Differences in Perceptions of Organizational Fairness Based on Job Characteristics among Police Officers

Profuse research supports that organizational work environments are linked to varying police officers’ work-related attitudes and behaviors. Yet, there remains a lack of information pertaining to how perceptions of organizational fairness may differ among police officers based on job characteristics. To help fill this void, this exploratory research examines differences in fairness perceptions based on officers’ tenure, rank, duty assignment, and department size with their perceptions of organizational fairness. To examine this relationship, an online survey of police officers (n = 1649) in a southern state in the United States that were members of a police officer association was conducted. Findings support that differences in overall fairness perceptions exist for all the aforementioned job characteristics. This study furthers our knowledge and understanding of how job characteristics (e.g., tenure, rank, duty assignment, and department size) may be associated with police officers’ work-related attitudes.     

The Challenges of Moving into Middle Management: Responses from Police Officers

The role of the middle manager is crucial to a police organization. Despite this, little research exists concerning the characteristics of effective police managers, or the role that the promotional process and/or training plays in identifying and developing effective managers. To examine these issues, 328 Canadian police officers were surveyed and interviews were conducted with an additional 50 police professionals. The results highlight: (1) the importance of management in achieving organizational goals, (2) key characteristics of effective managers and common mistakes managers make, and (3) concerns surrounding the promotional process and the lack of managerial training. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Police Attitudes about the Use of Unnecessary Force: An Ecological Examination

An unexplored explanation for police opinion about their use of unnecessary force can be framed within the research examining police behavior in the context of its geographic location. Using Klinger’s (1997) theory of social ecology as a guide, a vignette research design was employed to survey officers in four departments of varying size and structure. It was hypothesized that officers assigned to higher crime areas would more likely accept the use of unnecessary force by another officer as well as be unlikely to believe that the use of unnecessary force would be reported to a supervisor. Bivariate results and multivariate analyses show support for both hypotheses. Implications for future research and theoretical development are discussed.     

An Examination of Officer Stress: Should Police Departments Implement Mandatory Counseling?

This study suggests that police departments who promote counseling benefit from officer stress reduction. Officers from sixteen municipal police departments (n = 1,114) across the state of Alabama possessed moderate stress, but were influenced significantly by organizational demographics (including counseling opportunities). A majority of officers believed that stress signs were not predictive of police suitability but remained reluctant to share fears and anxieties with fellow colleagues, suggesting that officers feared the stigma associated with the need for stress counseling. Officers working in supportive counseling climates had significantly less stress, a reduced need for counseling, and a greater willingness to use counseling. Officers who engaged in counseling (at least occasionally) also reported more stress, indicating an awareness of their need for counseling. The authors concluded that police departments should consider requiring mandatory and periodic counseling for all officers, a procedural tactic that camouflages counseling need while concurrently treating the source of officer stress.     

Sentencing Recommendations by Probation Officers and Judges: An Examination of Adult Offenders Across Gender

Connecting the courtroom workgroup model with attributions and stereotyping based on the focal concerns perspective and gender sentencing literature, the present study investigates the extent to which probation officer recommendations influence judicial sentencing, and whether the gender of the offender further conditions this relationship. Results from logistic and ordinary least squares regression indicate that there is concordance between probation officer recommendations and sentencing by judges. Offender gender has both direct and indirect effects on judicial sentencing through its relationship with probation officer recommendations, and Black males tend to receive lengthier sentences than other race/gender counterparts. These findings provide evidence that probation officer recommendations are an important part of the sentencing process and offer additional insight on how extralegal factors such as gender and race impact criminal justice decision making.     

Police Misconduct,Media Coverage,and Public Perceptions of Racial Profiling: An Experiment

The purpose of this study was: (1) to assess the impact of an incident of racial profiling on residents’ attitudes about profiling; and (2) to examine the effects of exposure to a video clip of deliberation about the incident on residents’ beliefs about the causes of profiling. All residents, White and minority, were less likely to believe that Chicago police officers engaged in profiling after the incident. These findings suggest that attitudes about the prevalence of racial profiling are susceptible to the manner in which the media construct incidents of police misconduct. Exposure to the video clip was not related to differences in residents’ beliefs about the causes of profiling, but was related to differences in perceptions of the dangerousness of traffic stops. The findings highlight the need for more research on how media constructions of police misconduct influence attitudes about profiling and impact community–police relations.     

