Body Cameras and Policing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryce Elling Peterson ◽  
Daniel S. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Citizen Complaints ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
The Impact

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are small devices that police officers can affix to their person—in a head-, shoulder-, or chest-mounted position—that can audio and video record their interactions with community members. BWCs have received strong support from the public and, in recent years, widespread buy-in from police leadership and officers because of their ability to improve accountability and transparency and enhance the collection of evidence. Implementation guidelines recommend that officers activate their BWCs during each officer–citizen interaction and inform the people they encounter that they are being recorded. Early research on this technology found that officers equipped with body cameras were significantly less likely to engage in force and receive citizen complaints. However, more recent studies with larger samples have had mixed findings about the impact of body cameras on use of force, citizen complaints, and other police activities and behaviors. Numerous legal and ethical considerations are associated with BWCs, including their implications for privacy concerns and public disclosure. However, police officials, policymakers, civil rights groups, and the public must continue to weigh these privacy concerns against the potential for BWCs to enhance police accountability and transparency. Future scholarship should focus on the degree to which BWCs can improve police–community relations and yield valuable evidence for both criminal cases and internal investigations.

Racial Profiling and Policing Black Communities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Kirven
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Black Males ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Racial Profiling ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Contact Theory ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Police Community Relations

Strained police-community relations are not new to distressed and black communities. However, recent decades of modern-day policing have become a challenging, stressful job for officers in terms of safety and social order, job performance, and being recorded (often on cell phones) and quickly judged by the public. This article looks at racial profiling, implicit bias, and how the heavy hand of order-maintenance policing is used to the detriment of black communities, especially black males. The relevance of contact theory will be discussed in terms of its relevance for reaching mutual ground between black males and police officers. This article offers practical strategies for (a) social workers (community practitioners), (b) black males and citizens of color , and ( c) police officers themselves. For officers specifically, this potential awareness can lead to healthier, neutral experiences with black males leading to positive policing of black communities.

scholarly journals Policing the coronavirus pandemic: Nigeria police senior officers’ views on preparedness, response, legitimacy and post-COVID policing

2021 ◽  
pp. 146135572110640
Author(s):  
Richard A. Aborisade ◽  
Oluwajuwon G. Ariyo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
Senior Officers

In the wake of pandemic policing occasioned by COVID-19, Nigeria police have been facing challenges of a lack of legitimacy, together with what is termed the militarization of police operations. This has impacted considerably on police–community relations. Meanwhile, early reports on the police response to the pandemic indicated high levels of lockdown violation, despite adoption of a militarized option in the enforcement of restriction orders. In reviewing one of the first police interventions on a public health crisis in Nigeria, a qualitative study was conducted among top-ranking police officers who supervised the enforcement of lockdown and other COVID-19 measures. Sixteen interviews were conducted and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Police unpreparedness for public health interventions, and public resistance to the use of repressive, force-led styles of policing were identified as major impediments to positive pandemic policing. Therefore, police officers are advised to ensure the application of procedurally just practices in their interactions with the public.

Consent Decrees and Police Reform

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Worrall ◽  
Zachary A. Powell
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Consent Decree ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Criminal Justice Agency ◽  
The People ◽  
Consent Decrees ◽  
Citizen Perceptions ◽  
The Impact

Charged with enforcing the law and regulating human behavior, the police have considerable leeway in their ability to control the population. On occasion, situations arise in which police officers misuse their authority, resulting in racially discriminatory practices, illegal searches and seizures, abusive use of force, or other forms of misbehavior. In some cases, unconstitutional practices are isolated incidents that are restricted to the actions of a small group of officers; in other cases, misbehavior may be more emblematic of a systemic problem within a criminal justice agency. To the extent that a pattern or practice of unconstitutional behavior exists, the interest of any government, and the people governed, is in limiting official misconduct. One method of correcting unconstitutional behavior is through a consent decree, a court-ordered agreement following a major U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation that is designed to correct long-standing unconstitutional practices within police departments. Despite the fact that consent decrees have been available to the DOJ for nearly 25 years, their use is somewhat limited (especially lately, in light of the Trump administration’s resistance to their use). A small body of evidence suggests there is promise for consent decrees as a tool for correcting police misbehavior. Existing studies show consent decrees are correlated with boosted citizen perceptions of treated police departments, lower counts of civil rights litigation, and improved methods for recording and disciplining police misbehavior. The influence of a consent decree may gradually build up over time before lapsing post-treatment. In addition, focus group interviews with law enforcement officers suggest that many express apprehension about the goals of reform and the impact on the day-to-day lives of police officers. A number of questions remain unanswered that require further exploration from the field.

Military experience among police officers: an examination of veterans' attitudes toward the community

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacinta M. Gau ◽  
Erika J. Brooke ◽  
Eugene A. Paoline III ◽  
Krystle L. Roman
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Military Veterans ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Military Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Police Studies

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to determine whether prior military service impacts police officers' job-related attitudes.Design/methodology/approachA survey was administered to sworn police officers in a large urban department.FindingsFindings indicate that military service has almost no impact on police officers' perceptions of danger in the community and suspicion toward citizens. The small effect that did surface suggests that military veterans perceive less danger in the occupational environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the scant existing research on whether and how military service may impact police officers' attitudes; in particular, it speaks to the concern that veterans bring a warrior mentality to the job. Findings suggest that these fears are not founded.Practical implicationsPolice agencies commonly give preferential hiring to military veterans. Current findings suggest that this practice does not threaten police–community relations.Originality/valueScant research has examined the impact of military experience on police officers' job-related attitudes and specifically on their perceptions of danger and their suspicion of citizens. Additionally, when military service is included in police studies, it is operationalized as a binary yes/no. Here, the authors parse service into different components for a more nuanced examination.

