Do Body-Worn Cameras Change Law Enforcement Arrest Behavior? A National Study of Local Police Departments

2020 ◽  
pp. 027507402098268
Author(s):  
Sunyoung Pyo
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
National Study ◽  
Behavior Changes ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
The Public ◽  
Black And White ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Disparate Treatment ◽  
High Crime

Controlling police officers’ discretionary behavior during public encounters has been an important issue in U.S. policing, especially following several high-profile police-involved deaths of racial minorities. In response, body-worn cameras (BWCs) were introduced to enhance police accountability by providing police managers an opportunity to monitor police–public encounters. Although many U.S. local police departments have now implemented BWC programs, evidence of program effects on daily police behavior has been limited. This study therefore focuses on whether officers’ arrest behavior changes when they perceive that BWCs are recording their interactions with the public. By conducting a difference-in-differences analysis using 142 police departments, I found that BWCs have negative and small treatment effects on arrest rates and null effects on the racial disparity between numbers of Black and White arrests. These findings imply that officers may become slightly more cautious in the use of arrests after wearing BWCs, but BWCs do not change their overall disparate treatment of Black versus White suspects. The results further indicate that the effects of BWCs on arrests are prominent in municipalities with high crime rates or a high proportion of non-White residents, which suggests that BWC programs demonstrate different effects according to the characteristics of communities served.

scholarly journals The The Making of Crime Predictions: Sociotechnical Assemblages and the Controversies of Governing Future Crime

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-215
Author(s):  
Daniel Edler Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Migrant Communities ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Gut Feelings

We are witnessing an upsurge in crime forecasting software, which supposedly draws predictive knowledge from data on past crime. Although prevention and anticipation are already embedded in the apparatuses of government, going beyond a mere abstract aspiration, the latest innovations hold out the promise of replacing police officers’ “gut feelings” and discretionary risk assessments with algorithmic-powered, quantified analyses of risk scores. While police departments and private companies praise such innovations for their cost-effective rationale, critics raise concerns regarding their potential for discriminating against poor, black, and migrant communities. In this article, I address such controversies by telling the story of the making of CrimeRadar, an app developed by a Rio de Janeiro-based think tank in partnership with private associates and local police authorities. Drawing mostly on Latour’s contributions to the emerging literature on security assemblages, I argue that we gain explanatory and critical leverage by looking into the mundane practices of making and unmaking sociotechnical arrangements. That is, I address the chain of translations through which crime data are collected, organized, and transformed into risk scores. In every step, new ways of seeing and presenting crime are produced, with a significant impact on how we experience and act upon (in)security.

scholarly journals Perception of police on discrimination in Serbia - results of the survey on the attitudes of public order and traffic police officers

Temida ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-160
Author(s):  
Radomir Zekavica
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
The Public ◽  
Traffic Police ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Novi Sad

The paper analyzes the results of the research on the attitudes of the public order and traffic police officers in seven regional police departments in Serbia - Belgrade, Novi Sad, Subotica, Novi Sad, Nis, Kragujevac and Zajecar. The subject of the research is the analysis of the police attitudes on discrimination, recognition of its essence, the scope of vulnerability of particular social groups and recognition of the hate speech. Also, the subject of the research is: determination of relationship with measures which should improve the position of vulnerable groups and the relationship with the institutions in terms of their responsibility for the appearance of discrimination and its impact on the reduction, then the personal experience of discrimination and analysis of attitudes regarding certain claims of stereotypical character. The results of this research are given in the comparative analysis with the results of the research on the attitudes of members of the criminal police conducted in 2014, so we have indication of perception of discrimination by the police in all three key operating police areas. In regard to some issues, a comparative analysis of the results from the survey of citizens? attitudes towards discrimination conducted in 2013 by CESID is provided.

scholarly journals Exploitative Revenues, Law Enforcement, and the Quality of Government Service

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Goldstein ◽  
Michael W. Sances ◽  
Hye Young You
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
Criminal Investigation ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Government Service ◽  
Revenue Collection ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Commuting Time

A growing body of evidence indicates that local police departments are being used to provide revenue for municipalities by imposing and collecting fees, fines, and asset forfeitures. We examine whether revenue collection activities compromise the criminal investigation functions of local police departments. We find that police departments in cities that collect a greater share of their revenue from fees solve violent and property crimes at significantly lower rates. The effect on violent crime clearance is more salient in smaller cities where police officers’ assignments tend not to be highly specialized. We find that this relationship is robust to a variety of empirical strategies, including instrumenting for fines revenue using commuting time. Our results suggest that institutional changes—such as decreasing municipal government reliance on fines and fees for revenue—are important for changing police behavior and improving the provision of public safety.

Does the “reverse racism effect” withstand the test of police officer fatigue?

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lois James ◽  
Stephen James ◽  
Bryan Vila
Keyword(s):  
Racial Bias ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Patrol Officers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Black And White ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Critical Problems ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Policing faces several critical problems, the most immediate of which are arguably public perceptions of racial bias, and widely prevalent officer fatigue related to shift work and long work hours. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the “reverse racism effect” still occurred when officers were extremely fatigued. Design/methodology/approach Controlled laboratory experiments were conducted during which experienced police patrol officers responded to black and white suspects in deadly force judgment and decision-making simulations on two occasions; once immediately following the last of five consecutive 10:40 hours patrol shifts (fatigued condition) and again 72 hours after completing the last shift in a cycle (rested condition). Findings Contrary to expectations, the authors found that officer fatigue did not significantly affect shooting behavior. Furthermore, the authors did not find a significant interaction between officer fatigue and suspect race on either reaction time to shoot or the likelihood of shooting an unarmed suspect. Thus, the reverse racism effect was observed both when officers were rested and fatigued. Research limitations/implications As policing agencies around the country respond to allegations of racial bias, both the public and police search for empirical evidence about whether negative perceptions are accurate about officers’ motivations in deadly encounters. The research reported here provides insight about how fatigue effects officers’ decisions to shoot black vs white suspects, and directly addresses this high profile and divisive national issue. Originality/value This is the first valid experimental test of the impact of fatigue on officer shooting behavior, and the interaction between police fatigue and suspect race on decisions to shoot.

