College cops: a study of education and policing in California

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 648-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christie Gardiner
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
College Graduates ◽  
The State ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Police Education ◽  
The Usa ◽  
College Educated

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the state of police education in California. There is limited national data on the topic and this study aims to improve our knowledge by studying the state with the highest number of law enforcement officers in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 162 local law enforcement agencies (police and sheriffs’ departments) in California completed a 32-question electronic survey about police education and training. Findings – Findings reveal that California agencies are more likely than agencies nationwide to offer incentives to encourage officers to pursue higher education. Although most departments require only a high school diploma, 35 percent of sworn officers are college graduates. Most college-educated officers are employed by medium and large sized agencies in urban counties which pay above-average salaries. Research limitations/implications – This paper demonstrates how the prevalence of educated police officers varies and that higher education requirements do not adversely affect the hiring of female officers. It also provides insight from police managers regarding their concerns about requiring a four-year degree and perceptions of whether college-educated officers are actually better officers than non-college-educated officers. Practical implications – Research findings may be instructive to police managers wanting to increase the number of sworn officers in their agency who hold a college degree. Originality/value – It adds to the literature by describing the education level of police officers in California and providing information about the educational requirements and incentives offered to officers by law enforcement agencies. No previous study has addressed this topic, even though California employs 12 percent of all sworn peace officers in the USA.

scholarly journals The response of law enforcement agencies and police officers' experiences under the Covid-19 state of alarm in Catalonia, Spain

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Martínez-Catena ◽  
Montse Subirana-Malaret ◽  
Falgars Subirana-Malaret
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Communication Channels ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
General Terms

PurposeLaw enforcement agencies and police officers' efforts were crucial to oversee the public health measures and legal regulations introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study had two objectives: to examine the strategies implemented by law enforcement agencies in Catalonia (Spain) to monitor the pandemic and to explore the adverse working conditions of police officers and their personal difficulties during the state of alarm.Design/methodology/approachA total of 96 experienced police officers completed a closed-ended, anonymous online survey. In addition, complementary information was collected about the management of law enforcement agencies through open interviews. A descriptive analysis was carried out and the association between variables was explored.FindingsIn general terms, law enforcement agencies managed the uncertainty of the situation, with a focus on official information and communication channels between officers. However, many difficulties were reported by the police officers, such us inconsistency between rules, lack of preventive material or changes in work schedules. Besides, the officers' main concern, beyond the emotional impact suffered during this period, was the possibility of being infected or infecting others.Practical implicationsThe congruence between the job requirements and resources, as well as the increase of communication channels during situations of high risk are important variables to assure good job development and personal satisfaction of police officers.Originality/valueTo the knowledge of the authors, at the time of writing this paper, this is the first study in Spain to explore the management of law enforcement agencies and police officers' personal experiences during the Covid-19.

Epidemiology of law enforcement vehicle collisions in the US and California

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-435
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Rice ◽  
Lara Troszak ◽  
Bryon G. Gustafson
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vehicle Collision ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Single Vehicle ◽  
Traffic Collision ◽  
Vehicle Technologies ◽  
Police Vehicles

Purpose – Concerns about the risk of traffic collision injury to both police officers and bystanders are increasing as the use of in-vehicle technologies becoming widespread among agencies. This study used national and California data to characterize traffic collisions in which a police vehicle was involved. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used a California traffic collision database to retrospectively identify collisions that involved police vehicles for years 2007-2010. The authors summarized collision characteristics with descriptive methods and used log-binomial regression to estimate associations between personal and collision characteristics with officer culpability. Findings – The authors identified 5,233 traffic collisions in California. In total, 10 percent of law enforcement vehicles were motorcycles. In all, 9 percent of cruisers struck a pedestrian or bicyclist, compared with only 2 percent of motorcycles. Compared with officers aged 50 or older, officers in younger age categories were progressively much more likely to have been culpable. Motorcycle officers were 33 percent less likely to be culpable for their collision involvements. Approximately 100 fatal collisions involving a law enforcement vehicle occur each year in the USA. Originality/value – The findings from this study indicate that approximately 1,300 injury-producing traffic collisions occur each year in California that involve a law enforcement vehicle. The authors found that younger age, female sex, cruiser operation, traveling unbelted, and single-vehicle collision involvement were positively associated with officer culpability. Officer race and community population were not significantly associated with culpability. The occurrence of fatal collisions in the USA was stable over a 12-year period.

