Book review essay

This article examines changes in organizational priorities related to the three core functions of American policing—crime control, the maintenance of order, and the provision of services—during the era of community-oriented policing (COP). The change in priorities is analyzed using panel data from three national surveys of more than 200 municipal police departments conducted in 1993, 1996, and 2000. The primary finding is that police core-function priorities remained largely unchanged during this period. However, the systematic implementation of COP programs reflects an all-out effort to address all three core functions of policing at a higher level of achievement.     

Assessing the Impact of Community-oriented Policing on Arrest

Community-oriented policing’s (COP’s) influence and effect on policing has been significant in recent years with evidence suggesting that it increases police satisfaction, partially improves police legitimacy and reduces citizen’s fear of crime. It has also been hypothesized to influence the likelihood of an arrest; however, this possibility presents competing theoretical mechanisms and limited empirical assessment. The current study uses a multilevel analytic approach to merge data from the National Incident Based Reporting System data base with information from the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey to investigate this possibility. Results indicate that agencies engaged in greater and specific COP activities experience an increased likelihood of arrest in violent crime incidents. This effect varies by the type of violent crime and the amount of COP activity undertaken.     

A Comparative Perspective of Community Policing in Taiwan and Washington State

This study explores the attitudes and behaviors of Taiwanese police officers regarding community oriented policing (COP) by comparing their attitudes and behaviors with those of officers in Washington State. Data used in the study were collected from 375 Taiwanese line officers assigned to the city of Tainan and 167 American line officers from various police and sheriffs’ departments in Washington State. The study finds that (1) Taiwanese and American officers hold similar opinions of COP’s potential to reduce crime; (2) both groups are similarly involved in implementing the various strategies of COP; yet (3) American officers are more involved in formulating (planning/devising) COP strategies; and (4) are more receptive to citizen involvement in COP; while (5) Taiwanese officers are more receptive to civilian oversight, and (6) are more amenable to applying COP outcomes for evaluative purposes than are their American counterparts. Policy implications and areas for future research are discussed.

The influence of job assignment on community engagement: bicycle patrol and community-oriented policing

The purpose of this study is to compare a specialized community-oriented policing (COP) unit to a reactive unit on officer perceptions of public contact and officer perceptions of job performance. We also compare bicycle patrol officers to motor vehicle patrol officers within these units. Using a static group comparison design, questionnaires were distributed to officers within the Toronto Police Service (n = 178). Bicycle patrol is associated with more contacts with the public and higher rates of proactive policing when compared to motor vehicle patrol and bicycle officers are more likely to rate higher on several measures of crime control. Officers with a COP mandate engage with the public for a wider variety of reasons compared to those with a reactive mandate, and are more likely to rate higher on perceptions of performing job duties in a procedurally just manner. This study demonstrates the value of a specialized COP unit that includes bicycle patrol in achieving tenets of COP. It contributes to the literature on COP and the use of bicycle patrol in law enforcement by presenting the perspective of the police officer.     

What’s in a Name? Organizational,Environmental, and Cultural Factors on Support for Community Policing in Turkey and the U.S.

Community policing (COP) represents officers’ expectations of police work that revolves around specific order maintenance chores that take place within the community. It is generally assumed that police officers are cognizant of the community policing type activities occurring in police organizations where COP is either formally or informally adopted. However, very little research has been done to examine whether or not police officers in other countries are engaging in similar COP type activities without the organizational endorsement or official implementation of community policing as it is known in the U.S. and elsewhere. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we compare law enforcement officers’ attitudes toward their conceptions of police work with specific attention to order maintenance and community oriented type police activities in two countries, Turkey (no formal COP programs) and the U.S. (formal and informal COP programs). Secondly, we examine to what extent police organizational and environmental factors in these two countries influence officers’ conceptions of community-oriented policing activities. Findings suggest that, relative to Turkey, U.S. police officers have a favorable disposition toward COP type activities, suggesting name does matter. However, findings in both countries also suggest that officers’ orientation to police work that is reflective of the police operational philosophy, and the organizational and environmental factors are better predictors of COP type activities.     

The Influence of Community‐Oriented Policing on Crime‐Reporting Behavior∗

This research examines the influence of community‐oriented policing (COP) on citizens’ crime‐reporting behaviors. The study’s data consist of incidents of violence obtained from the Area‐Identified National Crime Victimization Survey that were linked to city‐level measures of police involvement in COP. Multinomial logistic regression analyses reveal that although third‐party police notification is more likely in cities with large numbers of full‐time COP officers, victims residing in such cities are significantly less likely to report to the police than they are to report to non‐police officials. However, in cities where the training of police officers in COP is relatively extensive, victims demonstrate a preference for police notification (relative to both non‐police notification and non‐reporting). Lastly, multiplicative models indicate that police involvement in COP has less of an influence on the reporting behaviors of residentially unstable victims who likely lack strong social ties to the communities in which they reside.     