从“躲猫猫”事件反思罪犯参与警察管理问题

继云南轰动一时的“躲猫猫”事件后,广东省高明监狱服刑的罪犯刘玉山在狱内死亡事件也真相大白。确实如网友们猜测的那样李荞明“致死因绝不是没有任何危险系数的躲猫猫”,而是“看守所内牢头狱霸殴打致死”;刘玉山遭到值班服刑人员多次殴打,并做动作强度大的上下蹲训练,经抢救无效死亡。两宗案件都暴露出监管警察管理上失责、     

劳教人民警察队伍专业化建设的思考

司法部《2003—2005年监狱劳教人民警察队伍建设纲要》指出,“监狱劳教人民警察专业化是指具备良好的法治意识、教育意识、改造意识,具备较高的教育人、改造人、挽救人的专业素质、职业道德和专业技能,成为胜任监狱劳教工作的专业人才。”随着新时期劳教职能分化、基本职能强化     

关于我国高层次司法警官培养模式的思考

研究高层次司法警官培养模式的现实基础是:新时期的监狱劳教工作改革及其人才需求:司法警官的职业特点及职业要求;我国高层次司法警官培养模式的现状分析;国外监狱管理人员教育培训制度的特点及借鉴。我国司法警官的宏观培养模式主要包括:司法警官职业与司法警官教育相协调、相结合;司法警官职业资格制度与司法警官职业素养教育制度、职业技能培训制度相配套、相统一;人文教育与专业教育相结合;学科教育与职业教育相结合;学历教育与非学历教育相统一;职前教育与职后教育相统一。高层次司法警官的微观培养模式包括:培养目标、培养规格和培养要求;培养过程和主要环节;课程体系和结构。司法警官培养模式的实现是一个系统工程,需要在宏观和微观上进行一系列改革。建议构建合理的司法警官宏观培养模式;建议司法警官院校不断优化对司法警官的培养过程和环节;建议司法警官院校构建符合监狱劳教和司法警官专业化、职业化要求的课程体系;建议司法警官院校建设具有职业化教育特点的双元结构的教师队伍。     

Police Personnel Affective Profiles: Differences in Perceptions of the Work Climate and Motivation

The affective profile model was used to investigate individual differences in police personnel perceptions about the working climate and its influences on motivation. The Positive Affect, Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) was used to assign police personnel, sworn and non-sworn (N = 595), to four affective profiles: self-fulfilling, low affective, high affective, and self-destructive. The work climate was assessed using the Learning Climate Questionnaire (Management Relations and Style, Time, Autonomy and Responsibility, Team Style, Opportunities to Develop, Guidelines on How to do the Job, and Contentedness). Motivation was evaluated using a modified version (to refer specifically to the individual’s work situation) of the Situational Motivation Scale (intrinsic motivation, external regulation, identified regulation, and amotivation). Self-fulfilling individuals scored higher on all work climate dimensions compared to the other three groups. Compared to low positive affect profiles, individuals with profiles of high positive affect scored higher in intrinsic motivation and identified regulation. Self-destructive individuals scored higher in amotivation. Different aspects of the work climate were related to each motivation dimension among affective profiles. Police personnel may react to their work environment depending on their affective profile. Moreover, the extent to which the work influences police personnel’s motivation is also related to the affective profile of the individual.     

Emotion Regulation in Police Officers Following Distress: Effects of Tenure and Critical Incidents

This study focuses on the functionality of emotion regulation of police officers who have or have not experienced a work-related critical incident. Traumatic events experienced by police officers may have long-lasting and significant consequences, including health concerns, emotional difficulties, impairment in social functioning, and they may have an impact on work performance. The hypotheses outline the expected results to include higher scores for officers who had been involved in one or more critical incidents in emotional well-being concerns and more difficulties with emotion regulation as compared to officers who had not experienced a critical incident. The research design employs written instruments including the General Health Questionnaire-30 to measure general emotional well-being, the Impact of Events Scale to measure the impact of a past traumatic event, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale to measure current problems with emotion regulation. Participants consist of 76 full-time police officers assigned to patrol in two police agencies. The findings, analyzed through analysis of variance, did not include significant differences between those groups as expected; however, there were unexpected findings. These findings were that although newer officers were less likely to have experienced one or more work-related critical incidents, they measured higher in measures of emotion regulation difficulties and concerns regarding emotional well-being than did the more tenured officers. The social implications of this study include increased officer and agency awareness and increased use of effective intervention. Implications for future study include the need to further explore emotional challenges that may be experienced by new police officers.     

