Jail inmates’ perspectives on police interrogation

ABSTRACT

Few studies have examined police interrogation strategies from suspects’ perspectives, yet assessing suspects’ views about interviewer approaches could provide important insights regarding confession decision making. The current study is the first American survey to assess a diverse sample of adult jail inmates’ views on police interrogation tactics and approaches. The study explored US jail inmates’ (N?=?418) perspectives about how police should conduct interrogations. Potential dimensionality among 26 survey items pertaining to police tactics was examined using exploratory factor analysis. Group differences according to demographic and criminological variables were also explored. Four factors emerged, conceptualized as Dominance/Control, Humanity/Integrity, Sympathy/Perspective-Taking, and Rapport. Respondents most strongly endorsed Humanity/Integrity and Rapport strategies and were unsupportive of approaches involving Dominance/Control. Gender differences emerged for Dominance/Control and Humanity/Integrity, and Black respondents were more likely to value strategies related to Sympathy/Perspective-Taking. Suspects endorsed interrogation strategies characterized by respect, dignity, voice, and a commitment to the truth; they reported aversions to the false evidence ploy and approaches involving aggression. Overall, results from this incarcerated sample suggest that interviewees may be more responsive to rapport-building, non-adversarial strategies.     

Command-level Police Officers’ Perceptions of the “War on Cops” and De-policing

Policing has been the subject of intense public scrutiny for the better part of two years after several high-profile police killings of unarmed African Americans across the United States. The scrutiny has been so extreme that some contend there is currently a “war on cops”—whereby citizens are emboldened by protests and negative media coverage of the police, and are lashing out by assaulting police officers more frequently. In response, it is argued that officers are de-policing (i.e. avoiding proactive stops). We surveyed command-level police officers from a southeastern state about their attitudes concerning the war on cops and de-policing. The majority of our sample believed there has been a war on cops over the last two years. Moreover, officers who felt strongly about the existence of a war on cops were more likely to believe that de-policing is common among officers in today’s world of law enforcement.     

The impacts of executives’ political connections on interactions between firm’s mergers,acquisitions, and performance

Economic Change and Restructuring - This research examines the effects of executive political connections on corporate performance by comparing firms with mergers and acquisitions (M&As)...     

Language Proficiency and Police Officers’ Lie Detection Performance

We examined lay persons’ and police officers’ abilities to detect lying in second-language speakers. Participants (N?=?121) viewed targets who were lying or telling the truth about an event in either their first or second languages. Overall, participants were better able to detect deception in native-language speakers than second-language speakers. In addition, they tended to believe that native-language speakers were telling the truth. However, contrary to our hypotheses, expertise did not affect lie detection performance. Implications will be discussed.     

The Influence of Violent Victimisation on Police Officers’ Organisational Commitment

Previous research found job stressors and social resources to be consistent predictors of organisational commitment across occupations. Surprisingly, to date, stressors that are rather specific to police officers’ jobs have rarely been explored in this context. The present study addresses this topic by investigating the influence of directly experienced civilian-related violence on organisational commitment in police staff. As social resources are considered to buffer the negative effects of job stressors on organisational commitment, such an effect was also expected regarding violent victimisation. Additionally, the study raised the question of whether the same influence factors of organisational commitment can be found for male and female police officers. Data were collected from 1,931 German patrol police officers. Results indicated a decrease of organisational commitment following experiences of violent victimisation during the last 12 months. In line with expectations social resources (group cohesiveness, immediate supervisor support) were shown to have a commitment-enhancing effect with group cohesiveness also buffering experiences of violent victimisation. Additionally, evidence yielded that social support from immediate supervisors mediates the relationship between organisational stressors and organisational commitment. In case of gender-specific influence factors no significant differences could be found.     

The Influence of Victim Vulnerability and Gender on Police Officers’ Assessment of Intimate Partner Violence Risk

This study investigated the influence of victim vulnerability factors and gender on risk assessment for intimate partner violence (IPV). 867 cases of male and female perpetrated IPV investigated by Swedish police officers using the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER) were examined. For male-to-female IPV, victim vulnerability factors were associated with summary risk judgments and risk management recommendations. For female-to-male IPV, vulnerability factors were more often omitted, and consistent associations were not found between vulnerability factors, summary risk judgments, and risk management. Results indicate that B-SAFER victim vulnerability factors can assist in assessing male-to-female IPV risk. Further research is necessary to examine the use of B-SAFER victim vulnerability factors for female-to-male IPV, as results showed victim vulnerability factors to be less relevant to officers’ decision making, particularly their management recommendations. However, several variables external to the B-SAFER, such as the availability of management strategies may account for these findings.     

The Differential Role of Stress on Police Officers’ Perceptions of Misconduct

Asian Journal of Criminology - This study examines the influence of stress, by way of subdimensions of anxiety, and depression, on police officers’ perceptions of the seriousness of various...     

