Police stops, suspicion and the influence of police department cultures: a look into the Belgian context

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how suspicion that leads to a police stop is developed by police officers in Belgium, and the way in which police department culture influences the creation of suspicion.Design/methodology/approachThe data on which this article is based are the result of an ethnographic study within two local Belgian police forces. In total, the researcher has observed for a total amount of 750 h the day-to-day practices of police officers in different police services. Next to that, 37 in-depth interviews were taken from police officers employed in the same services that participated in the observations.FindingsWhile the creation of suspicion in a police officer's mind is a complex process that is influenced by various factors such as the individual characteristics of the police officer and the applicable legislation, the impact of police department culture is equally important and can be responsible for maintaining discriminatory and stereotypical mindsets.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper lies in the fact that it offers insight into the Belgian police stop practice, a topic about which not much is known on an international level. In addition, it also focuses on the role of departmental cultures in the actions of police officers.

Return Home Interviews for Missing Older Adults With Dementia: A Scoping Review

Introduction Persons living with dementia are at risk of becoming lost. When a person is returned home safely after a missing incident, an interview with the person or care partner may identify ways to prevent repeat incidents. It is not known if these interviews are being conducted for this population. Objectives: The purpose of this review was to understand return home interviews and whether they are being used with persons who have dementia. Methods Scholarly and grey literature were searched in 20 databases. Articles were included from any language, year, study design if they included terms resembling “return home interview”, “missing,” “lost,” or “runaway”. Results Eleven articles in scholarly, and 94 in grey literature sources were included, most from the United Kingdom. The majority of academic (55%) and grey (61%) articles were related to missing children, and none were specifically about persons living with dementia. Interviews were typically conducted within 72 hours after a missing person was returned, and by police or charitable organizations. The main reasons were to understand the causes of the incident and confirm the missing person’s safety, identify support needs, and to provide support to reduce repeat missing incidents. Conclusion Existing reasons for interviews can also apply to persons with dementia. This review informs future research on return home interviews. It also informs community organizations, and police services interested in adopting this practice with persons living with dementia. Evaluations would confirm if these interviews can reduce repeat incidents and help keep people with dementia safe.

Complaints against health care professionals providing police custodial and forensic medical/health care services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – what do we know?

Awareness of the nature and frequency of complaints against health care professionals working in police custodial health care services could provide opportunities to improve patient safety. To explore this freedom of information requests were sent to police services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to professional regulatory bodies and to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Eighty-seven percent of police services responded but only a minority provided complete responses, with data not being held, or not being held in an easily retrievable format, being provided as reasons. The nature and frequency of complaints were similar to a previous 2017 study, suggesting a failure to learn lessons from the investigation of complaints and implement change in clinical practice. No evidence of an accessible complaints handling and recording procedure was provided across the police services surveyed. Regulatory bodies provided some information on the nature of complaints made against doctors and nurses working in police custodial settings, but that for paramedics was unable to do so. It is recommended that the communication loop between police services, those bodies providing health care and forensic medical services and regulatory bodies needs to be closed. A common reporting system or the application of established complaints handling procedures and reporting structures, which could be achieved by transferring these services to the National Health Service, may enhance patient safety in police custody.

The Evolution of International Policing in the Pacific: a Critical Analysis

<p>I have been involved in policing and crime prevention for many years. I was a sworn member of Victoria Police (Australia), a crime prevention coordinator in a New Zealand community, and am currently employed by New Zealand Police (NZP). My interest in international policing grew as I realised more and more police were serving in a number of roles overseas. At first, I thought this a nice departure from normal duties for those lucky enough to take up opportunities to contribute to policing in other countries. Deeper thought followed about the juxtaposition of western models of policing, international relations and the customs of developing countries. The more I tried to find out the more questions were raised. Soon it was evident that little had been written about international policing and even less about international policing in relation to the Pacific. The need for research that combines the study of cross-border policing of crime and criminality with international relations scholarship has been identified by Peter Andreas and Ethan Nadelmann in their 2006 co-authored book. A growing body of literature examines policing and development in the Pacific, but is mainly centred on conflicts in Melanesia with particular emphasis on the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Apparently, no single work discusses the needs of police services in the Pacific in relation to domestic policing and international cooperation. This work seeks to fill that gap.</p>

The Evolution of International Policing in the Pacific: a Critical Analysis

<p>I have been involved in policing and crime prevention for many years. I was a sworn member of Victoria Police (Australia), a crime prevention coordinator in a New Zealand community, and am currently employed by New Zealand Police (NZP). My interest in international policing grew as I realised more and more police were serving in a number of roles overseas. At first, I thought this a nice departure from normal duties for those lucky enough to take up opportunities to contribute to policing in other countries. Deeper thought followed about the juxtaposition of western models of policing, international relations and the customs of developing countries. The more I tried to find out the more questions were raised. Soon it was evident that little had been written about international policing and even less about international policing in relation to the Pacific. The need for research that combines the study of cross-border policing of crime and criminality with international relations scholarship has been identified by Peter Andreas and Ethan Nadelmann in their 2006 co-authored book. A growing body of literature examines policing and development in the Pacific, but is mainly centred on conflicts in Melanesia with particular emphasis on the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Apparently, no single work discusses the needs of police services in the Pacific in relation to domestic policing and international cooperation. This work seeks to fill that gap.</p>