对预防监狱干警职务犯罪的若干思考

监狱干警作为国家机器的重要组成部分,代表国家对罪犯行使刑罚执行权,是一支“着装的、带枪的的执法队伍”,集阶级性、正义性、公正性于一身,从某种程度上讲,也是中国民主与法制形象的一个重要代言人。新形势下,随着依法治国、以德治国方略不断向纵深发展,社会和公民对监狱干警     

实施阳光工资后监狱民警思想建设的探索

相当一段时期以来,由于受“监企合一”、“财政对监狱经费部分保障”等旧的监狱体制、机制的重大影响,监狱对民警的考核都是与所在单位的生产收入直接挂钩,即：民警个人收入与生产所获效益成正比,效益越好生产奖金就越高。阳光工资暨津补贴政策在我省监狱系统统一实施后,可以用三个“了”字进行描述：工资条变短了,工资结构简化,一些单位自定的津贴、奖金项目被整合;工资固定了,所有项目均和级别直接挂钩并固定下来,     

Bad Torture -- Good Torture?: What International Criminal Lawyers May Learn from the Recent Trial of Police Officers in Germany

The author discusses whether a state agent who applies tortureagainst a suspect in order to prevent the death of one or moreinnocent persons can successfully plead a ground for excludinghis or her criminal responsibility under national (in particular,German) law as well as international law. The author examinesthe judgment of a German court, which recently found two policeofficers guilty of threatening to use violence against a suspectedkidnapper, but refrained from punishing them on account of theirmotivation to save the life of the hostage. The author maintainsthat the court's ‘guilty, but not to be punished’verdict could provide guidance for the resolution of comparablecases under international criminal law. He submits that thetension between the absolute ban on torture under internationalhuman rights law and the availability of defences even to crimesof torture under international criminal law should be resolvedthrough a human rights-oriented interpretation of the latter.The author concludes that criminal responsibility for tortureunder international criminal law cannot be excluded by the factthat the torturer acts to save innocent life; however, his orher altruistic motivation may be taken into account in determiningthe sentence.     

Implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act in State Police and Highway Patrol Agencies: Results of a National Survey

This article provides an empirical analysis of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) implementation within the law enforcement profession. Specifically, the study reports results from a national survey of state police/highway patrol agencies regarding practical implementation of the ADA. The data is analyzed in terms of population size and collective bargaining status. Results of this endeavor indicate that implementation of the ADA within law enforcement is difficult, especially as applied to the work of sworn personnel. These challenges are somewhat diminished when applied to non-sworn personnel such as dispatchers, administrators, and clerical personnel. The most substantial obstacles to implementation of the ADA within law enforcement is not associated with political officials or administrators. Instead, most arise from the lack of training and vague legislative language and regulatory standards. Smaller states and those without collective bargaining report lower levels of accommodation; however, there are few statistically significant differences in terms of population and collective bargaining.     

试论金融领域计算机犯罪的防范与控制

在现代金融运营体系不断创新的背景下,利用计算机与网络从事盗窃、贪污电子资金、实施金融诈骗、破坏金融领域计算机系统等违法犯罪形势日趋严峻,不仅犯罪手段复杂、隐秘,而且呈现出职务犯罪和共同犯罪的特征。其诱因在于金融制度设计自身的漏洞与缺陷,以及计算机应用与管理中存在的致命隐患,监督约束机制的弱化与法律规制的滞后致使犯罪防范与打击乏力。为此必须依靠专门机关、金融部门、社会等多种力量,共同构建快速、高效的侦诉、审判控制工作体系和金融领域内部相互补充、有机统一的预防体系。     

An Examination of the Effects of Personal and Workplace Variables on Correctional Staff Perceptions of Safety

American Journal of Criminal Justice - Research on victimization has progressed dramatically over the last four decades. This research has identified important individual and contextual predictors...     

大力加强监狱劳教人民警察队伍建设

全国监狱劳教人民警察队伍建设工作会议四月上旬在京召开,周永康和孟建柱等中央领导同志与全国监狱劳教工作先进集体、先进个人代表座谈,周永康同志作了重要讲话。周永康同志的重要讲话,充分肯定了监狱劳教人民警察队伍建设取得的成绩,深刻阐述了加强监狱劳教人民警察队伍建设的重要性和必要性,明确指出了当前和今后一个时期监狱劳教人民警察队伍建设的主要任务,对于进一步加强监狱劳教人民警察队伍建设、推进监狱劳教工作改革发展,具有重要指导意义。