scholarly journals Racial Disparities in Police Crime Victimization

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 287
Author(s):  
Philip Matthew Stinson ◽  
Chloe Ann Wentzlof ◽  
John Liederbach ◽  
Steven L. Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Crime Victimization ◽  
Multivariate Relationships ◽  
Google Alerts

Policing has become a topic of intense public scrutiny and protest in the aftermath of several recent highly questionable and violent police–citizen encounters including the acts of police violence against George Floyd in Minneapolis (MN), Breonna Taylor in Louisville (KY), and Jacob Blake in Kenosha (WI). These encounters have led to large-scale street protests, the legitimization of the Black Lives Matter movement, and what many commentators perceive as a “national reckoning” on the issue of racial justice. The focus of our research is on police crime—a particular form of police misconduct that involves the criminal arrest of police officers. Our work is designed to identify cases in which law enforcement officers have been arrested for any type of criminal offense(s). One area of police scholarship that has thus far been neglected is the relationship between citizen race and the perpetration of police crime. We are aware of no existing empirical studies on whether, and if so, to what degree, citizen race is associated with crimes committed by police officers. The public has been forced to re-examine and question the role and legitimacy of police against the backdrop of protests and concerns about how police may contribute to racial injustice and discrimination. The broadest research issue involved an examination of the association between police crime and the race of the victim. Our goal was to identify and examine any racial disparities of police crime overall and within specific types of police crime. The analyses compared police crimes committed against Black victims to all other police crimes identified within the dataset. More specifically, we examined the degree to which police crimes perpetrated against Black victims tend to be more violent than those perpetrated against non-Black victims. CHAID regression models were utilized to explore any multivariate relationships between race and police crime. Data were derived from published news articles using the Google News search engine and its Google Alerts email update service. Our database currently includes information on more than 18,700 cases of police crime from years 2005-2021. The study utilized data derived from this larger project. The study examined those cases of police crime in which we have identified a victim and recorded information on the race of the victim. The dataset for this study includes information on 865 criminal arrest cases of sworn nonfederal law enforcement officers within the United States from 2005 through 2014.

Police officers, stigma, and the opioid epidemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan E Kruis ◽  
Jaeyong Choi ◽  
Richard H Donohue
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Disease Model ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Opioid Epidemic ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Multivariable Analyses

Researchers have suggested that provider-based stigma of substance use disorders is one barrier to fighting the opioid epidemic. Yet, to date, virtually no study has examined provider-based stigma among law enforcement officers who are on the front line of the opioid crisis. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by assessing provider-based stigma toward opioid-using persons among a sample of 208 police officers working for departments located in the Northeastern Region of the United States. Results show that officers hold relatively high levels of stigma toward this vulnerable population, as measured by perceptions of dangerousness, blame, and social distance; however, comparatively, officers hold less fatalistic views toward this group of persons. Additionally, our multivariable analyses indicated that officer rank, support for the disease model of addiction, and beliefs about the demographic characteristics of a substance-using person are significantly associated with provider-based stigma among officers. Potential policy implications are discussed within.

Features of manifestation of conflict psychoemotional states in the sphere of law enforcement activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-21
Author(s):  
Наталья Николаева (Зайцева) ◽  
Natalya Nicolaeva (Zaytseva) ◽  
Олег Николаев ◽  
Oleg Nikolaev
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Professional Environment ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Enforcement Activity

The article analyzes the main negative psycho-emotional conditions that are relevant in the professional environment of law enforcement officers. The causes and manifestations of these conditions in certain situations are analyzed with reference to the results of empirical studies of stress and the conclusions of well-known authors. A significant place in the work is given to the basic principles and the simplest ways of getting out of these states in the sphere of law enforcement practice, the specific features of which provoke conflict psychoemotional states among employees. The interrelation of the psychological specifics of the activity of police officers with the individual and personal characteristics of employees, which overcome these conditions in different ways, is analyzed.

