A factorial analysis of police pursuit driving decisions: A research note

Police pursuit driving has become an important public policy concern and topic of research during the past few years. The present study reports the attitudes of police officers and supervisors from four different agencies concerning the continuation of a pursuit. Using logistic regression, it is reported that the most influential factor on the officers' opinions is the offense for which the suspect is wanted. This one factor is more than twice as important as the environmental factors such as chase area, traffic conditions and weather.     

Deaths resulting from police pursuit

This study concerns deaths that result from police pursuit i.e., high-speed police chases. The case files from the Office of the Medical Examiner of Metropolitan Dade County in Miami, Florida, during the years 1980-1986, were examined. Presented in some detail are 18 cases, along with a discussion of the "patterns" or types of cases involved. Recommendations for future work are then noted.     

Problematic alcohol consumption by police officers and other protective service employees: A comparative analysis

Purpose

To examine differences between members of protective service occupations (PSOs) and other occupational groups on indicators of alcohol use/abuse and mental health.

Methods

A subset of 25,622 observations from the 2009 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) are used to evaluate whether PSO members exhibit a higher likelihood of problematic drinking behaviors and if so, whether these behaviors are mediated by mental health problems.

Results

Logistic regression models indicated that PSO members do not consume alcohol more frequently nor do they exhibit higher likelihood of alcohol abuse/dependency when compared to members of other occupational groups. However, PSO members report higher occurrence of binge drinking. The relationship between PSOs and binge drinking behaviors is mediated by gender, not mental health problems.

Conclusion

The results provide direction for the development of evidence-based alcohol related intervention programs that address the specific needs of police officers and other public servants.     

The memphis police strike: A retrospective analysis

Previous studies of police strikes take a narrow perspective. with regard to both the causes and consequences of the job action. The present case. study attempts to put the Memphis police steike of 7978 in historical perspective by viewing the antecedent conditions as important to an understanding of why the police. struck. Kdditionally, the article attempts to determine-the Auccess or failure Of the. strike by examining the long term cons equences of the strike on both the Memphis Police Department and the Memphis Police Asso ciation, the official bargaining agent of the rank and file members of the M. P. D.     

A career stage analysis of police officer work commitment

This study examined police officer attitudes toward their work in an effort to determine whether a three-stage model of career development has utility in broadening the understanding of police officers' commitment to their work. One-hundred-sixty-four officers were surveyed using a variety of measures of work commitment including: affective, continuance, and normative organizational commitment; job involvement; Protestant work ethic; and career commitment. Data were also collected on officer intentions to remain with—and their perceptions of conditions under which they might leave—their current agencies. Results showed support for a two-stage rather than the traditional three-stage model of career development, with the trial stage being uniquely different from later career stages. The findings are discussed in light of the applicability of career-stage research to the law enforcement profession.     

A cross-national analysis of policies affecting innovation diffusion

Innovation diffusion is important for both firms’ profitability and countries’ economic growth. For these reasons, policies that aim to reduce the main barriers to innovation diffusion are a relevant issue on the agenda of most policy makers. Although the importance of this topic is widely recognized, few studies explore public policies that aim to enhance innovation diffusion. This article attempts to fill this literature gap. Specifically, the study aims to clarify the role of policy makers in promoting new technology diffusion, to identify the barriers that affect the process of innovation diffusion and that are relevant for public policy makers and to analyze potential policies to overcome the main barriers to the diffusion of new relevant technologies. This study shows that public policies must simultaneously address the most relevant barriers to the diffusion of a new technology to be effective. Focusing on only specific barriers by developing policies with a too narrow scope may lead to poor results. The study explores a topic that is almost neglected in the innovation management literature. On the one hand, the article provides a conceptual framework for analyzing public policies. On the other hand, it proposes an overview of the repertoire of policies that policy makers can use to overcome the most relevant barriers to the diffusion of a new technology. In doing so, it also contributes to the debate about the role of the policy maker in the process of innovation development and diffusion.     

Comparative analysis between police batons

The main purpose of this study was to compare various sizes of an extendible baton with the standard issue PVC duty baton. This project also included a side handle baton and a traditional wooden duty baton. Comparison was made on those quantifiable mechanical variables that were deemed significant with respect to trauma and the intended use of the baton as an intermediate weapon. These variables included impact force, impact pressure and movement kinematics while performing striking swings with these police batons. The three ASP expandable batons, the side handle baton and wood duty baton all produced smaller impact forces compared to that achieved with the PVC duty baton. In a model of impact pressure, the extendible batons produced, on average, higher impact peak pressures than those produced with the PVC duty baton. Differences were also observed between striking swing speed, frequency, and reach among the various batons tested which could influence an officer's ability to effectively utilize the batons as intermediate weapons.     

A comparative analysis of Cannabis material

Extracts of 100 plant-like or resinous materials were analyzed for CBD, CBC, delta 9-THC, and CBN by GC using two different column packings and by GC-MS. Our independent identification of these cannabinoids confirmed those of other forensic science analysts who used microscopic examination, the Duquenois-Levine color test, and TLC for their analyses of the same samples. The identifications of cannabinoids by forensic acience analysts using TLC were corroborated by GC-MS analysis of hexane extracts of appropriate chromatogram spots.     

