An environmental approach to police misconduct: exploring situational prevention possibilities to understanding and preventing police misconduct

PurposeThis paper explores the applicability of environmental theories to understanding patterns of police misconduct. In turn, it aims to offer a method for identifying prevention techniques that can be practically applied by policing agencies.Design/methodology/approachThe study empirically examined 84 substantiated matters of police misconduct in Queensland, Australia. The matters were content-analysed for elements of the first level of the crime triangle. These elements were then analysed to identify their relationships with the situational precipitators that initiated the misconduct; proactive misconduct and situational misconduct.FindingsThe two types of initiating misconduct had differing relationships with the crime triangle elements. Therefore, specific prevention techniques can be tailored by policing agencies to address and prevent each type of misconduct more successfully. The paper discusses these findings in terms of preventative measures according to the second preventative level of the crime triangle and situational crime prevention techniques.Originality/valueThis paper provides an alternative approach to understanding and preventing police misconduct by exploring the applicability of environmental theories. It finds that environmental theories offer a feasible approach for policing agencies to understand and tailor prevention of police misconduct in their jurisdictions.

Role of regulatory focus in the asymmetric perception of gains versus nonlosses and of losses versus nongains

We tested the effects of regulatory focus on the asymmetric perception of losses versus nongains and of gains versus nonlosses. In Experiment 1, situational regulatory focus was manipulated by a priming task and then participants evaluated the outcome fairness of different distribution scenarios. In Experiment 2, participants completed the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire and then evaluated the outcome fairness of various distribution scenarios. Results showed that: (a) The gains versus nonlosses asymmetry in perceived fairness was stronger with a situational promotion focus, and the losses versus nongains asymmetry in perceived unfairness was stronger with a situational prevention focus; (b) The losses versus nongains asymmetry in perceived unfairness was stronger with a chronic prevention focus, whereas the gains versus nonlosses asymmetry in perceived fairness was positive with both a chronic promotion focus and chronic prevention focus. Taken together, the findings demonstrate that a situational regulatory focus has more extensive effects than does a chronic regulatory focus on asymmetric perceptions of outcomes. These results offer insights for understanding the differences between chronic and situational regulatory focus.

Criminology and situational prevention

The present work brings to light a criminology and a preventative system from a less classic perspective, which does not aim to explain the criminal or the reasons why the act is committed, but rather a theoretical overview that focuses on the setting of the offense and the environmental opportunities that the criminal has taken to commit him. Situational Crime Prevention places attention and works on a set of public and private facilities (such as schools, hospitals, transport systems, shops, shopping malls, small businesses, telephone companies, parks, clubs, entertainment venues, bars and parkings) that create conditions, actions and performance that are potentially suitable and fertile for delinquency. ---------- Il presente lavoro porta alla luce una criminologia e un sistema preventivo letti da una prospettiva meno classica, che non si pone l’obiettivo di spiegare il criminale o le ragioni per cui l’atto illecito viene compiuto, bensì tratta una panoramica teorica che si focalizza sul setting del reato e sull’opportunità ambientale che il reo ha colto per commetterlo. Ecco che le Prevenzione Situazionale Criminologica attenziona e va ad operare su un insieme di strutture pubbliche e private (quali scuole, ospedali, sistemi di trasporto, negozi, centri commerciali, piccola imprenditoria, compagnie telefoniche, parchi, locali, luoghi di divertimento, bar e parcheggi) che vanno a creare circostanze, azioni e prestazioni, tutte potenzialmente idonee e fertili per la realizzazione di delinquenza. ---------- El presente trabajo saca a la luz una criminología y un sistema preventivo leídos desde una perspectiva menos clásica, que no pretende explicar el criminal o las razones por las cuales se comete el acto, sino que trata de una visión teórica que enfoca en el escenario de la ofensa y en la oportunidad ambiental que el rey ha capturado para cometerla. Prevención Situacional Criminológica atrae y opera en un conjunto de instalaciones públicas y privadas (como escuelas, hospitales, sistemas de transporte, tiendas, centros comerciales, pequeñas empresas, compañías telefónicas, parques, clubes, lugares de entretenimiento, bares y aparcamientos) que crean condiciones, acciones y rendimiento, todos potencialmente aptos y fértiles para el propósito de la delincuencia.