Police Response Research Articles

Evaluating the impact of sexual assault training on police officers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PurposeWe evaluated and summarized the current literature on police sexual assault training. To do so, we examined the overall effects of police sexual assault training and assessed for potential moderating factors impacting training effectiveness. MethodsWe conducted a meta-analysis using robust variance estimation (RVE) to estimate the mean effects sizes and assess for potential moderating factors. Our sample included 294 effect sizes, 31 studies, and 22 independent datasets. ResultsSexual assault training had a substantial impact across all outcomes, and was positively associated with improvements in officers' perceptions, hypothetical case processing decisions, content knowledge, and police behaviors. Analysis of long-term follow-up data found training effects remained robust and significant over time. In addition, training effects remained stable across moderator analyses. DiscussionFindings reveal that sexual assault training programs of varying duration/dosage can significantly improve police perceptions, knowledge, and behavior. Evaluation research should continue to assess training through the use of rigorous research designs and with measures of police behavior. Ultimately, training has considerable utility for enhancing police response to sexual assault.

Examining Use of Force Outcomes in Police Calls for Service: Evidence From Cincinnati

This study explores the correlates of use of force (UOF) in police responses to calls for service (CFS), drawing on situational, community, and organizational perspectives. Linear probability models were used to analyze CFS and UOF records for Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) from October 2014 to July 2021, along with sociodemographic and crime data aggregated to census tracts. The type of CFS, as well as quicker response times and police-initiated actions, were associated with UOF. Broader situational variables (including nighttime, alcohol consumption, and high activity periods), tract-level crime and sociodemographic characteristics, and year showed little statistical association. The study finds modest evidence of organizational influences on UOF outcomes, in the form of variation by police district.

‘On a knife's edge’: medical, police, and legal responses to self‐harming protesters

AbstractTraditional liberal democratic theories of protest can readily account for protest violence against others or their property, and are quick to denounce and criminalize such actions. However, protests that involve self‐harm are harder to frame; they neither engage the harm principle, nor threaten a sovereign state of ostensible peace. Under liberal legalism, capacitous and consenting protesters should not have their rights of expression interfered with in such cases. However, in England and Wales, legal responses to self‐harming violence nevertheless emerge, not necessarily within a public order framework, but through a risk‐averse, medicalized lens. Co‐authored by a legal academic and a practising psychiatrist, this article argues that mental health practitioners, the police, and the courts engage in a ‘paternalistic pivot’ in self‐harming protest cases, which undermines human rights protections that are ordinarily afforded to protesters who are not causing a threat to others or their property.

Democracy and Crime in Latin America

Abstract Do firm stances against crime, up to a level at which they disregard Human Rights, overflow the sphere of crime control and associate with a preference against democracy? This study determines whether victimization of crime encourages support for the death penalty, the desire to own a firearm, and broader authoritarian political attitudes. The hypothesis is tested in Latin America using the LAPOP (2018/2019) database in 17 countries. Three sets of indicators are observed in the logistic models: a) dependent variables (desire to own a firearm, support for the death penalty, perception of democracy as the best form of government, support for a coup in the case of high crime, satisfaction with democracy, and trust in institutions); b) independent variables (victimization by crime); and c) control variables (waiting time for police response, and sociodemographic factors). Although no significant effects were found on democracy as the best form of government, victimization increases the likelihood of wanting a firearm, favoring the death penalty, and supporting coups, while it reduces the satisfaction with democracy and trust in institutions. Therefore, the results confirm that crime not only favors public support for harsh measures to control it but also weakens democracy and its institutions.

A Review of the Evolution of the NCS-NCVS Police Reporting and Response Questions and Their Application to Older Women Experiencing Violent Victimization

Little attention is given to the history of the data that underlie research on crime trends and patterns. This article considers the evolution of the National Crime Victimization Survey’s (NCVS) police reporting and response questions. These questions are particularly important as the NCVS is the only nationally representative source of information on whether crime is reported to the police and citizen views of police actions. In addition, the current NCVS redesign is set to substantially add to these items. To provide a context for this discussion, this article applies the police reporting and response questions to an understudied victim group, specifically older women who experience violent victimization. This application illustrates the research opportunities and challenges for working with these data.