Are you talking to me? Influencing behaviour and culture in police interviews

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between two types of influencing behaviour in police interviews (being kind and rational persuasion) and three types of interview effectiveness, i.e. the suspects’ willingness to give a statement, their estimation of the quality of the relationship with the detective, and suspects’ admission. We expected that being kind and rational persuasion (arguments referring to logic and rationality) would have a different effect on suspects from cultures that tend to be direct and content-oriented (low-context cultures) versus cultures in which communication is more indirect and context orientated (high-context cultures). To examine this, experienced police detectives interviewed mock theft suspects from low-context (n=25) and high-context (n=27) cultures. As predicted, and particularly for high-context suspects, being kind in terms of rewarding and offering was positively related to the perceived quality of the relationship of the suspect, while being kind in terms of active listening behaviour was positively related to admissions. Furthermore, and as expected, there was a positive relationship between rational persuasion of the police detective and admissions for low-context suspects, but also a negative relationship between rational persuasion and admissions for high-context suspects.     

Procedural justice,obligation to obey,and cooperation with police in a sample of Jamaican citizens

ABSTRACT

Procedural justice theory plays a central role in understanding police–citizen relationships. To test the universality of procedural justice theory, researchers have tended to assess the relative impacts of normative and instrumental models of policing in different geopolitical contexts. Building on Reisig and Lloyd’s study in Jamaica, we test in the current study the relative impacts of procedural justice (a normative factor) and police effectiveness and risk of sanctioning (instrumental factors) on Jamaicans’ obligation to obey the police and willingness to cooperate with police. We found that procedural justice predicted both obligation to obey and cooperation, although obligation did not predict cooperation. And while effectiveness predicted obligation, it was not significantly related to cooperation. Lastly, older citizens were more willing to cooperate with police. The study’s implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Do race and gender matter in police stress? A preliminary assessment of the interactive effects

The interactive effects of race and gender in a multi-dimensional assessment of police occupational stress were examined in this study. The sample from a large urban police department was divided into four subgroups: White males, African-American males, White females, and African-American females. Comparisons were carried out to assess group differences in three major domains of stress process: stressors, coping mechanisms, and multiple psychological manifestations of stress. Specific attentions were paid to observe any similar or dissimilar interactive effects of race and gender on the stress process. The results showed that dynamic factors such as measures of work environment and coping mechanisms contributed more in explaining police stress than static factors such as race and gender. Additionally, destructive coping and work-family conflict (spillover) were the most stable correlates of police stress across all subgroups included in the analysis. The impacts of negative exposure and camaraderie on police stress were conditional on the subgroup statuses. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.     

Public preferences regarding police facebook posts: a macro-level analysis

ABSTRACT

Police agencies have adopted social media quite widely, but researchers have paid relatively little attention to the phenomenon. To date few studies have explored public reaction to police use of social media. The current study uses a purposive sample with 7,116 police Facebook posts collected from 14 different police agencies during a one-year period to answer two principal research questions: (1) with respect to the number of likes, number of shares, or number of comments regarding different themes present in police Facebook posts, are there differences among police agencies corresponding to differences in the thematic content in their postings? and (2) What factors are related to the public reaction (i.e., likes, shares, comments) to a police Facebook post? The findings from ANOVA and negative binomial regression models clearly indicate that citizens do have definite preferences on police Facebook posts – they are more likely to like and make comments on posts of police personnel and police-public relations, but less likely to share posts of Social Networking Sites. Also, they are more prone to like posts with narratives and pictures, but less likely to favor posts containing hyperlinks. Policy implications and practice guidelines, study limitations, and future research are also discussed.     

Theory and practice in interviewing young children: A study of Norwegian police interviews 1985–2002

Abstract

Has the increased public and professional awareness of the challenges of interviewing children in forensic contexts led to changes and improvements in police interviewing practices? A representative sample (n=91) of police interviews conducted during the period of 1985–2002 from a large Norwegian police district was analysed. The results indicated that interviewer strategies have improved; there was a decrease in the use of suggestive, yes/no and option-posing questions and this decrease was accompanied by a comparable increase in the use of cued recall questions. The frequency of open-ended invitations was low and did not change much over time. Factors that might have led to the observed changes are briefly discussed.     

Mind the Gap: Attitudes about Miranda Warnings among Police Chiefs and Citizens

Research shows that the police subculture can be characterized by a distinct set of values and beliefs. Much of the police subculture research has focused on common characteristics and values found among a sample of police officers. Fewer studies have considered how the police, as a group, are similar to citizens. In this study, attention is given to similarities and differences in how the police and the public perceive the Miranda warnings. Attention is also given to whether type of neighborhood (low crime versus high crime) is related to attitudes about the Miranda warnings. Findings suggest that while the warnings are perceived in different ways there are similarities that could bridge the gap between the police and public. Implications are suggested.     