The Right to Information in India Implementation and Impact

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
_______ Naveen ◽  
_____ Priti
Keyword(s):  
Public Life ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Know How ◽  
The People ◽  
The Government ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The Right to Information Act 2005 was passed by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government with a sense of pride. It flaunted the Act as a milestone in India’s democratic journey. It is five years since the RTI was passed; the performance on the implementation frontis far from perfect. Consequently, the impact on the attitude, mindset and behaviour patterns of the public authorities and the people is not as it was expected to be. Most of the people are still not aware of their newly acquired power. Among those who are aware, a major chunk either does not know how to wield it or lacks the guts and gumption to invoke the RTI. A little more stimulation by the Government, NGOs and other enlightened and empowered citizens can augment the benefits of this Act manifold. RTI will help not only in mitigating corruption in public life but also in alleviating poverty- the two monstrous maladies of India.

scholarly journals Are College-Educated Police Officers Different? A Study of Stops, Searches, and Arrests

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Rosenfeld ◽  
Thaddeus L. Johnson ◽  
Richard Wright
Keyword(s):  
Urban Communities ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
Primary Basis ◽  
Traditional Performance ◽  
College Educated

A study of more than 60,000 police traffic stops found that college-educated officers were more likely than other officers to stop drivers for less serious violations, perform consent searches, and make arrests on discretionary grounds. These results are consistent with those of prior research indicating that college-educated officers are more achievement-oriented and eager for advancement based on the traditional performance criteria of stops, searches, and arrests. The results raise questions regarding the recommendation of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing to improve police-community relations by hiring more college-educated police officers, especially in urban communities where concerns about over-policing are widespread. If community engagement were to become a primary basis for professional advancement, however, the current results suggest that college-educated officers may adapt to the new standards as diligently as they have to the traditional criteria for reward and promotion in U.S. police departments.

Measuring Cost-Effectiveness in Terms of Happiness

2019 ◽  
pp. 197-210
Author(s):  
Andrew E. Clark ◽  
Sarah Flèche ◽  
Richard Layard ◽  
Nattavudh Powdthavee ◽  
George Ward
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Controlled Experiments ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
The Impact

This chapter demonstrates that policy analysis should be based on happiness as the measure of benefit (except where traditional methods actually work). It argues that this should be generally applied throughout the public services and by nongovernment organizations (NGOs). The chapter offers four key proposals. The first is that the goal of governments should be to increase the happiness of the people and, especially, to reduce misery. Where willingness to pay is not a feasible measure of benefit, governments should develop new methods of policy analysis based on point-years of happiness as the measure of benefit. All policy change should be evaluated through controlled experiments in which the impact on happiness is routinely measured. A major objective of social science (and of its funders) should be to throw light on the causes of happiness, and how it can be enhanced—and at what cost.

VOICES: a theory-driven intervention for improving relationships between police and the public

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn Hill ◽  
Howard Giles ◽  
Edward R. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Causal Inferences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
Survey Responses

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe a theory-driven intervention called VOICES that was developed to improve police-community relations. The intervention was designed based on principles derived from social psychological theories of intergroup contact and communication.Design/methodology/approachThe authors discuss the theoretical basis for the intervention, as well as its development and implementation in the Santa Barbara Police Department. Based on this pilot testing, the authors provide preliminary evidence about its effectiveness using survey responses and qualitative feedback provided by participants.FindingsAlthough the case study method used here does not allow for causal inferences about the effectiveness of the intervention, the limited evidence the authors present does suggest that participants found VOICES useful and it may have improved their perceptions of police. The next step will be to test this intervention using experimental or quasi-experimental methods that allow for causal inferences about effectiveness.Originality/valueThe paper shows how police can develop theory-driven interventions in an effort to improve trust between police and the public, including communities in which relationships with police have been historically strained. It also underscores how insights from the study of intergroup contact and communication can benefit policing.

Body-Worn Cameras

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Scott Thomas Duncan ◽  
Hannah Geczi
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
The Many

Police hold a unique and distinctive status compared to any other occupation in society with their authority to use force. With such responsibility, communities expect law enforcement to be held accountable when force is applied. One of the many proposed solutions embraced by authorities and the public to decrease the number of force encounters is body-worn cameras (BWCs). The purpose of this chapter is to examine BWCs as a measure of reducing force by law enforcement, explore the technology as an enhancement to transparency within the context of police-community relations, and offer recommendations for adoption rooted in best practices. For the public, it is imperative to recognize BWCs as just one part of improving law enforcement oversight as opposed to providing an all-encompassing solution that will completely resolve issues of transparency.

The Turning Point

2019 ◽  
pp. 301-352
Author(s):  
Steven K. Green
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The Public ◽  
Education Legislation ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines the various events that undermined the public support for church–state separation in the 1960s. It considers the impact of Vatican II, of ecumenism, of the civil rights movement, and of federal social welfare and education legislation on Protestant attitudes. All of these events encouraged Protestants and Catholics to find common ground in working for the greater societal good. These events also suggested a model of church-state cooperation rather than one of separation. The chapter then segues to consider the various church–state cases before the Supreme Court between 1968 and 1975 in which the justices began to step back from applying a strict separationist approach to church–state controversies.

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