A Police Response Effort Index to complement counts and harm indices in understanding crime and policing demand

Responding to crime and non-crime policing demand in the increasingly complex policing environment calls for increasingly nuanced means of measuring demand. Complementing traditional crime counts, the recent development of crime harm indices provides one such means, whereby crimes are weighted by estimates of their harm or severity. Analysis using crime harm indices has shown that high harm victims, offenders, locations and times differ from the people and places that unweighted crime counts would highlight as a priority for police resource. However, crime harm indices apply only to crime, so they cannot be used to analyse both crime and non-crime demand, and harm is but one way of differentiating demand types. We therefore present an additional, complementary tool: the Police Response Effort Index (PREI). The PREI provides values for weighting crime and non-crime demand types by the amount of effort (time) typically involved during police’s initial response. It enables police to make decisions and target interventions with a more nuanced understanding of when, where and on whom police effort concentrates. This paper describes the development of the New Zealand PREI, providing a potential template for other jurisdictions.

Crime reporting and victim satisfaction with the police: a large-scale study among victims of crime in the Netherlands

ObjectivesThere is a rich body of research on how and why victims report crime to police, but little is known about the crime reporting process itself. This paper explores the relationship between victim satisfaction with the police after reporting crime and the various reporting channels victims used, as well as the subsequent police response.MethodsWe capitalize on a large-scale nationwide survey among victims in the Netherlands (N = 25,760). Using linear regression, we test how victim satisfaction with the police relates to the reporting channel used, follow-up contact by the police, and action taken by the police while controlling for type of crime, its impact on victims, their needs and their sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsThe model explains 38% of the variance in victim satisfaction. The crime reporting channel and subsequent police response to crime reports show largest effects. When victims had in-person conversations with the police, the police reported back to them, and took further action, victims were most satisfied.ConclusionsThis study shows the importance of how police operate during and after victims report a crime for their satisfaction with police. The results suggest that police may be able to positively affect victim satisfaction by taking relatively simple measures. More research is needed to test this hypothesis using (quasi)experimental designs.

Missing children, adolescents and young adults: the relationship between age first missing, subsequent missing person reports and other police-related contacts over a 10-year period

ABSTRACT It is well documented that children and young people are disproportionately represented in missing person reports, frequently as repeat cases. However, inconsistent definitions around age groupings have compromised our ability to compare across studies, or meaningfully synthesise the available evidence. This study sought to explore the relationship between age at first missing and police contacts in a sample of 2,125 Australian children (0–12 years), adolescents (13–17 years), and young adults (18–25 years) who went missing for the first time in 2005. Individuals were followed-up over a 10-year period using police records. A comparison of justice involvement across the three age groups revealed key differences in missing person episodes and other justice-related involvement. Collectively, the findings offer further insights into the characteristics and justice trajectories of young people who go missing to help inform further evidence-based, risk assessment and related police responses.

A spatial analysis of mental health-related calls for service in Atlantic City, New Jersey

ABSTRACT Objective Police officers often find themselves responding to calls that do not involve criminal behavior, but calls related to individuals experiencing emotional distress or mental illness that requires police response. This research aims to identify high-risk places of mental health calls for service (MHCFS) in an urban setting and compare place features of these locations by police response (locations where a CIT-trained officer is dispatched versus a non-trained officer dispatched). Data/Methods Our research uses Atlantic City Police Department’s calls for service data from 1 January 2019 through 30 December 2022, including the incidents of mental incompetence with location components. After removing the calls that were not coded as mental health, a total of 2229 incidents involving perceived mental illness were geocoded and compared. We used RTMDx software to generate risk terrain models for MHCFS in Atlantic City, NJ. Findings The RTM analysis yielded no association between places of interest and MHCFS for calls involving non-CIT-trained officers. Yet, we identified five high-risk activity spaces of MHCFS where officers with CIT training were involved. Grocery stores (RRV = 2.873), places of leisure (RRV = 2.764), Health & Wellness Facilities (RRV = 2.624), Eateries & Restaurants (RRV = 2.547), and Convenience & Variety Stores (RRV = 2.280) are the risk factors identified by the RTM analysis. Given the characteristics of places identified by risk-terrain modeling, we reason that the characteristics of these places indicate that individuals experiencing perceived or actual mental health problems hang out in spaces with ease of access and in spaces where they can stay relatively longer with minimal attention. Conclusion Our research suggests that there is an association between spatial factors and MHCFS that are responded to by CIT-trained officers. City officials should consider deploying additional resources and mental health staff to these places to address the issue of mental health in urban settings. Future research should consider testing whether the places we identified in our analysis are also high-risk places for MHCFS in other urban environments.

