scholarly journals High Burden of COVID-19 among Unvaccinated Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto J. Caban-Martinez ◽  
Manjusha Gaglani ◽  
Lauren E.W. Olsho ◽  
Lauren Grant ◽  
Natasha Schaefer-Solle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Healthcare Personnel ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Using Data

Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs), firefighters, and other first responders are at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to healthcare personnel but have relatively low COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Resistance to COVID-19 vaccine mandates among first responders has the potential to disrupt essential public services and threaten public health and safety. Using data from the HEROES-RECOVER prospective cohorts, we report on the increased illness burden of COVID-19 among unvaccinated first responders. From January to September 2021, first responders contributed to weekly active surveillance for COVID-19-like illness (CLI). Self-collected respiratory specimens collected weekly, irrespective of symptoms, and at the onset CLI were tested by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) assay for SARS-CoV-2. Among 1415 first responders, 17% were LEOs, 68% firefighters, and 15% had other first responder occupations. Unvaccinated (41%) compared to fully vaccinated (59%) first responders were less likely to believe COVID-19 vaccines are very or extremely effective (17% versus 54%) or very or extremely safe (15% versus 54%). From January through September 2021, among unvaccinated LEOs, the incidence of COVID-19 was 11.9 per 1,000 person-weeks (95%CI=7.0-20.1) compared to only 0.6 (95%CI=0.2-2.5) among vaccinated LEOs. Incidence of COVID-19 was also higher among unvaccinated firefighters (9.0 per 1,000 person-weeks; 95%CI=6.4-12.7) compared to those vaccinated (1.8 per 1,000; 95%CI=1.1-2.8). Once they had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, unvaccinated first responders were sick for a mean+/-SD of 14.7+/-21.7 days and missed a mean of 38.0+/-46.0 hours of work. These findings suggest that state and local governments with large numbers of unvaccinated first responders may face major disruptions in their workforce due to COVID-19 illness.

AIDS Knowledge, Occupational Precautions, and Public Education Activities among Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders

1994 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 460 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. Gellert ◽  
Roberta M. Maxwell ◽  
Kathleen V. Higgins ◽  
Rebecca Barnard ◽  
Brandon Page
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Aids Knowledge

The feasibility of using real-time, objective measurements of physiological stress among law enforcement officers in Dallas, Texas

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-710
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Reingle Gonzalez ◽  
Katelyn K. Jetelina ◽  
Stephen A. Bishopp ◽  
Melvin D. Livingston ◽  
Rodolfo A. Perez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Unintentional Injury ◽  
Police Training ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adverse Health Outcomes ◽  
Increased Risk

Purpose Law enforcement officers (LEOs) suffer from premature mortality, intentional and unintentional injury, suicide and are at an increased risk for several non-communicable disease outcomes including cardiovascular disease and several cancers, compared to those employed in other occupations. Repeated exposure to stressful and traumatic stimuli is a possible mechanism driving these adverse health outcomes among LEOs. To better identify the sources of these health problems, the purpose of this paper is to determine the feasibility of conducting a cohort study using physiological measures of stress (e.g. heart rate) with LEOs; perceptions of the FitBit device, including LEO buy-in and attitudes associated with the protocol. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from ten recent graduates of the Dallas Police Training Academy. Findings Results suggest that officer buy-in and protocol compliance was high. Officers were eager to participate in this study, and completion of weekly surveys was 100 percent. Minute-level missing data from wearable devices was relatively low (25 percent), and 90 percent of participants wore the FitBit devices on more than 90 percent of study days. Originality/value Results from this study suggest that wearable physiological devices can be effectively used in law enforcement populations to measure stress.

Changing Uniforms

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-86
Author(s):  
Stanley Shernock
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
New England ◽  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Police Organizations ◽  
Military Background ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship

Most academic attention regarding military influence on policing has focused on critiques of the military model of policing and police militarization and has neglected to examine the relationship between the two institutions and the transferability of attributes and skills from the military to police. Military service itself, when examined, has been treated as an undifferentiated concept that has not distinguished the effects of organizational structure, leadership, and myriad roles and experiences on policing. This study, using data from a survey of law enforcement officers throughout a New England state, compares and analyzes how law enforcement officers and supervisors with and without military background and with and without deployment experience differ in their perspectives regarding both the positive as well as negative aspects of combat deployment on policing. As such, it has significant implications for both the reintegration and recruitment of combat-deployed veterans into police organizations.

scholarly journals Crime, Immigration, and Ad hoc Instrumentalism

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Alan Sklansky
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Local Law ◽  
State And Local

Criminal law and immigration law, once separate fields of governance in the United States, are rapidly growing less distinct. Immigration crimes now account for a majority of all federal prosecutions; deportation is widely seen as a key tool of crime control; immigration authorities run the nation’s largest prison system; and state and local law enforcement officers work hand-in-hand with federal immigration officials. This article traces these trends and assesses their significance. The rise of an intertwined regime of “crimmigration” law has generally been attributed to some combination of nativism, overcriminalization, and a cultural obsession with security, but it also exemplifies, and has helped to reinforce, a crucial and underappreciated development in U.S. legal culture—a rising tendency to treat legal rules and legal procedures as interchangeable tools, to be brought to bear pragmatically and instrumentally on an ad hoc basis. Ad hoc instrumentalism of this kind has genuine strengths, but it also raises significant concerns about the rule of law and political accountability. The accountability concerns, in particular, are exacerbated by two other features of our newly merged system of immigration enforcement and criminal justice: its bureaucratic opacity and its selective application.

scholarly journals Does Paying Politicians More Promote Economic Diversity in Legislatures?