Race and the Association Between Police Stops and Depression Among Young Adults: A Research Note

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerio Baćak ◽  
Kathryn M. Nowotny
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
The Public ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Proactive Policing ◽  
Stressful Experiences

Police stops are stressful experiences that may be harmful for health. The present study examines the association between police stops and symptoms of depression in the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health. The study sample included non-Hispanic Black ( n = 2,118) and White ( n = 5,629) adults aged 18–26 years surveyed in 1996 and 2001/2002. Both Black and White young adults who have been stopped by police had more symptoms of depression compared to their never stopped counterparts. Among Blacks, the association was attenuated but persisted after controlling for criminal behavior and justice contact. In contrast, among Whites, the association between police stops and depression was smaller in magnitude, and it was explained by self-reported criminal behavior. Given the frequency and the number of people in contact with police, we point to the need to sensitize police departments to potential mental health consequences of proactive policing, and the decreased willingness of the public to seek police help as a result of previous distressing encounters.

scholarly journals Police Officer on the Frontline or a Soldier? The Effect of Police Militarization on Crime

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Bove ◽  
Evelina Gavrilova
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Military Aid ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Us Military ◽  
Local Police

Sparked by high-profile confrontations between police and citizens in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere, many commentators have criticized the excessive militarization of law enforcement. We investigate whether surplus military-grade equipment acquired by local police departments from the Pentagon has an effect on crime rates. We use temporal variations in US military expenditure and between-counties variation in the odds of receiving a positive amount of military aid to identify the causal effect of militarized policing on crime. We find that (i) military aid reduces street-level crime; (ii) the program is cost-effective; and (iii) there is evidence in favor of a deterrence mechanism. (JEL H56, H76, K42)

Police Perceptions of Their Working Environment: Surveying the Small Department

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Sims ◽  
Jim Ruiz ◽  
Ginger Weaver ◽  
William L. Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Police Chief ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
South Central ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Central Pennsylvania ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Small Department

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study designed to provide a local police chief and other key stakeholders with perceptions of police officers related to policing a small town in south central Pennsylvania. Following a brief review of the literature that examines many of the issues addressed in the present study, the methodology and major findings from the study are reported and discussed. The paper concludes with recommendations for possible interventions that could be undertaken, by not only the department in question, but by small police departments in other locations as well.

scholarly journals “The Peculiar Anomaly”: Same-Sex Infidelity in Postwar Divorce Courts

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 665-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Lefkovitz
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
World War ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
Local Police ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Military

It was a simple tale of betrayal. In 1950, a Pennsylvania husband returned home from a business trip to find his wife—known to us today only by her initials CD—having sex with the female athletic director of a local school. This wife was only one of many women caught having sex with other women in the era following World War II. Although many closeted men and women enjoyed vibrant sexual and social lives in gay and lesbian communities, sometimes commanding officers, bosses, and police officers caught and punished men and women engaging in “deviant” sexual activity. Punishments ranged from arrests during a bar raid to a dismissal from a job. A double life in the public sphere was fragile. Scholars have paid less attention, however, to the insecure closeted lives of husbands and wives such as CD. Although certainly not all men and women who engaged in same-sex encounters entered traditional heterosexual marriages, many did. Their motivations for marrying ranged from the hope that marriage would cure same-sex desire to financial concerns. Sometimes, a husband or wife discovered his or her spouse's homosexual infidelity. A potential punitive outcome for this encounter was not an arrest, pink slip, or a dishonorable discharge; instead a spouse could end up in divorce court. Like the federal government, the military, the local police, and private employers, then, divorce courts also had to devise strategies and philosophies with which to deal with the problem of homosexuality.

scholarly journals Power revealed: masking police officers in the public sphere

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pollyanna Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Online News ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Civil Suit ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Official Sources

Demonstrations which spill over into conflict have always required the police to distinguish between members of the public exercising their right to protest and members of the public engaging in criminal activity, i.e. between ‘good protesters’ and ‘bad protesters’. Journalists who depended heavily upon official sources when constructing news narratives have historically reproduced these distinctions and, as a result, images of violent protesters have frequently been used to delegitimize their claims. However a number of high profile investigations into the policing of protest in the UK mean that police officers are also being subjected to distinctions made by inquiry panels between ‘good police officers’ and ‘bad police officers’. Thus a new trope is emerging in popular print and online news narratives in which the actions of the police rather than protesters are becoming the object of the public’s attention. These dynamics are explored with reference to the ways in which confrontations between protesters and police were pictured in the aftermath of Ian Tomlinson’s death. The article focuses in particular on the way in which images highlighting acts of concealment became a significant strand in online and offline news narrative as they developed in the years between Tomlinson’s death in 2009 and the civil suit brought against PC Harwood in 2012. The author argues that images of police officers in militarized helmets and without identity tags become synonymous with the opacity that initially characterized the police force’s response to the death of Tomlinson. She concludes by suggesting that this lack of transparency contrasted with the extended visibility offered by mobile phone footage of the demonstration and contributed to the police’s inability to frame G20 protesters as violent agitators.

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