Public Expressions of Empathy and Sympathy by U.S. Criminal Justice Officials After Controversial Police Killings of African-Americans

2021 ◽  
pp. 0261927X2110572
Author(s):  
Edward R. Maguire ◽  
Howard Giles
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Police Department ◽  
The United States ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Releases

Police use of force against minorities, particularly African-Americans, has become a prominent national issue in the United States. In a number of controversial instances, such as the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, African-Americans have died under questionable circumstances due to police use of force. These incidents have fueled the growth of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and have often resulted in large-scale protests and riots. In this paper, we examine statements made by four types of criminal justice officials – police executives, police department spokespersons, police union representatives, and prosecutors – in the immediate aftermath of 30 such incidents that occurred in 2020. We examine the language used by these officials in social media postings, news releases, and press conferences, focusing specifically on the extent to which they express empathy or sympathy toward the decedent or his or her loved ones, as well as the community at large. Our analysis reveals that criminal justice officials rarely express empathy or sympathy in the aftermath of these incidents, though there are noteworthy differences between different types of officials. Our findings are helpful for understanding how the language used by these officials, particularly the public expression of empathy and sympathy, fits into broader debates about race and criminal justice in the United States.

Challenging the Ordinality of Police Use-of-Force Policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 088740342110383
Author(s):  
Scott M. Mourtgos ◽  
Ian T. Adams ◽  
Samuel R. Baty
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Police Department ◽  
The United States ◽  
Physical Force ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
Lethal Force ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Municipal Police ◽  
Force Data

Most use-of-force policies utilized by U.S. police agencies make fundamental ordinal assumptions about officers’ force responses to subject resistance. These policies consist of varying levels of force and resistance along an ordinally ranked continuum of severity. We empirically tested the ordinal assumptions that are ubiquitous to police use-of-force continua within the United States using 1 year’s use-of-force data from a municipal police department. Applying a quantitative technique known as categorical regression with optimal scaling, we found the assumptions of ordinality within the studied department’s use-of-force continuum (which is similar to many police use-of-force continua within the United States) are not met. Specifying physical force as a “lower” force option than less-lethal tools is associated with increased officer injury and decreased subject injury. Our findings call into question use-of-force continua featuring ordinal rankings for varying categories of less-lethal force.

Are Americans less likely to reply to emails from Black people relative to White people?

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (52) ◽  
pp. e2110347118
Author(s):  
Ray Block ◽  
Charles Crabtree ◽  
John B. Holbein ◽  
J. Quin Monson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Black People ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
The United States ◽  
Simple Task ◽  
The Public ◽  
Medical Sector ◽  
Large Scale Field ◽  
Ethnic Subgroups

In this article, we present the results from a large-scale field experiment designed to measure racial discrimination among the American public. We conducted an audit study on the general public—sending correspondence to 250,000 citizens randomly drawn from public voter registration lists. Our within-subjects experimental design tested the public’s responsiveness to electronically delivered requests to volunteer their time to help with completing a simple task—taking a survey. We randomized whether the request came from either an ostensibly Black or an ostensibly White sender. We provide evidence that in electronic interactions, on average, the public is less likely to respond to emails from people they believe to be Black (rather than White). Our results give us a snapshot of a subtle form of racial bias that is systemic in the United States. What we term everyday or “paper cut” discrimination is exhibited by all racial/ethnic subgroups—outside of Black people themselves—and is present in all geographic regions in the United States. We benchmark paper cut discrimination among the public to estimates of discrimination among various groups of social elites. We show that discrimination among the public occurs more frequently than discrimination observed among elected officials and discrimination in higher education and the medical sector but simultaneously, less frequently than discrimination in housing and employment contexts. Our results provide a window into the discrimination that Black people in the United States face in day-to-day interactions with their fellow citizens.

scholarly journals The Effect of Governmental Health Measures on Public Behaviour During the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoyan Wang ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Lingfei Wang ◽  
Zhi Xu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
New York State ◽  
The United States ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Phase Rule ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Epidemic Area

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in radical changes in many aspects of life. To deal with this, each country has implemented continuous health measures from the beginning of the outbreak. Discovering how governmental actions impacted public behaviour during the outbreak stage is the purpose of this study. Methods: This study uses a hybrid large-scale data visualisation method to analyse public behaviour (epidemic concerns, self-protection, and mobility trends), using the data provided by multiple authorities. Meanwhile, a content analysis method is used to qualitatively code the health measures of three countries with severe early epidemic outbreaks from different continents, namely China, Italy, and the United States. Eight dimensions are coded to rate the mobility restrictions implemented in the above countries. Results: (1) Governmental measures did not immediately persuade the public to change their behaviours during the COVID-19 epidemic. Instead, the public behaviour proceeded in a three-phase rule, which is typically witnessed in an epidemic outbreak, namely the wait-and-see phase, the surge phase and the slow-release phase. (2) The strictness of the mobility restrictions of the three countries can be ranked as follows: Hubei Province in China (with an average score of 8.5 out of 10), Lombardy in Italy (7.125), and New York State in the United States (5.375). Strict mobility restrictions are more likely to cause a surge of population outflow from the epidemic area in the short term, whereas the effect of mobility restrictions is positively related to the stringency of policies in the long term. Conclusion: The public showed generally lawful behaviour during regional epidemic outbreaks and blockades. Meanwhile public behaviour was deeply affected by the actions of local governments, rather than the global pandemic situation. The contextual differences between the various countries are important factors that influence the effects of the different governments’ health measures.

scholarly journals Police Use of Body-Worn Cameras: Challenges of Visibility, Procedural Justice, and Legitimacy