Policing in a pandemic: how law enforcement communicates with the public

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley K. Farmer ◽  
Allen Copenhaver
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Usa

PurposeThis study, a content analysis, aims to analyze general communications from law enforcement via agency websites about the COVID-19 pandemic and how this affected police roles. The authors study the extent to which police departments used their websites to inform the public about COVID-19, changes to their policies and additional information they felt necessary to give members of the public. This is important for understanding how the police inform the public during a pandemic and how the pandemic affected their police role.Design/methodology/approachThe data gathered for this project came from a content analysis of the official websites of the largest municipal police departments in the USA. The researchers collected quantitative data from the official websites of law enforcement agencies who serve the 200 largest cities in the USA in March 2020 and coded the information from the websites to determine what themes were most prevalent.FindingsThe messages most often provided on department websites included information about COVID-19 (52% of websites included this information), modifications to services (33%) and informing users that services such as fingerprinting would be altered (42%). Websites also reminded the public of restrictions on public gatherings (25%) and stay-at-home orders (38%). Further logistic regression analyses explored significant associations among these variables to understand how police/public communications influenced the role of law enforcement during the pandemic.Originality/valueLittle is known about how law enforcement communicates online with the public during a global pandemic like COVID-19 or how this might affect the police role. Police departments can use their websites to communicate important information to citizens and keep communities updated. Policy implications suggest that agencies continue to update websites with important information and be direct about expectations from the public regarding compliance while also being transparent about how police roles might change.

Sheriff’s deputies and police officers: comparing their views

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
William P. McCarty ◽  
Stacy Dewald
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Justice ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Municipal Police ◽  
Municipal Police Departments ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare views of the community, views of the organization head, and perceptions of organizational justice between deputies working in sheriff’s offices and officers working in municipal police departments. Design/methodology/approach This study used surveys of 2,012 sworn deputies representing 19 full-service county sheriff’s offices and 10,590 sworn officers representing 70 municipal police departments. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare the three dependent variables between sheriff’s offices and municipal police departments. Findings Deputies in sheriff’s offices expressed more positive views of the community and organization head, and more favorable perceptions of organizational justice than officers in municipal police departments. Regression analyses indicated that views of the organization head and perceptions of organizational justice remained significantly more positive in sheriff’s offices than municipal departments, even after controlling for agency size and concentrated disadvantage. Research limitations/implications The sample of agencies should not be considered as a representative of all sheriff’s offices and municipal police departments in the USA. The number and scope of agency-level variables included in the regression models were limited. Practical implications The results suggest the importance of ensuring more equitable systems of rewards and organization heads taking steps to communicate more effectively with sworn personnel, especially in municipal departments. Originality/value By its focus on sheriff’s offices, the study broadens knowledge of law enforcement agencies and sworn personnel, which is usually based on studies of municipal police departments and officers.

Community policing and intelligence-led policing

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-58
Author(s):  
Jeremy G. Carter ◽  
Bryanna Fox
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Structural Models ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Conceptual Foundation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Oriented Policing ◽  
Exploratory Factor Analyses ◽  
The Usa

Purpose Despite increased scholarly inquiry regarding intelligence-led policing (ILP) and popularity among law enforcement agencies around the globe, ambiguity remains regarding the conceptual foundation and appropriate measurement of ILP. Although most scholars agree that ILP is indeed a unique policing philosophy, there is less consensus regarding the relationship between ILP and the ever-present model of community-oriented policing (COP). Consequently, there is a clear need to study the empirical distinctions and overlaps in these policing philosophies as implemented by US law enforcement agencies. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Data were gleaned from the 2007 LEMAS and 2009 NIJ Intelligence surveys. A total of 227 unique police agencies in the USA are included. A series of bivariate, exploratory factor analyses and structural models are used to determine discriminatory or convergent validity across COP and ILP constructs. Findings The goal was to answer the question: are these two policing philosophies are being implemented as separate and distinct strategies? Results of our exploratory and structural models indicate that COP and ILP loaded on unique latent constructs. This affirms the results of the bivariate correlations, and indicates that COP and ILP have discriminant measurement validity. In other words, COP and ILP are conceptually distinct, even when implemented in police departments across the USA. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. Originality/value This is the first study to empirically test the discriminant or convergent validity of COP and ILP.