Does Minority Representation in Police Agencies Reduce Assaults on the Police?

Following recent high-profile deaths of unarmed African American suspects at the hands of police, a number of reforms have been proposed, among them improved minority representation in the ranks of law enforcement organizations. Previous research has explored the effects of minority representation on complaints against the police and other behaviors, but very few studies have examined violence toward the police. We merged several data sources together and tested the hypothesis that minority representation within police departments is inversely associated with assaults against the police. In an extension of prior research, we also conducted separate analyses for African American, Hispanic, and Asian officer representation. The results did not support the expectation that diversity within police organizations results in improved police-citizen interactions, as measured by assaults on police. This study is one of the few to examine how different measures of minority representation in police agencies relates to assaults on the police.     

Police Officers’ Perceptions of Body-Worn Cameras in Buffalo and Rochester

Police body-worn cameras have been advanced as a solution to disparate perceptions among the citizenry, public officials, community leaders, and the police themselves in the highly contested arena of police-citizen encounters. As with previous innovations in policing it is important that programs or policies developed for street-level application be planned in advance, and the opinions of police officers should be understood prior to implementation. This study provides survey responses from police officers in Buffalo and Rochester regarding their perceptions of body-worn cameras. Survey items were borrowed from prior research in Phoenix and Los Angeles. It also included items intended to measure the officer’s opinions about examining camera images prior to writing a report, an issue that is the subject of some disagreement among policy makers. Findings suggest similar attitudes toward body cameras not only among Buffalo and Rochester police officers, but also with police officers in other agencies. Almost all respondents agree or strongly agree that police officers should have the ability to review body camera images prior to writing a report. The policy implications of this finding are discussed.     

Police Officers’ Theories of Crime

What factors do police officers point to in explaining offending and victimization? A limited amount of prior research has addressed this question, despite the possibility that such theories impact police practice. Moreover, the findings that do exist are based solely on municipal police; yet a different socio-environmental context could lead officers to adopt different explanations. In the present paper, we draw on qualitative data obtained in interviews with campus police officers to explore how they explain common crimes on campus. They theorized petty larceny, underage drinking, and drug possession to result from a variety of factors, including opportunity, social learning, supervision, culture, peer pressure, the psychopharmacological effect of alcohol on crime, and deterrence; as a collective, these ideas form officers’ rational choice theories. After presenting our findings, we suggest how officers’ explanations of crime may be shaped by working in particular contexts and also affect how they police; implications for future research and police practice are discussed.     

Predictors of Texas Police Chiefs’ Satisfaction with Police–Prosecutor Relationships

Although strain in police–prosecutor relationships may be built into the criminal justice system’s checks and balances, the administration of criminal justice can benefit from the adoption of practices which improve these working relationships. A first step towards the adoption of such practices can be taken by first adding to the knowledge base regarding this understudied topic. Using a survey of a state-wide sample of Texas police chiefs, this exploratory study identifies which aspects of police–prosecutor interaction styles are predictors of police chiefs’ satisfaction with police–prosecutor relationships. Results indicate that perceived level of police input in prosecutors’ plea bargain and charging decisions, perceived directness of felony trial preparation communication method, and perceived frequency of decision-maker interactions predict police chiefs’ satisfaction with police–prosecutor relationships. Policy implications are discussed.     

Lawyers' perspectives on ‘what is court-connected mediation for?’

This article analyses the results of an empirical investigation into lawyers' perspectives of the goal of court-connected mediation in the Supreme Court of Tasmania, Australia. The findings of other empirical studies are drawn upon to contextualise the results. The data reveal a tendency for lawyers to emphasise settlement in accordance with the law as the main purpose of court-connected mediation. There was evidence that some lawyers maintain a competitive approach to court-connected mediation, seeking to ‘win’ for their clients with minimal regard to the other party's goals or to achieve outcomes that reflect a legal assessment of the case. However, where non-legal, satisfaction-related needs were met, many lawyers viewed such outcomes as particularly positive. A mixed range of views was revealed, with the common goals of an opportunity for settlement and a focus on law as a reference point. The findings contribute to knowledge about lawyers' understandings of ‘what is mediation for?’.     

Blurring the Distinction Between Empirical and Normative Legitimacy? A Methodological Commentary on ‘Police Legitimacy and Citizen Cooperation in China’

Asian Journal of Criminology - In a fascinating study into the nature of police legitimacy in Southern China, Sun et al. (2018) present evidence that what researchers have previously been treated...     