A Preliminary Assessment of Stigma in Law Enforcement Officers’ Responses to Opioid Overdoses

2020 ◽  
pp. 002204262097407
Author(s):  
Nathan E. Kruis ◽  
Alida V. Merlo
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Preliminary Assessment ◽  
Multivariable Analyses ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Prior work has suggested that provider-based stigma of substance use disorders may be one barrier to fighting the opioid epidemic. However, to date, provider-based stigma has been afforded little attention in the context of the criminal justice system. The goal of the current study was to extend this line of research by examining the impact of provider-based stigma toward opioid using persons to beliefs about help that should be provided to persons experiencing an overdose among a sample of 208 police officers working in departments in the Northeastern Region of the United States. In addition, this study explores the relationship between provider-based stigma and the anticipated on-duty behavioral responses to opioid overdoses. Results from multivariable analyses indicate that certain dimensions of social stigma are significantly related to officers’ perceptions of help in varying directions, along with officers’ experiences with naloxone administration and departmental policy pertaining to the use of naloxone.

The Environment of Death and its Influence on Police Officers in the United States

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Sugimoto ◽  
Kevin Ann Oltjenbruns
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Traumatic Grief ◽  
American Law ◽  
Grief Reactions

Exposure to the threat of death or to death events is acknowledged to be a factor in the manifestation of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Police officers in the United States are immersed in a professional and cultural environment replete with death. Given for consideration is the notion that inescapable, death-related stressors of wide variety and intensity, some of which are constructs of the police profession, contribute to the manifestation and maintenance of PTSD as well as traumatic grief reactions in American law enforcement officers. Personnel who continue police work while symptomatic may incur risks of reduced self-control, escalated use of force, and other inappropriate behavior due to irritability or outbursts of anger associated with PTSD. Because of the primacy of the element of death, those who are involved in the field of thanatology may hold the key to discovering and effecting palliative measures on behalf of this population.

Battered Police: Risk Factors for Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele W. Covington ◽  
Lin Huff-Corzine ◽  
Jay Corzine
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Situational Variables ◽  
Offender Characteristics ◽  
Using Data

Although we hear more about violence committed by the police, violence against police officers is also a major problem in the United States. Using data collected from the Orlando, Florida Police Department files, this study examines situational variables, offender characteristics, and officer demographics that may correlate with violence directed at law enforcement officers. Logistic regression results indicate that battery against one or more police officers is significantly more likely when multiple officers are involved, when offenders are women, when offenders are larger than average as measured by body mass index (BMI), and when offenders are known to have recently consumed alcohol. We close with a discussion of policy implications and directions for future research.

Hidden danger

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-344
Author(s):  
John M. Violanti ◽  
Desta Fekedulegn ◽  
Mingming Shi ◽  
Michael E. Andrew
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Wellness Programs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Rate Frequency

PurposeLaw enforcement is a dangerous profession not only due to assaults, accidents and homicides but also due to health risks. This study examined trends in the national frequency and rate of law enforcement job-related illness deaths in the United States over a 22-year period (1997–2018).Design/methodology/approachData were obtained from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) on death frequencies related to health issues at work. Death rates were based on the total number of police officers in the United States [rate = (frequency/population at risk) × 100,000]. Trends were examined using standardized regression.FindingsA total of 646 deaths were attributed to job-related illness. There was a significant upward trend in overall job-related illness deaths (frequency analyses: β = 0.88, p < 0.0001; rate analyses: β = 0.82, p ≤ 0.0001) mainly driven by a significant increase in 911 cancer deaths (frequency analyses: β = 0.88, p < 0.0001; rate analyses: β = 0.88, p ≤ 0.0001). Nearly 82 percent of circulatory deaths were from a heart attack, with an average death age of 46.5 years.Research limitations/implicationsDeaths were not included if they failed to meet medical requirements of the NLEOMF. The data are descriptive, do not estimate risk and should be interpreted cautiously.Practical implicationsPolice wellness programs may help to reduce the danger of deaths associated with job-related illness.Originality/valueThis is among the first studies to examine frequency and rate of police health–related deaths due to job exposures.