Awareness of community-oriented policing and neighborhood perceptions in five small to midsize cities

Although past research in large urban areas showed that community-oriented policing (COP) had a positive effect on citizens' views of the police and their neighborhood, very little was known about its impact on citizen perceptions in smaller cities. In the present study, multiple-regression was used to analyze survey data from 524 respondents in five small cities or towns in North Carolina to examine the success of local police departments in disseminating information about their COP program. The association between resident awareness of COP and their ratings of police/community relations, self-protection strategies, fear of crime, and community integration was also assessed. Police agencies in each city implemented COP at least one year before the survey. Results indicated that 20-50 percent of residents were aware of community policing efforts in their neighborhoods, but most did not participate in these efforts. Awareness of COP was associated with greater self-protection efforts, lower fear of crime, and stronger feelings of community attachment, controlling for demographic, perceptions of neighborhood problems, and victimization. Awareness of COP also had a stronger association with the outcome variables compared to a more traditional policing strategy, perceived visibility. The implications of these findings for COP programs, especially for small to midsize cities, are discussed in the Conclusion.     

MIDDLE MANAGEMENT AND POLICE DEMOCRATIZATION: A Reply to John E. Angell

This article responds to John Angell's (1971) proposal to abolish police middle management. With use of the data from a seven-city study of team policing (Sherman et al., 1973) and Tannenbaum's (1968) framework of control in organizations, the past obstructions and potential uses of middle management to police change are discussed. Rather than abolish or neutralize mid-management, I propose to expand their support functions as a positive aid to change.     

The influence of personality on violent victimization – a study on police officers

The current study aims to examine the influence of police officer characteristics, civilian characteristics, and possible interactions between both on violent victimization of police officers. Based on literature distinguishing between ‘provocative’ and ‘submissive’ victims, focus is given on effects of police officers’ personality in terms of the five-factor model plus risk-taking. Patrol police officers (n?=?1813) from Lower Saxony, Germany, completed a paper-and-pencil survey including personality assessments as well as questions about their last three police encounters. Binary logistic multilevel regression analyses demonstrate that police officers with higher scores on neuroticism and openness to experience were more likely to be violently attacked. Furthermore, agreeableness reduced police officers’ risk of violent victimization, while risk-taking and neuroticism increased their risk when confronted with a violent civilian. The study indicates that personality and especially traits that are assumed to provoke potential perpetrators were linked with violent victimization. It further stresses the need to include perpetrator attributes in victim studies in order to identify relevant interaction effects between both parties.     

The functional nature of police reform: The ‘myth’ of controlling the police

For at least fifty years, major movements attempted to reform police and their institutions through professionalization, policy making, and administrative decentralization. One major goal of these efforts was to subordinate street officer discretion to bureaucratic due process. Some recent evidence suggests that such reforms produced primarily the appearance of change without fundamentally altering the status quo. An alternative hypothesis is proposed: Reformers ignored the functional nature of the police role as community-based, extra-constitutional in peacekeeping situations, and reflective of the values related to the maintenance of order.

It may be that liberal society solves the anomaly of the police function by fostering the myth that police are subordinate to due process constraints, while leaving them relatively free in a practical sense to respond to the need for order maintenance and peacekeeping. Effective handling of disorder may require police autonomy, while attempting to subordinate them to bureaucratic control may impair this ability. Police accountability in liberal society, as well as the many reforms designed to achieve it, remains problematic, especially in light of a recent important study suggesting the possibility that police effectiveness against community disorder may be a casualty of many of these reforms.     

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.     

Development of an information sheet providing rapport advice for interpreters in police interviews

Abstract

The present paper reports the development of an information sheet designed to aid interpreters in police interviews in recognizing, conveying and inadvertently obstructing rapport-building efforts by police interviewers. The contents of this sheet were informed by past research defining rapport, and rapport uses in police interviews. We used a mixed experimental design to test the information sheet. One group (Intervention, n = 35) was randomly assigned to read an information sheet before responding to short vignettes of police interviewing foreign non-English speaking suspects about international crimes, while another (Control) group (n = 37) simply responded to the vignettes. Perceptions of rapport cues by the intervention group exceeded that of the control group. However, the groups performed equally well at identifying appropriate methods to convey/avoid obstructing rapport. Feedback from the intervention group on the helpfulness of the information sheet was largely positive. The findings were used to improve the information sheet which can be used to alert interpreters to the importance of rapport in suspect interviews.