Police Responses to People Experiencing Homelessness

Using open-source (i.e., social media) data collection complemented by in-depth case studies, we present a typology of police responses to homelessness across the United States. We identified eight categories of discretionary police responses to homelessness. For several of our categories, we identified subcategories. We present and define each category in the typology and provide open-source examples for each discretionary response. The majority of responses are steeped in discretion and must be tailored to the local context. This work demonstrates that many police departments are innovative in their responses to people experiencing homelessness. While novel, this research can be used as a foundational resource to help guide law enforcement agencies in responding to people experiencing homelessness. It also lays the groundwork for future evaluation efforts that are needed to determine which police responses to homelessness produce positive outcomes or meet specified goals and which do not.

Instructors’ challenges facilitating mental health first aid training with law enforcement

ABSTRACT Following highly publicized incidents of police responses to individuals with a mental illness, policing executives attempt to placate public outcry by mandating mental health training. However, police training curriculums are not well-evaluated, especially pertaining to implementation challenges that may arise. Using interviews with certified Mental Health First Aid instructors (n = 18), this study explores challenges experienced when implementing and facilitating the training with law enforcement officers (LEOs). Thematic analysis identified four themes: 1) In general, LEOs are a difficult group to train; 2) LEOs and their agencies often have different expectations for training compared to other populations; 3) instructors must be knowledgeable surrounding LEO-specific state and local policies surrounding mental health responses; and 4) instructors lacking credibility with the LEO audience may find facilitating the training to be more challenging. Findings highlight the importance of carefully selecting both instructors and training participants when implementing mental health training.

Impact of trauma and placement in residential or congregate care on the criminalisation of children in England/Wales and Australia

Children in residential care have the most complex needs of all children growing up in Out-of-Home care (OOHC), due to complex trauma from pre-care experiences of abuse and neglect, inadequate therapeutic supports while in care and significant placement instability. Some argue that residential care settings are intrinsically criminogenic, as evidenced by significant over-representation of this cohort in youth justice. However, little is known about how children’s experiences of trauma, including removal from family and placement in OOHC, is viewed by lawyers and decision-makers in criminal cases involving children in care. Criminal justice decisions can have long-term ramifications for children in care and custodial sentencing can often be a precursor to ongoing incarceration into adulthood. This qualitative, cross-national study explored the impacts of trauma and placement in residential or congregate care on the criminalisation of children in England/Wales and Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with 28 legal, youth justice and judicial stakeholders in England, Wales (UK), New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria (Australia). While there are considerable differences in the operation of child protection and youth justice systems between these jurisdictions, thematic analysis using NVivo14 identified. confirmed ongoing systemic factors associated with criminalisation identified in previous literature persists despite attempts to address these through policy and practice reforms. These factors include an absence of therapeutic supports, unstable and unsafe residential care placements, over-reliance on police to respond to minor incidents, increasingly punitive police responses lacking awareness of the impacts of childhood trauma and inappropriate use of custody as an ‘alternative’ placement. These findings suggest the similar systemic processes across these jurisdictions are likely to reflect deeply entrenched ideologies about ‘care’ and ‘protection’ that function to criminalise trauma. The implications of these systemic factors when children are exposed to formal criminal justice decision-making are considered.

