoherency, graffiti engaged with and resulted in various law enforcement responses. These art forms were compared with global graffiti interpretations ranging from anti-language to multiculturalism. Graffiti writers set up dialog with society.

Because of the Sun? The Centennial of Taras Shevchenko’s Birth in Kyiv in 1914 and Anationalism in Late Imperial Russia

Abstract: This article explores the extent of Ukrainian and Russian national mobilization in Kyiv during the centennial of Taras Shevchenko’s birth in February 1914. Inspired by recent study on ‘national indifference’, it analyses primary sources, including local newspapers and police reports, to examine the street demonstration protesting the government’s prohibition of the centennial and the ensuing controversy caused by sensationalist reports in right-wing Russian nationalist newspapers. The article argues that although nationalized interpretation was prevalent in the imperial capital, Kyiv’s residents were only weakly nationally mobilized. Finally, it suggests that nationality issues in various locations of late imperial Russia should be studied with a focus on the gap between nationalized discourse and reality on the ground.