Facing drug problems and advancing sentence plan. Prisoners’ perspectives on drug treatment programmes in Finland

ABSTRACT

In Nordic countries, the rapid development of various prison-based drug treatment (PDT) programmes emerged in the mid-1990s, and this development can be viewed as a criminological shift towards a “new form” of penal welfarism combining control and rehabilitation in a revised form in a new era. This article examines PDT programmes from the prisoners’ perspective to analyse their motives to participate, experiences, and relationships with counsellors, guards, and prisoners. Data were collected from interviews of the prisoners and observations in three Finnish prisons. Both the motives connected to handling drug problems and those connected to gaining an advantage for the duration of time spent in prison were experienced simultaneously by participants. Prisoners made a clear distinction between guards and drug counsellors and were somewhat confused by staff roles that combined both rehabilitative and control features. These findings suggest that new hybrid roles already found among correctional staff seem to exist also for prisoners.     

Race,Immigration, and Policing: Chinese Immigrants’ Satisfaction with Police

A considerable body of research focuses on racial and ethnic minorities’ perceptions of police, yet non-Black, non-Hispanic minority groups, Asians in particular, are largely overlooked. Meanwhile, despite a fast growing immigrant population and the increasing demand on local police to enforce immigration law, research on police–immigrant relations remains limited. Using data from over 400 Chinese immigrants, this study examines the issues of race/ethnicity, immigration, and policing with a focal concern on Chinese immigrants’ attitudes toward police. Results indicate that the majority of Chinese immigrants rate police positively in overall performance and specific areas of effectiveness, integrity, and demeanor. Both universal and immigrant-specific factors are important predictors of immigrants’ attitudes. Chinese immigrants’ evaluations of police are not only affected by exposure to media coverage of police misconduct, neighborhood conditions, and city context, but also are intertwined with their opinions of their home country police and perceptions of US immigration authorities.     

Police officers’ perceptions of organizational justice and their trust in the public

Research in organizational psychology has consistently demonstrated that employee perceptions of organizational justice have significant effects on employee attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors. Similar studies utilizing the organizational justice model in policing have also noted these effects, including the relationship of justice perceptions with officer attitudes toward the public. Recent theoretical developments in policing contend that the association between internal perceptions of justice and external attitudes may be the result of organizational and supervisory practices that ‘trickle-down’ into the police-community relationship. This paper explores this association by assessing the effects of officer perceptions of organizational justice on officer trust in the public. A sample of patrol division police officers were surveyed using measures taken from the organizational justice literature and Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman’s model of organizational trust. Results show a strong relationship between perceptions of organizational justice and trust in the public even when other relevant predictors are controlled.     

Beyond retribution,restoration and procedural justice: the Big Two of communion and agency in victims’ perspectives on justice

Victims’ perspectives on justice in the aftermath of crime are a key victimological topic. The main justice concepts that have received scholarly victimological attention are retributive justice, value restoration and procedural justice. In this paper, we argue that the so-called Big Two framework – agency and communion – can further help us understand victims’ experiences with justice. Agency refers to a person striving for individuality, while communion refers to the participation of the individual in and connection with a group. According to the framework outlined in this paper, we argue that victimization by crime involves an impaired sense of agency and communion, and justice can be viewed as an attempt to repair both these dimensions. Retributive justice is a prominent means to repair agency, but other options to do so are also open to the victim. A similar observation can be made about value restoration with respect to communion. Acknowledging this can be of particular importance in cases where no offender is apprehended. As to procedural justice, the framework emphasizes the need to distinguish process participation as a means to re-establish agency from participation to re-establish communion with representatives of society.     

The Effect of Prior Police Contact on Victimization Reporting: Results from the Police–Public Contact and National Crime Victimization Surveys

Objectives

This study explores the association between past-year face-to-face contact with the police and subsequent victimization reporting. It also examines whether this relationship depends on the type of encounter (citizen-initiated contacts, routine vehicle stops, invasive encounters associated with being a suspect), its perceived justness, or victim characteristics. Among victims who did not notify the police, the reasons behind this decision are assessed to understand the mechanisms through which police encounters are related to reporting.

Methods

This research is the first to use longitudinal data that link the 2002, 2008, and 2011 Police Public Contact Surveys to the 2002–2014 National Crime Victimization Surveys. Multivariate logistic regression is used to examine the effect of prior contact on police notification among victims of personal (N = 1073) and household (N = 11,433) crimes.

Results

Prior contact with the police has no main effect on the reporting of personal crimes; however, the negative effects of police-initiated and unjust contact are amplified for the poor and African Americans. The reporting of household crimes varies based on prior police experiences and whether they were viewed as just. Personal crime victims with invasive contact are more likely than other contact groups to attribute non-reporting to fear of reprisal.

Conclusions

Using national data tells a complex story about how race/ethnicity, poverty, and recent experiences with the police interact to shape victims’ behavior. The intricacies of these findings suggest that efforts to increase reporting may need to be multifaceted and address victims’ concerns about safety and justness.