2016 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
NICHOLAS CARNES ◽  
ERIC R. HANSEN
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Economic Diversity ◽  
Political Office ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Using Data

If politicians in the United States were paid better, would more middle- and working-class people become politicians? Reformers often argue that the low salaries paid in state and local governments make holding office economically infeasible for lower-income citizens and contribute to the enduring numerical under-representation of the working class in our political institutions. Of course, raising politicians’ salaries could also make political office more attractive to affluent professionals, increasing competition for office and ultimately discouraging lower-income citizens from running and winning. In this article, we test these hypotheses using data on the salaries and economic backgrounds of state legislators. Contrary to the notion that paying politicians more promotes economic diversity, we find that the descriptive representation of the working class is the same or worse in states that pay legislators higher salaries. These findings have important implications for research on descriptive representation, political compensation, and political inequality.

How States Fund Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay Srikanth ◽  
Michael Atzbi ◽  
Bruce D. Baker ◽  
Mark Weber
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
School Finance ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Funding Equity ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Using Data ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Funding Disparities

In the United States, the vast majority of funding for K–12 education is provided through state and local governments to school districts. Throughout history, school districts have remained highly segregated both by income/wealth and by race, leading to reduced levels of funding available for higher need districts compared to wealthier districts. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze funding disparities within states and to determine differences between states with respect to funding equity. First, the chapter begins with a discussion of the sources of revenue for education at the state and local levels. Second, it explains the purpose and design of state aid formulas to reduce funding disparities between districts. Third, using data from the School Finance Indicators Database, the chapter calculates funding effort and progressivity indices for each state. Fourth, it provides case studies on two states with more progressive and less progressive funding, New Jersey and Illinois. Finally, the chapter concludes with policy recommendations on how states can improve their school finance systems to provide adequate levels of funding for higher need districts.

Implementing Health and Fitness Programs for Firefighters

1996 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-242
Author(s):  
Joan E. Pynes
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Health And Fitness ◽  
Fitness Programs

This article briefly summarizes the issues that local governments should review prior to implementing health and fitness programs for firefighters. The courts have upheld employer imposed fitness standards for law enforcement officers. This article generalizes the application to firefighters.

Compensation as a Police Candidate Attraction Tool: An Organizational-Level Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Giblin ◽  
Phillip M. Galli
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Local Law ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Law Enforcement Management

In 2008, state and local law enforcement agencies hired 61,000 new full-time sworn personnel. To develop a sufficient applicant pool, organizations may use a variety of attraction strategies, including financial inducements, especially when broader factors lessen the appeal of a job. Using data from the 2007 and 2013 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, the present study tests whether unfavorable contingencies (e.g., high cost of living, rigorous application standards) are related to officer compensation—pay, supplemental incentives, and reimbursements—within a sample of large metropolitan police agencies. Results are generally consistent with contingency theory, at least with respect to salaries. Departments offer higher salaries to offset more rigorous hiring standards, high costs of living, and other unfavorable contingencies. The implications of the findings for police officer recruitment are discussed.

Profiles of U.S. Law Enforcement Officers’ Physical, Psychological, and Behavioral Health: Results From a Nationally Representative Survey of Officers

2021 ◽  
pp. 109861112199111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Mumford ◽  
Weiwei Liu ◽  
Bruce G. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Critical Incidents ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The U.S

Law enforcement officers’ health and wellness is important at the individual and community levels in terms of maintaining a fit workforce to uphold the mission of public safety. The current study was designed to assess officer wellness across the U.S. From a nationally representative random sample of 1,135 local and state agencies, a random, probability-based sample of officers was selected, oversampling for female officers. Latent class analyses were conducted to assess wellness profiles based on a set of eleven physical, psychological, and behavioral health indicators for 2,232 officers. Personal and professional characteristics were included as auxiliary variables in models of the resulting classes. Results from this sample indicated that over two-thirds of officers fit a healthy profile, whereas one in four officers presents with moderate health concerns and nearly 6% are classified in a profile of broad health concerns. In this sample, sexual assault in childhood, greater exposure to critical incidents, working a current rotation schedule, and being female were characteristics associated with broad health concerns. Emotional and/or physical assault in childhood, greater exposure to critical incidents, and being female were characteristics associated with moderate health concerns, whereas older age and being Hispanic were protective factors. In sum, full-time sworn law enforcement officers across the U.S. are reasonably healthy but their exposures to stressful situations put them at increased risk particularly in terms of post-traumatic stress, risky drinking, and suicidality. These results are important for agency administrators and policymakers to consider in terms of wellness programs, prevention efforts and budget allocations.

scholarly journals State Legislative Ideology & the Preemption of City Ordinances: The Case of Worker Rights Laws

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher B Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The State ◽  
Worker Rights ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Legislative Activity ◽  
Using Data ◽  
State Legislative ◽  
Local Government Policy

This article discusses the influence of state legislative ideology on the legislative preemption of local ordinances in the area of worker rights. States define the powers of local governments within their purview and states may use this power to restrict local governments from pursuing certain policies. Using data on state legislative activity and ideology from 1993 to 2016, I find within-state increases in legislative ideology, indicating increased legislative conservatism, associated with an increased risk of preempting local government policy, all else equal. This finding is robust to a number of alternate specifications and hypotheses. Ideology appears to play an important role in the decision to involve the state in the affairs of local governments.

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