scholarly journals Police violence as punishment: Does excessive use of force serve to punish those who threaten status and power hierarchies in society?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica M Gerber ◽  
Ismael Puga ◽  
Cristóbal Moya ◽  
Francisca Gomez Baeza ◽  
Jonathan Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
Perceived Needs ◽  
Legal Punishment ◽  
Excessive Use Of Force

ObjectivesWhy do some people view excessive police violence as acceptable? We reason that excessive police violence not only seeks to control crime, but also to punish criminal offenders. We propose the concept of police violence for punishment and explore its associations with different forms of punishment and punishment motivations. We reason that some people support excessive police violence to reinforce status and power hierarchies with minority groups. MethodWe draw on data from a representative sample of adults living in Chile conducted in 2015 (n=1,302). We use structural equation models to predict support for police violence for punishment, legal and extra-legal violence.ResultsPolice violence for punishment was strongly related to support for extra-legal punishment. Punitive police violence and extra-legal punishment were both predicted by the motivation to restore status and power relationships, followed by deterrence. In contrast, norm restoration was the main predictor of legal punishment. Police violence for punishment was significantly less supported by ethnic minority members. ConclusionsWe conclude that police excessive use of force can usefully be understood as police violence as punishment. We discuss the extent to which police repression is perceived to restore status and power hierarchies threatened by crime. We conclude that reducing police violence requires a political and cultural process well beyond reforming police protocols and procedures. Working towards more horizontal relations between police officers, citizens and minority groups should reduce perceived needs to restore power and status relationships, hereby reducing support for police violence as punishment.

scholarly journals Evidentiary video and “Professional Vision” in the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 567-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney H. Jones ◽  
Neville Chi Hang Li
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Professional Vision ◽  
Law Enforcement Officials ◽  
Video Documentation ◽  
Excessive Use Of Force

Abstract The video documentation of police violence against citizens, and the circulation of these videos over mainstream and social media, has played an important part in many contemporary social movements, from the Black Lives Matter Movement in the U.S. to the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. Such videos serve as both evidence of police abuses and discursive artefacts around which viewers build bodies of shared knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about events through engaging in exercises of “collective seeing”. This article analyses the way a video of police officers beating a handcuffed protester, which became an important symbol of the excessive use of force by police during the Occupy Hong Kong protests, was interpreted by different communities, including journalists, protesters, anti-protest groups, and law enforcement officials, and how these collective acts of interpretation served as a means for members of these communities to display group membership and reinforce group norms and ideological values.

Dealing with crime, criminals and the criminal justice system through spirituality

2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-377
Author(s):  
Samta P Pandya
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Job Stress ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Spiritual Training ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Job Profile ◽  
Service Duration

Based on a post-test experimental RCT study of 1,698 police officers across 15 countries, the objective is to study the influence of spirituality on their views on crime, criminals and the justice system, and its influence on perceived job stress and resilience building. Results of the structural equation models and path analysis showed that spiritual programmes influenced the treatment group police officers’ views on crime and the system and enabled building resilience. Variations were observed by country, religion, job profile and service duration. Findings build a case for spiritual training of the police officers interfacing with the domain of criminology.

Does Diversity Damage Social Capital? A Comparative Study of Neighbourhood Diversity and Social Capital in the US and Britain

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Fieldhouse ◽  
David Cutts
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Capital Social ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Us

Abstract. A number of scholars have noted a negative relationship between ethnic diversity and social capital or social trust, especially in the US. Evidence from other countries has been more mixed and sometimes contradictory. In this paper we provide the first Anglo-American comparative analysis of the relationship between neighbourhood diversity and social capital, and show how this relationship varies across ethnic categories. We apply multilevel structural equation models to individual level data from the 2000 Citizen Benchmark Survey for the US and the 2005 Citizenship Survey for Great Britain. The findings suggest that while for attitudinal social capital among Whites the negative underlying relationship with diversity is apparent in both countries, the effect is much weaker or reversed for minority groups. For structural social capital the negative relationship is apparent for minorities but not Whites, but this is mainly attributable to other neighbourhood characteristics.Résumé. Un certain nombre d'universitaires ont noté une relation négative entre la diversité ethnique et le capital social ou la confiance sociale, surtout aux États-Unis. D'autres pays, par contre, offrent des constats plus mitigés et parfois contradictoires. Dans cet article, nous présentons la première analyse comparative anglo-américaine de la relation entre la diversité du voisinage et le capital social et nous démontrons comment cette relation varie selon les catégories ethniques. Nous appliquons des modélisations par équation structurelle à multiniveaux à des données de niveau individuel provenant du Citizen Benchmark Survey de 2000 pour les États-Unis et du Citizenship Survey de 2005 pour la Grande-Bretagne. Les résultats démontrent que si, pour le capital social attitudinal, la relation fondamentale négative avec la diversité est évidente parmi les Blancs dans les deux pays, l'effet est cependant beaucoup plus faible ou renversé pour les groupes minoritaires. En ce qui concerne le capital social structurel, la relation négative est évidente pour les minorités, mais pas pour les Blancs, mais cette situation est principalement attribuable à d'autres caractéristiques du voisinage.

scholarly journals Conceptions of National Identity and Opposition to Bicultural Policies in New Zealand: A Comparison of Majority and Minority Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Devos ◽  
Kumar Yogeeswaran ◽  
Chris G Sibley
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
European Ancestry ◽  
Majority Group ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Nationally Representative

