The Police

This chapter interrogates the contemporary dominance of a “What Works” approach in studies of the police. It examines and finds wanting the methodological and theoretical foundations of this orientation. Instead, it argues that researchers should begin with an understanding of human beings, adopting research methods resonating with their conclusion. Ethnography is based on the meanings human beings attribute to the social world; it is concerned with a systematic, detailed description and analysis of the police and policing. After this introduction, major ethnographic studies of the police are discussed, and their main findings analyzed. Studies conducted beyond Anglo-American societies are covered. Each study reveals a key feature of policing that would not have been identified if ethnographic, participatory methods had not been used. The consequences of each finding for policing and for academic knowledge are discussed briefly, and somewhat ironically, key implications for police policy are considered.

“The More You Do, the More Comfortable You Feel”: the Police Hostage and Crisis Negotiator Journey

Hostage and crisis negotiators are specialist police officers utilised internationally by police forces to resolve hostage and crisis incidents. Whilst the role has been heavily documented in some parts of the world (namely the United States of America), there is a lack of literature relating to the organisational and operational processes and procedures in place for police negotiators in the United Kingdom. Equally, there is limited research that has explored the experiences of negotiators who perform an essential function within a variety of life-or-death situations with a view to understanding how officers transition from trainee to qualified negotiators. This paper outlines the development of a grounded theoretical model that depicts the “hostage and crisis negotiator journey,” as represented by English negotiators. Interviews were conducted with 15 negotiators from nine police forces in England and a conceptual model was developed including five primary, 12 secondary, and 32 tertiary categories. The negotiator journey is chronologically recounted by means of the five main primary categories identified: (1) ‘Why? Reasons for entering (and remaining within) the negotiator world’, (2) ‘Who and how? The negotiator profile and selection’, (3) ‘Negotiator training’, (4) ‘Operational negotiator roles’, and (5) ‘Negotiator welfare and support’. This paper demonstrates one of the first attempts to empirically map the processes and procedures in place for negotiators in England and the findings are discussed in line with their potential implications for police policy and practice.

Hispanic and Latinx Police Officers’ Perceptions of the Working Environment

The percentage of police officers identifying as Hispanic or Latinx is steadily rising nationwide, yet relatively little research has examined this group’s occupational attitudes. Police culture research has identified officers’ perceptions of danger and cynicism toward the public as core concepts. No research to date has examined whether or how Hispanic and Latinx officers might differ from their White colleagues on these occupational attitudes. The present study uses data from a survey of police officers in a large, municipal department. Hispanic and Latinx officers are compared to White peers on perceived danger and cynicism. Results show that Hispanic and Latinx officers feel higher levels of danger but are less cynical. Implications for research and police policy are discussed.

The Police Use of Force Mandate in West Africa

This paper reviewed Police use of force mandate of the Constitutions of Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Gambia, to determine if the mandate is a contributory factor for increased police killings. The evidence support the finding that, police policy on the use of force contributes to increased extralegal killings, in the absence of field protocols for its engagement. There is the need for clear articulation of how, when, where force may be applied to cause arrest or suppress crime or riot. This paper aims to contribute to knowledge on limiting the use of force abuses within West Africa.

Police Responses to Persons with Mental Illness: The Policy and Procedures Manual of One Australian Police Agency and ‘Procedural Justice Policy’

Persons with mental illness (PWMI) often report negative perceptions of police treatment following receiving criminalising and heavy-handed police responses. To appropriately control officer discretion and to harness ethical, legal, and efficient police practice when encountering vulnerable and diverse individuals, police agencies across the world issue policy documents to their officers. These documents serve as a reflection regarding how police agencies aspire to manage PWMI in the community. Using a procedural justice framework, this research measures how a large police agency in Australia aspires to manage PWMI and whether the police policy document provides sufficient detail in advocating the appropriate and just police treatment of PWMI. A content analysis of the policy document revealed a lack of sufficient procedural guidelines in effectively controlling police officer discretion when encountering PWMI in the community. This article argues that without further consolidation to embed appropriate procedural guidelines into the policy document, the procedural policy gaps may have a negative effect on the experiences of PWMI when encountering the police.

Untangling the role of interactions in police satisfaction: Examining direct and indirect contacts with the police

Effective policing requires the support of the communities being served, a guiding principle that has been adopted by law enforcement across the country and around the world. To this end, scholars and police executives have examined a variety of predictors that can impact upon perceptions of procedural justice and satisfaction with police. Grounded in an Experience with Police theoretical model, this paper examines the impact of procedural justice upon police satisfaction and untangles the influences of direct citizen contact versus indirect contact upon that interaction. Perceptions of procedural justice shaped by both direct and indirect contacts were shown to impact police satisfaction. Further, a secondary analysis indicated that regression weights were stronger for perceptions shaped by indirect contact. Finally, a procedurally just process was found to be a key predictor for satisfaction and equally essential as compared to the results of that encounter. Implications for further research and police policy are also addressed.