On the Problems of Police Services in the States of the Muslim East: the Middle Ages and the Modern Period

The article is devoted to the history of the police in the states of the Muslim East in the Middle Ages and the modern period. According to the author, the police appeared in the tribal com-munities of this region even before the emergence of the state and performed, among other things, the functions of political investigation. In the countries of the Muslim East, the formation of the police was determined by the general regularities of global change, as well as the specificity of Islam as a religion and Sharia as legislation. The article identifies the historical models and reveals the na-ture of the institution of the police in the Muslim world, including their national security functions. Much attention is paid to the activities of the religious police in Central Asia. According to the au-thor, their abolition in Russian Turkestan revealed many negative phenomena that had existed earli-er in the life of Muslim society in the pre-Russian period. The author concludes that in the states of the Muslim East as a whole the police played a historically positive role in the development of the region.

GENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING AND IMPROVEMENT OF MANAGERIAL STAFF IN THE POLISH POLICE

The article presents the establishment of the training as well as the professional development of the Polish police managerial staff in the early 1990s. It was closely related to the transformation of police services, which consisted, among other things, in a thorough personnel exchange, especially of the managerial staff. The subsequent stages of shaping the model of training police executives in the second half of the 1990s, which was associated with the creation of a personnel reserve, were then characterised. The 1998 reform of the territorial administration system also had a signifi cant impact on human resources and the training policy.

Digitalization of the provision of GIBDD public services

The article is devoted to the study of the problems and the role of digitalization in increasing the efficiency of the functions of the executive branch, the possibility of digitalizing the provision of traffic police services. The author considers the domestic and foreign experience in the implementation of powers for the provision of public services, and also investigates the sources of the regulatory framework for the provision of public services in electronic form. Particular attention is paid to the large-scale transformation of the provision of public services into electronic form. The article indicates the total number of the provision of electronic services by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, its divisions, the prospect of the development of the provision of electronic services in the near future is noted: the transition from the provision of separate administrative procedures to the provision of a complete (complex) public service, specific regulatory provisions (steps)are indicated. It is concluded that the transition to an exclusively electronic provision of all services at this stage of development of legal regulation is impossible, as well as the inability of artificial intelligence to completely replace and eliminate the human factor in the provision of all public services in electronic form.

WRONGFUL ARREST: A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE IMPACT OF THE CONSTITUTION IN RECENT CASE LAW

In recent times there has been a proliferation of press reports about ordinary, law-abiding citizens who suffered the indignity and inconvenience of a wrongful (unlawful) arrest at the hands of officers of the South African Police Service or Metro Police Services. According to the most recent of these reports, this increase in the incidence of wrongful arrests have even resulted in deliberations between members of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces and the top management of the SAPS, in which the latter undertook to pay special attention to the training of police officers in order to better the present state of affairs. It is not far-fetched to describe thepresent situation on the ground in respect of wrongful arrests as epidemic. In recent interviews with attorneys who have been representing clients in wrongful arrest claims against the Minister of Safety and Security, the present writer was told about certain standard practices regarding arrests: it would seem that it is a favourite practice among certain police officials to arrest suspects on a Friday, or even a Thursday afternoon, in order to prolong the normal 48-hour maximum period of detention before bringing an arrestee before court. Furthermore, metro police spokespersons often announce, at the beginning of some road-safety drive or crack-down on traffic offenders, that certain types of offenders will, without exception, be arrested. The worst recent example recounted to the author of lamentable conduct in this context on the part of a high-ranking police official concerns an order issued on a Friday afternoon in which the officers under his command were ordered to endeavour arresting more persons of a specific ethnic group, seeing that the weekend population of the police cells under his command did not reflect the demographics of his jurisdiction!

Are images of seized knives an effective crime deterrent? A comparative thematic analysis of young people’s views within the Scottish context

The urgency to reduce knife carrying has been recognised by police services within Scotland and has been addressed by initiatives such as the sharing of knife seizure images on media outlets. This study sought to explore young peoples’ views on the use of knife seizure images as a deterrent to carrying knives by using comparative individual interviews (N = 20) with photo elicitation. Three themes were discovered: (1) negative reactions towards images of seized knives, (2) images of knives may encourage rather than deter knife carrying, and (3) reinforcement of existing beliefs, stereotypes and stigma. These findings highlight the limitations of using knife seizure images as a deterrent and the importance of involving young people in developing preventative and non-discriminatory approaches to tackling knife crime.