Using a nationally representative sample, the present research tested whether conceptions of national identity differentially predicted attitudes toward bicultural policies among New Zealanders of European, Māori, Asian, and Pacific descent. A series of multi-group structural equation models revealed that among members of the majority group and all minority groups, endorsement of a civic conception of national identity (i.e., respecting political institutions and laws) was related to opposition to resource policies, but such a relationship was especially strong among the majority group. By contrast, endorsement of an ethnic conception of national identity (i.e., having Māori or European ancestry) was related to support for resource and symbolic policies among minority group members, but to opposition to the same policies among the majority group. The present work documents that belonging to a majority vs. minority group moderates the relations between conceptions of national identity (civic vs. ethnic) and support or opposition to specific bicultural policies. In addition, some elements of civic conceptions of national identity may legitimize inequalities rather than reduce them.

scholarly journals Big data and the New Transparency: Measuring and representing police killings

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 205395171769633
Author(s):  
Ben Brucato
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
Police Use Of Force

Controversies about recent killings by police officers in the United States have prompted widespread questioning about the scale and changes in police use of force. A perceived lack of transparency about the frequency of police killings amplifies concerns that many such killings are unjustified. This commentary considers efforts by journalists and activists to comprise databases that document and measure police violence, particularly in terms of how these endeavors exemplify the New Transparency.

The Politics of Police Violence in Democratic Brazil

2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Ahnen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Conflict ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Illiberal Democracy ◽  
Political Forces

AbstractMore than a decade after Latin America's most recent turn to democracy, unchecked police violence and torture continue and in some cases have increased. This study examines police killings in 19 Brazilian states from 1994 to 2001 and finds that democracy has not substantially reduced these types of human rights violations, for two reasons. First, underlying social conflict has continued to exert a significant impact on the lethal use of force by police officers. Second, pro-order political coalitions, generally represented by right-wing politicians, have blocked effective measures to control police violence and have implemented public safety measures that stress the use of force. The analysis emphasizes the nonteleological nature of democratization processes and demonstrates the strength of political forces working to maintain “illiberal democracy.”

Accountability and Police Violence: a Research on Accounts to Cope with Excessive Use of Force in Italy

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Zamperini ◽  
Valentina Siracusa ◽  
Marialuisa Menegatto
Keyword(s):  
Use Of Force ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
Excessive Use Of Force

Saying Her Name: Gendered Narratives in News Coverage of Breonna Taylor's Death

2022 ◽  
pp. 215336872110705
Author(s):  
Dawn K. Cecil
Keyword(s):  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
The Media

In 2020, Breonna Taylor was killed in her apartment as police officers served a no-knock warrant. Unlike most cases of police violence against a woman of color, Taylor’s death was eventually deemed newsworthy. Given that people’s perceptions of justice-related issues are often informed by media representations, the way the her death was covered can send critical messages about police violence against women of color. This research note presents the findings of a qualitative media analysis of newspaper coverage of Taylor’s case for the six months following her death. Drawing from research on media depictions of police use of force and women as victims, it explored how gender shaped the media coverage of her case. Findings indicate that while there are similarities to other news coverage of deadly use of force incidents that gender and its intersection with race shaped the narratives in three main ways—by characterizing Taylor through a patriarchal lens suggesting that she is an ideal victim; by shifting blame onto Taylor by focusing on relationships with men; and by addressing media coverage while reporting on her death.

The Men Who Lived Underground: The Chicago Police Torture Cases and the Problem of Measuring Police Violence, 1970-2016

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Baer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Primary Method ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
Criminal Investigations ◽  
Chicago Police ◽  
Official Data

Historical data on the use of force by police officers in the United States are unreliable or nonexistent. Available data, moreover, focus primarily on the behavior of patrolmen on the streets while neglecting violence by detectives during criminal investigations. Through an examination of a police torture scandal in Chicago from the early 1970s through the late 1990s, this article explains why violence during custodial interrogation often goes undocumented. In Chicago, the primary method of discovering, correcting, or preventing custodial abuse—pretrial motions to suppress statements—proved inadequate. By including the work of detectives, this article argues that a true measurement of police violence, impossible in practice, would likely be much higher than official data suggest.

Measuring the Big Five in Self-Report and Other Ratings

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Barbaranelli ◽  
Gian Vittorio Caprara
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Error Variance ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Fit Indexes ◽  
Response Modes

Summary: The aim of the study is to assess the construct validity of two different measures of the Big Five, matching two “response modes” (phrase-questionnaire and list of adjectives) and two sources of information or raters (self-report and other ratings). Two-hundred subjects, equally divided in males and females, were administered the self-report versions of the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ) and the Big Five Observer (BFO), a list of bipolar pairs of adjectives ( Caprara, Barbaranelli, & Borgogni, 1993 , 1994 ). Every subject was rated by six acquaintances, then aggregated by means of the same instruments used for the self-report, but worded in a third-person format. The multitrait-multimethod matrix derived from these measures was then analyzed via Structural Equation Models according to the criteria proposed by Widaman (1985) , Marsh (1989) , and Bagozzi (1994) . In particular, four different models were compared. While the global fit indexes of the models were only moderate, convergent and discriminant validities were clearly supported, and method and error variance were moderate or low.

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