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 305-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ermus St. Louis ◽  
Alana Saulnier ◽  
Kevin Walby
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Community Policing ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
Community Police ◽  
Accountability Mechanism

Recent controversies over police use of force in the United States of America have placed a spotlight on police in Western nations. Concerns that police conduct is racist and procedurally unjust have generated public sentiments that accountability must be externally imposed on police. One such accountability mechanism is body-worn cameras (BWCs). Optimistic accounts of BWCs suggest that the technology will contribute to the improvement of community–police relations. However, BWCs address consequences, not causes, of poor community–police relations. We argue that the evolving visibility of police associated with BWCs is double-edged, and suggest that the adoption of surveillance technologies such as BWCs in the quest to improve community–police relations will fail without a simultaneous commitment to inclusionary policing practices (such as community policing strategies, community and social development, and local democracy). We outline two initiatives that optimize BWCs by promoting these simultaneous commitments.

scholarly journals Genetics of Hypertension in African Americans and Others of African Descent

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihail Zilbermint ◽  
Fady Hannah-Shmouni ◽  
Constantine Stratakis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
African Americans ◽  
African Descent ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Angiotensin System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Low Renin Hypertension ◽  
Gated Channel ◽  
G Protein Coupled

Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease in the United States, affecting up to one-third of adults. When compared to other ethnic or racial groups in the United States, African Americans and other people of African descent show a higher incidence of hypertension and its related comorbidities; however, the genetics of hypertension in these populations has not been studied adequately. Several genes have been identified to play a role in the genetics of hypertension. They include genes regulating the renin-aldosterone-angiotensin system (RAAS), such as Sodium Channel Epithelial 1 Beta Subunit (SCNN1B), Armadillo Repeat Containing 5 (ARMC5), G Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase 4 (GRK4), and Calcium Voltage-Gated Channel Subunit Alpha1 D (CACNA1D). In this review, we focus on recent genetic findings available in the public domain for potential differences between African Americans and other populations. We also cover some recent and relevant discoveries in the field of low-renin hypertension from our laboratory at the National Institutes of Health. Understanding the different genetics of hypertension among various groups is essential for effective precision-guided medical therapy of high blood pressure.

Preparing for Agroterror: How is the Texas Animal Health Commission Implementing Federal Food Security Regulations?

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Hunter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Government ◽  
Agricultural Industry ◽  
The Public ◽  
Department Of Health

AbstractAgroterrorism is a subform of bioterrorism with the potential to have a crippling impact on both the agricultural industry and the food supply of a nation. A calculated attack using a miniscule amount of pathogenic or disease causing substances on the livestock or crops in one rural community can spread to animals and metropolitan regions much farther away long before any response from state or federal veterinary or agricultural organizations. Although there have been no large-scale agroterrorism attacks in the United States, there have been historical precedents for agricultural biological warfare and recent examples of unintentional or accidental spread of pathogens in the food supply that have threatened the health and safety of the public. Along with an ongoing push for preparedness to prevent a biological attack on the U.S. agricultural industry, there is a great deal of uncertainty and conflict among landowners, farmers, analysts, and politicians about what methods should be implemented to safeguard the public. In response to this possible threat, the United States government has implemented legislation that it considers preemptive in its ability to safeguard the food supply and manage the public health and/or biological crime response in a widespread agroterrorist attack scenario. However, this requires cooperation on both the state and federal levels, and of several agencies including the department of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Health and Human Services. This paper examines the steps being taken by the USDA in fulfilling the orders of the federal government in response to the looming threat of agroterrorism and how the TAHC works cooperatively with federal agencies and the private agricultural industry to carry out these regulations.

scholarly journals Reappraisals of the Academy Movement

2001 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Tolley ◽  
Nancy Beadie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public High Schools ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Educational Discourse ◽  
The Public ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
History Of

The presence of academies in the United States spans roughly three centuries. Originating in the colonial era, academies spread across the country by mid-nineteenth century. Such institutions generally served students between the ages of eight and twenty-five, providing a relatively advanced form of schooling that was legally incorporated to ensure financial support beyond that available through tuition alone. According to one contemporary source, by 1850 more than 6,100 incorporated academies existed in the United States, with enrollments nine times greater than those of the nation's colleges. Nineteenth-century supporters portrayed academies as exemplars of the nation's commitment to enlightenment and learning; opponents argued that they were harmful to the public interest. Those in favor of a large-scale system of public high schools dismissed academies as irrelevant and outmoded institutions. The culmination of this controversy is well known, because it is reiterated in every secondary text on the history of American education. As a widespread system of public higher schooling supplanted the academies in the twentieth century, private and independent schools dropped out of the mainstream of American educational discourse. The following essays seek to recover something of the long history of academies in the United States and to reconsider the historical significance of these institutions in society.

scholarly journals How Large Is the “Public Domain”? A Comparative Analysis of Ringer’s 1961 Copyright Renewal Study and HathiTrust CRMS Data

2017 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Wilkin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Determination Process ◽  
Review Management ◽  
The U.S

The 1961 Copyright Office study on renewals, authored by Barbara Ringer, has cast an outsized influence on discussions of the U.S. 1923–1963 public domain. As more concrete data emerge from initiatives such as the large-scale determination process in the Copyright Review Management System (CRMS) project, questions are raised about the reliability or meaning of the Ringer data. A closer examination of both the Ringer study and CRMS data demonstrates fundamental misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the Ringer data, as well as possible methodological issues. Estimates of the size of the corpus of public domain books published in the United States from 1923 through 1963 have been inflated by problematic assumptions, and we should be able to correct mistaken conclusions with reasonable effort.

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