‘Six of one’: conflict vs control in the policing of intimate partner violence

ABSTRACT Challenging the historical attitude that intimate partner violence (IPV) is not police business has been identified as key to effective police response. This attitude draws on the wider cultural assumption that IPV is situational and based on interpersonal conflict – a belief compounded by media coverage and certain theoretical approaches. The coercive control model counters this view, framing the majority of IPV as a power differential established through a deliberate pattern of threat and control. Coercive and controlling behaviour (CCB) was criminalised in England and Wales in the Serious Crime Act 2015. The offence describes a pattern of behaviour – rather than the discrete incidents – and subverts ingrained beliefs about the causes of IPV. This qualitative research draws on in-depth interviews with officers and victim-survivors in a force in the north of England. Critical discourse analysis examines police attitudes and culture as embedded within the wider context. A key finding is that police response officers commonly approach IPV as situational and arising from mutual conflict rather than investigating for evidence of CCB. The lack of nuanced understanding of control mechanisms and their effects often leads to exasperation with repeat callers and failure to ‘dig deeper’. However, officers who recognise the subtleties of CCB contribute to an empowering effect on victim-survivors, an outcome not formally recognised by policing processes. To equip officers for effective and supportive response, officer development should address the embedded assumption of conflict and focus on CCB as underlying the majority of IPV rather than existing as a distinct offence.

Police Involvement in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Qualitative Exploration of Law Enforcement Roles and Contributing Organizational Factors

Objectives Many American police organizations respond to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This study sought to: 1) explore variation in the role of police in OHCA across emergency medical systems and 2) identify factors influencing this variation. Methods We conducted a qualitative multisite case study analysis using data collected through semi-structured key informant interviews and multidisciplinary focus groups with telecommunicators, fire, police, emergency medical services, and hospital personnel across nine Michigan emergency systems of care. Sites were sampled based on return of spontaneous circulation rates, trauma region, geography, rurality, and population density. Data were analyzed to examine police role in OHCA and the organizational factors that contribute to these roles. Transcripts and coded data were explored using iterative thematic analysis and matrices. Results Interviews included approximately 160 public safety informants of varying administrative levels (i.e., field staff, mid-level managers, and leadership). Across systems, police played four on-scene roles in OHCA response: 1) early responder, 2) resuscitation team member, 3) security, and 4) information gathering. Less consistently, police performed supplementary roles as telecommunicators and cardiac arrest educators. We found that factors including administrative structure of the police agency, resources (e.g., human and material), organizational culture, medical training, deployment and response policies, nature of response environment, and relationships with other prehospital stakeholders contributed to the degree certain roles were present. Conclusions Police serve numerous on-scene and supplementary roles in OHCA response across jurisdictions. Their roles were influenced by multiple factors at each site. Future studies may help to better understand the value of and how to optimize police engagement in OHCA response.

‘The ones in red:’ people who use drugs’ experiences of the Janus-faced nature of police volunteerism

ABSTRACT Championed as an economic strategy to enhance community safety and reduce the need for formal police response to social disorder, volunteer policing groups have become a common sight in many urban centres. They represent a key element of police civilianisation, with existing research unmasking how they differ from other civilian personnel and their relationship with sworn police officers. Far less, however, is known about how marginalised groups, such as People Experiencing Houselessness (PEH) and People Who Use Drugs (PWUD), experience and perceive police volunteers. Drawing upon 50 semi-structured interviews with unhoused PWUD in Lethbridge, Alberta (Canada), we interrogate how participants experienced, perceived, and engaged with an unpaid police volunteer group responsible for addressing downtown community safety – the Lethbridge Police Service’s Ambassador Watch Programme (The Watch). Our findings show participants held diverse and often conflicting perceptions of this group, with The Watch serving as 1) caring agents, 2) agents of surveillance and control, and 3) a medium for police intervention. We argue that despite some of the benefits provided by police volunteer groups, they may exacerbate harm and feelings of insecurity for marginalised people when organised and managed by police agencies.