Guidelines for mandated documents

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn Westbrook
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
National Study ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present findings on the efficacy of documents that US police are required to provide to domestic violence survivors, specifically intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors. Triangulating data from survivors, shelter staff, and law enforcement officers across four stages of IPV experiences, this national study identifies priorities among essential information needs and proposes information guidelines for law enforcement. Design/methodology/approach – A nationally distributed, 13-item, e-mail questionnaire was submitted to a stratified sample (ten largest, median, and smallest) of law enforcement agencies in all 50 states. Domestic violence shelters in each of the 1,500 cities were similarly recruited; survivors were recruited indirectly via shelter staff. The questions were clustered in terms of four common situations. Responses from 839 individuals were obtained, self-identified as police officers (481), shelter staff (263), and IPV survivors (95). Findings – Documents should be formatted for safety (i.e. small), developed for specific situations, and written simply. They should also offer information about non-law enforcement services. All three of the populations queried agreed that the immediate needs of survivors are stronger than their long-term needs. Research limitations/implications – The primary limitations are that the survey could include no means of determining the degree to which the respondents match the sample, and the response rate was insufficient to support inferential statistical analysis. Originality/value – This national study, the first of its kind, explicates the nuances of information elements in the personally situated experiences of survivors, and it presents the first set of suggested law-enforcement document design guidelines.

Law enforcement agencies’ participation in the military surplus equipment program

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 791-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Johnson ◽  
J. Andrew Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Program Participation ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Military Vehicles ◽  
The Usa ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Military

Purpose The police response to the protests in Ferguson, Missouri refocused attention on law enforcement agencies’ participation in the military surplus equipment program, or 1,033 Program. Given the extensive media coverage, particularly regarding the acquisition of military vehicles and weapons, it is important to empirically investigate the 1,033 Program. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 1,205 law enforcement regarding 1,033 Program participation and the types of equipment acquired. This study also explores whether significant differences exist by region, agency type, and size. Findings The results demonstrated that while a majority of state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the 1,033 Program, a significant number of agencies did not. Acquisition of military surplus weapons, vehicles, and other types of equipment was not the norm. Significant differences were discerned for overall participation and equipment acquisition based on region, agency type, and size. Research limitations/implications This study does not address other concerns such as how surplus military equipment is used or policies agencies may have to govern that use, which provide avenues for further research to discern best practices. Practical implications Law enforcement agencies do not appear to acquire military vehicles and weapons to the extent that has been dramatized by the media. Originality/value This study contributes empirical data to inform the discussion of law enforcement agencies’ acquisition of military surplus equipment in the USA.

Perspectives of directors of civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Rosenthal
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Past Experiences

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to involve interviews with civilian oversight of law enforcement (COLE) directors from throughout the USA with the purpose of obtaining their perspectives on what it takes to create and sustain successful COLE programs. Design/methodology/approach The project involved 24 semi-structured interviews with experienced COLE directors. The interviews were transcribed and coded and this paper presents these perspectives according to patterns identified during analysis. Findings The research identified themes and patterns in the attitudes of the oversight directors which included numerous conditions necessary for success of an oversight agency. Amongst the most important conditions included agency independence, director job security, the need for professional qualified staff, unfettered access to information, the ability to publicly report on the agency’s work and a willingness on the part of government officials to tolerate criticism of the police. Originality/value This is the first study to identify the challenges and impediments to sustainable COLE mechanisms from the point-of-view of experienced agency directors. The findings can be used by future practitioners to learn from past experiences.