Documenting Contact and Thinking with Skin: A Dermatological Approach to the Study of Police Street Checks

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Anita Lam ◽  
Timothy Bryan
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Numerical Data ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Primary Object ◽  
Practice Projects

Abstract In contrast to quantitative studies that rely on numerical data to highlight racial disparities in police street checks, this article offers a qualitative methodology for examining how histories of anti-Blackness configure civilians’ experiences of present-day policing. Taking the Halifax Street Checks Report as our primary object of analysis, we apply an innovative dermatological approach, demonstrating how skin itself becomes meaningful when police officers and civilians make contact in the process of a street check. We explore how street checks become an occasion for epidermalization, whereby a law enforcement practice projects onto the skins of civilians locally specific histories and emotions. To think with skin, we focus on the narratives shared by African Nova Scotians, a group that has been street checked at higher rates than their white counterparts. By doing so, we argue that current debates about police street checks in Halifax must attend to the emotional stakes of police-initiated encounters in order to fully appreciate the lived experience of street checks for Black civilians.

Immigrant Sanctuary Policies and Crime-Reporting Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis of Reports of Crime Victimization to Law Enforcement, 1980 to 2004

2021 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-185
Author(s):  
Ricardo D. Martínez-Schuldt ◽  
Daniel E. Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Public Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Crime Reporting ◽  
Immigrant Community ◽  
Crime Victimization ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Reporting Behavior

Sanctuary jurisdictions have existed in the United States since the 1980s. They have recently reentered U.S. politics and engendered contentious debates regarding their legality and influence on public safety. Critics argue that sanctuary jurisdictions create conditions that threaten local communities by impeding federal immigration enforcement efforts. Proponents maintain that the policies improve public safety by fostering institutional trust among immigrant communities and by increasing the willingness of immigrant community members to notify the police after they are victimized. In this study, we situate expectations from the immigrant sanctuary literature within a multilevel, contextualized help-seeking framework to assess how crime-reporting behavior varies across immigrant sanctuary contexts. We find that Latinos are more likely to report violent crime victimization to law enforcement after sanctuary policies have been adopted within their metropolitan areas of residence. We argue that social policy contexts can shift the nature of help-seeking experiences and eliminate barriers that undermine crime victims’ willingness to mobilize the law. Overall, this study highlights the unique role social policy contexts can serve in structuring victims’ help-seeking decisions.

scholarly journals Legal consequences of illegal use of firearms by police officers

2021 ◽  
pp. 222-229
Author(s):  
Andrey Koblenkov
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Legal Consequences

The article is devoted to the analysis of the legal consequences of incompetent actions of police officers in the use of firearms. The author assesses the circumstances and consequences of the use of firearms by law enforcement officers against offenders.

Public communication about home burglary prevention in Belgium

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Gelders ◽  
Hans Peeraer ◽  
Jelle Goossens
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Media Mix

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the content, format and evaluation of printed public communication from police officers and governments regarding home burglary prevention in Belgium.Design/methodology/approachThe content and format in this paper is analyzed through content analysis of 104 printed communication pieces in the Belgian province of Flemish‐Brabant in 2005. The evaluation is analyzed through five focus group interviews among professionals and common citizens.FindingsThe paper finds that police zones significantly differ in terms of communication efforts. The media mix is not diverse with poor collaboration between police officers and government information officers, while intermediaries (i.e. architects) are rarely used, culminating in poor targeted communication.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper shows that only printed communication is analyzed and more large‐scale empirical research is desired.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that a richer media mix, more targeted communication, more national communication support and additional dialogue between and training of police officers and communication with professionals are advisable.Originality/valueThis paper combines two empirical studies and methods (content analysis and focus group interviews), resulting in a series of recommendations for further inquiry and future action.

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