Police Responses to Rape in Metropolitan India

Much of the published research on police responses to rape is located in the West. This study conducted in-depth interviews with three adult victim-survivors and 15 police personnel to explore police responses to rape in the metropolitan city of Kolkata, India. Using an intersectional feminist framework, a reflexive thematic analysis indicated both sensitive and insensitive responses and showed that police responses were often based on discretion rather than being guided by the law. Police responses were also shaped by occupational culture, the socio-political environment, the police–criminal nexus and media coverage. The research sheds light on the unique cultural context of policing rape in metropolitan India. It adds to discussions regarding women’s police stations and changes in policing to address sexual violence.

Anger, fear, and frozenness: Exploring the emotive aspect of anti-police sentiment

Anti-police sentiment has emerged as a growing phenomenon in recent years, characterised by intense negative attitudes towards police. Despite increasing scholarly interest, the lack of a clear definition of anti-police sentiment hinders conceptualisation, measurement, and comparison of findings across jurisdictions. This study aims to provide conceptual clarity by employing sentiment analysis to systematically and objectively explore the emotions underlying anti-police sentiment. Analysis of the negative discourse across 1140 comments on Reddit about police, found that anti-police sentiment is associated with the emotions anger, fear, and frozenness, and potentially may trigger fight, flight, freeze responses in citizens encountering the police. Further, analysis of frequent terms highlights key social issues driving anti-police sentiment, such as police responses to domestic violence and police misconduct. The study contributes to the understanding of anti-police sentiment by identifying the underlying emotions and their potential behavioural outcomes, providing a foundation for future research and policy interventions.

Intelligent risk management: natural language processing real-time triage of police calls for service

ABSTRACT Can an intelligent call center improve the deployment of a safe and effective diversified response (e.g., differential police response, coresponse and Alternate First Responders)? This article examines a proof-of-concept intelligent call center for enhanced 911 call processing, at the City of Seattle (Washington, USA). This study employed common commercial technology to 1) transcribe incoming 911 call audio, 2) render a real-time forecast of call risk and 3) visualize the results for personnel handling the call as “intelligent decision support.” This project proves a “human-inthe- loop” application of Machine Learning (ML) can support the professional judgement of experienced human operators with a precise, low-latency forecast of call risk. Further, the demonstrated system is designed to learn. As a diversified response system evolves, statistical feedback is incorporated using the Risk Managed Demand framework. Implications for risk management, the opportunity for diversified response, and the ethics of ML are discussed.

Practitioner perspectives on dealing with victimhood and offending in UK ‘County Lines’ drug supply investigations

This paper examines the investigative challenges associated with the ‘County Lines’ drug supply phenomenon from the perspective of police practitioners. Two areas are identified and explored: the presence and role of autonomy, coercion, and exploitation, and the legal and procedural issues. The police response appears confounded by non-specific legislation, unintended implications of the statutory defence, problems with the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), safeguarding deficiencies, incomplete statutory guardianship, and limited recognition of neurodevelopment and neurodivergence among those involved. The research is relevant to law and public policy and will be of interest to investigators and criminal justice system professionals.

Effect of Gender-Sensitive Training on Police Response to Domestic Violence in Colombia

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of gender-sensitive training on police response to domestic violence in Colombia. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study on the effect of gender-sensitive training on police response to domestic violence in Colombia found that such training significantly improved police officers' attitudes and responses towards domestic violence cases. Officers who underwent gender-sensitive training demonstrated enhanced empathy, understanding, and commitment to addressing domestic violence more effectively. The training led to a marked increase in the quality of police interventions, including better handling of sensitive situations and more appropriate legal actions. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Feminist theory, social learning theory & organizational change theory may be used to anchor future studies on effect of gender-sensitive training on police response to domestic violence in Colombia. Implement regular refresher courses to reinforce the principles of gender-sensitive training. Make gender-sensitive training a mandatory component of police education and professional development. Policies should ensure that all police officers, regardless of their rank or role, receive this essential training to create a uniform standard of response to domestic violence.