The rapid diffusion of license plate readers in US law enforcement agencies

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Lum ◽  
Christopher S. Koper ◽  
James Willis ◽  
Stephen Happeny ◽  
Heather Vovak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
State Funding ◽  
License Plate ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
Law Enforcement Leaders ◽  
License Plate Readers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to document the diffusion of license plate readers (LPRs) in the USA, examining the variety, evolution and tracking of their uses through a national survey. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a national, stratified, representative survey of US law enforcement agencies with 100 or more officers. Findings LPR technology is currently used by at least two-thirds of larger police agencies, which represents a more than threefold increase in LPR acquisition in the last 10 years. The number of LPRs per agency, while small (about eight on average), has also more than doubled. Federal and state funding, advocacy by law enforcement leaders, and the intuitive appeal of LPRs have likely contributed to this rapid adoption. While LPRs are still primarily used to detect and recover stolen automobiles in patrol, their use has expanded into other types of investigative and security functions. Despite the increased use and numbers of LPRs in policing, their use is highly discretionary and infrequently tracked. Practical implications LPRs continue to be widely used in law enforcement, despite a lack of strong research evidence for their crime prevention benefits. Further studies are needed on the most effective ways for agencies to utilize small numbers of LPRs and the potential return on investment for acquiring larger numbers of the devices. Originality/value This study tracks the history of LPR diffusion and use and goes beyond prior law enforcement surveys by examining specific uses of LPRs and the extent to which agencies track their uses and outcomes.

scholarly journals SOME ISSUES OF PENSION PROVISION FOR POLICE OFFICERS

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-52
Author(s):  
Liubov Knyazkova ◽  
◽  
Ivan Ivanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
The State ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Length Of Service ◽  
The Law ◽  
Legal Security ◽  
National Police

The article deals with the research of the issues of pension provision for police officers as a component of their social security. Since the category of police employees is new to Ukraine, its significance for labour law and, accordingly, the value of the police for the society, whose citizens they protect, has been characterized. An analysis of statutory acts regulating the pension provision for law enforcement bodies' employees has been carried out. The concept of a seniority pension for police officers has been defined as a monthly payment from the Pension Fund of Ukraine intended to compensate for lost pay and allowances and granted upon resignation for the purpose of maintaining living standards of citizens having the seniority of a specified duration in law enforcement bodies, the National Police, the Court Protection Service, the State Fire Protection Service, the State Service of Ukraine for Special Communications and Information Protection, bodies and divisions of the Civil Protection Service, the Tax Police or the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine, whose occupational incapacity is presumed to set in before they reach the retirement age established by law for awarding an old-age pension. The author proposes the adoption of a new law on pensions precisely for police officers. For in contrast to the definition of Militia (the name the police were called in the Soviet Ukraine and during a number of the post-Soviet years) as an armed body of the executive branch, the Law of Ukraine "On the National Police" defines the police as a central body of the executive branch that serves the society by ensuring the protection of human rights and freedoms, combating crime, maintaining public security and order. According to the author, the legal regulation of the pension provision for servicemen and police employees by a single statutory act (law) does not correspond to the realities of today. Conclusions have been formulated on supplementing the Law of Ukraine "On the National Police" with the provision that restrictions of guarantees of social and legal security of the law enforcement bodies' employees shall not be allowed when adopting laws and bylaws, as well as when making decisions by law enforcement agencies of the state. Special attention has been paid to calculating the amount of police officers' seniority pension. The procedure for determining the amount of pension depending on the length of service has been analysed. The author believes that lowering the limit of the seniority pension for law enforcement bodies' employees, including police employees, initially from 90 down to 80 per cent and then from 80 down to 70 per cent of their pay and allowances is a violation of the Constitution of Ukraine. Constitutional rights and freedoms are guaranteed by the state and cannot be revoked when adopting new laws or amending existing ones. No narrowing of the content and scope of existing rights shall be allowed. The author proposes to work out a new Procedure for recalculating pensions granted to police officers. Outdated statutory acts governing the procedure for recalculating pensions granted to law enforcement bodies' employees contain controversial provisions, have conflicting points, do not comply with the Constitution of Ukraine and the realities of today, and are therefore subject to repeal.

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