Sworn Volunteers in American Policing, 1999 to 2013

This study describes changes in the use of sworn volunteers among the nation’s local law enforcement agencies and identifies those state-level certification, community, and agency characteristics associated with agencies using such volunteers in 2013. Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics data from 1999 through 2013 were analyzed to document trends in both the number of sworn volunteers and the prevalence of agencies using sworn volunteers. While there has been a modest decline in the use of sworn volunteers since 1999, in 2013, about 36% of all local law enforcement agencies used sworn volunteers; furthermore, these volunteers comprised 7% of all local sworn personnel having arrest authority nationwide in 2013. A survey of peace officer standards and training agencies found that approximately two thirds of states required state-level certification of sworn volunteers. Multivariate analyses of state-level certification standards, census data, and agency characteristics found that agencies were more likely to use sworn volunteers if they (a) are a sheriff's office, (b) serve jurisdictions with larger populations, (c) have greater levels of social disadvantage, (d) do not require recruits to have more than a high school education, or (e) are located within states offering graduated levels of sworn volunteer certifications. Agencies were less likely to use volunteer officers if they (a) hire part-time sworn officers, (b) have a greater entry-level salary, or (c) are accredited.

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

Police Quarterly ◽

10.1177/1098611117713679 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 397-419 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

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.

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Racializing Crimmigration

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity ◽

10.1177/2332649216648714 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 82-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 71

Author(s):

Amada Armenta

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Law Enforcement ◽

The United States ◽

Immigration Enforcement ◽

Law Enforcement Agencies ◽

Local Law Enforcement ◽

Local Jail ◽

Colorblind Ideology ◽

Local Actors ◽

Local Law

Deporting “criminal aliens” has become the highest priority in American immigration enforcement. Today, most deportations are achieved through the “crimmigration” system, a term that describes the convergence of the criminal justice and immigration enforcement systems. Emerging research argues that U.S. immigration enforcement is a “racial project” that subordinates and racializes Latino residents in the United States. This article examines the role of local law enforcement agencies in the racialization process by focusing on the techniques and logics that drive law enforcement practices across two agencies, I argue that local law enforcement agents racialize Latinos by punishing illegality through their daily, and sometimes mundane, practices. Investigatory traffic stops put Latinos at disproportionate risk of arrest and citation, and processing at the local jail subjects unauthorized immigrants to deportation. Although a variety of local actors sustain the deportation system, most do not see themselves as active participants in immigrant removal and they explain their behavior through a colorblind ideology. This colorblind ideology obscures and naturalizes how organizational practices and laws converge to systematically criminalize and punish Latinos in the United States.

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