Specific Police Research Articles

The personality of the Scottish police officer: The issue of positive and negative affectivity

During the past 20 years, interest has arisen concerning the existence of a specific police personality. Much of the early studies had significant methodological difficulties. The present study aimed to examine the personality traits of ‘Positive and Negative Affectivity’ in a group ( n = 699) of serving Scottish police officers. The PANAS scale (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070, 1988) suggested that the sample did not differ from the norm on either of these indices. No differences were found according to age or length of service, which brings into question previous assertions made concerning the role of the police organisation in the development of police personality. However, the complexity of the issue was demonstrated, as differences in affectivity were observed according to gender, marital status, rank, working location and job satisfaction level.

Community policing to take guns off the street

AbstractDespite the difficulty in current attempts to precisely measure gun density or availability (Cook, 1991), there can be little doubt from research that firearm availability does impact the homicide and other violent crime rates. There is nonetheless a dearth of information regarding specific police strategies for reducing gun violence (Reiss & Roth, 1993). Describing one component of the Weed and Seed strategy in Kansas City, Missouri, this article examines an innovative approach with this goal as the primary focus. Specific questions addressed were (1) whether the police can successfully gain community support in obtaining immediate, pertinent information about illegal gun carrying, and (2) whether the police can successfully use that information to seize illegally carried guns. The fact that this program did not produce the desired gun tips or gun arrests may be useful for other jurisdictions seeking new strategies by both identifying a number of potential problems and suggesting areas for improvement.

Outcome measures of police performance: Some steps toward positive accountability

Innovative training programs can provide police departments with junior officers who have demonstrated competency in a large number of specific police skills. Lacking measures of field performance and programs to maintain performance standards, the ultimate effectiveness of training cannot be assessed. Process measures of performance are generally too obtrusive and disruptive to be useful. Outcome measures are less obtrusive. Such measures can sample either readily observable performances (report writing, crisis intervention, and court appearance measures) or typically unobserved activities (tachograph/activity sheet measure and the citizen survey measure). Maintenance of performance standards based on these measures can be assessed through a system of frequent supervision and feedback. Indeed, the measures can be used to empirically establish realistic performance standards for officers in the field. Finally, development of several outcome measures can provide field sergeants with adequate tools for active supervision and can form the basis for objective performance-based personnel evaluations.

The Canadian Police: a Survey

THE CANADIAN POLICE SYSTEM IS VERY MUCH A LAW UNTO ITSELF. It does not have the authoritarian traditions of European countries and their successors in Communist regimes. It does not have the same societal involvement of the Japanese and Chinese arrangements. Since Canadians, unlike their southern neighbours, believe it is possible to be whole without being powerful, it does not have the American style cop. It shares many of the attitudes and disciplines of the British, but in institutional terms they are vastly different from each other.To some extent these institutional peculiarities are matters of history, although not all of them are. Before Confederation each area had its own specific policing characteristics depending upon the time of settlement, the racial origin of the settlers and the characteristics of the country. In the cast the Maritime provinces (as they were to become) largely relicd upon military and naval patrols with provost marshals in the garrison towns, with some nightwatchmen on the civilian side. The countryside was little policed, although some local militias existed who could be called out if neccssary.

Speaking for the Police

Speaking for the Police