The impact of agency context, policies, and practices on violence against police

This study examined agency-level factors that impact the level of violence against police. The independent variables represented both agency context (e.g., violent crime rate, population characteristics) and agency policies and practices (e.g., backup and body armor policies) and were linked to constructs within routine activities theory. Information on agency policies and practices came from an agency survey. Data for the dependent variable―agency counts of officer killings and assaults over a three-year period―came from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Negative binomial regression was used to assess the impact of the independent variables on the dependent measure. Three of the independent variables—measuring body armor policies, agency accountability, and violent crime—had statistically significant relationships with violence against police.     

A comparative analysis of general strain theory

Purpose

Since its introduction in 1992, general strain theory (GST) has garnered much empirical support. The large share of this support, however, derives from studies conducted in the United States. There is little comparative research on GST, particularly research that examines the effect of the same or similar strains on crime across countries. Thus, we know little about the generalizability of GST. This study attempts to fill this gap by testing GST in five different cities across Europe: Bucharest in Romania, Sofia in Bulgaria, Riga in Latvia, Kaunas in Lithuania and Reykjavik in Iceland.

Methods

We examine the relationship between five strain measures and violent- and property crime among samples of adolescents in each city using regression techniques.

Results

The data are generally supportive of GST, with most of the strains having significant associations with property and violent crime in all or most of the cities.

Conclusion

GST is generalizable to a range of European cities. Implications and examples for future comparative research on GST are discussed.     

A review of domestic violence arrest statistics in a police department using a pro-arrest policy: Are pro-arrest policies enough?

This study examined domestic violence arrest statistics in a sheriff's department that does not utilize a community approach and provides little police training on domestic violence. In reviewing all domestic violence reports (n=1870) over a 12-month period, less than one-third (28.8%) of the domestic violence cases ended in arrest. Even the most serious charges (aggravated batteries) were more likely to end without an arrest (62.6%) than with an arrest (37.4%). Although results showed that more men were identified (88.4%) and arrested (91.6%) as batterers than women (11.6% and 8.4%, respectively), closer analyses revealed that arrested women were more often charged with more serious charges (60%) than arrested men (26.0%). Finally, gender and race data indicated that while four-fifths (84.6%) of black females were arrested on felony charges, less than one-fifth (19.5%) of white males were arrested on the same charge. These findings demonstrate a need for further research on factors that may affect pro-arrest policy effectiveness.Forensic psychological resident in private practice in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.     

Professionalization and unionization of police: A Delphi forecast on police values

The Delphi Forecasting technique was utilized to assess the general direction and magnitude of broad future trends in the occupationally-related values of police officers. Two panels of experts were established and utilized in the Delphi Process: one composed of veteran police officers and the other consisting of law enforcement educators, top echelon police administrators, attorneys, and social ethicists.Two major trends emerged in the course of the study: a movement toward professionalization and a movement toward unionization. These two movements were found to embody generally conflicting sets of occupationally-related values.The increasing emphasis of police chiefs and their administrators on managerial efficiency was identified as the critical factor influencing the future of these trends.     

Dangers of police professionalization: An empirical analysis

This study examines relationships between professionalization (measured by the amount of college education and police training) and police officer attitudes. Using data from a survey of 712 police officers in twenty-nine departments in the St. Louis area, the analysis focuses on propositions derived from scholars who have identified harmful effects they expect to flow from the reform. Although the limited operational definition of the key variables and other factors noted in the study require caution in interpreting the findings, little evidence in support of the expected “dangers” is found. This result, in combination with other studies that have failed to find support for the case made for raising the educational level of police, suggests the need to reassess expectations about the impact of college education in policing.     

A longitudinal analysis of factors associated with reporting violent crimes to the police

The use of generalized estimating equations and time-series methods for fitting longitudinal models in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is discussed, with reference to the relation between the reporting of a violent crime to the police and previous victimizations. Two longitudinal models are fit to NCVS data to predict the likelihood of reporting a violent crime to the police based on characteristics of the victim and the incident and based on previous victimization experiences. In both models, it is found that higher reporting rates are associated with positive results accruing from reporting previous victimization to the police.     

A comparative reliability analysis of computer-generated bitemark overlays

This study compared the reliability of two methods used to produce computer-generated bitemark overlays with Adobe Photoshop (Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, CA). Scanned images of twelve dental casts were sent to 30 examiners with different experience levels. Examiners were instructed to produce an overlay for each cast image based on the instructions provided for the two techniques. Measurements of the area and the x-y coordinate position of the biting edges of the anterior teeth were obtained using Scion Image software program (Scion Corporation, Frederick, MD) for each overlay. The inter- and intra-reliability assessment of the measurements was performed using an analysis of variance and calculation of reliability coefficients. The assessment of the area measurements showed significant variances seen in the examiner variable for both techniques resulting in low reliability coefficients. Conversely, the results for the positional measurements showed no significant differences in the variances between examiners with exceptionally high reliability coefficients. It was concluded that both techniques were reliable methods to produce bitemark overlays in assessing tooth position.     

A comparative and comprehensive analysis of nonsexual assaults

The aim of this study was to make a comparative and comprehensive analysis of nonsexual assaults in 488 medico-legal cases presented to Forensic Medicine Outpatient Clinic of Celal Bayar University Hospital (Manisa, Turkey), between 2005 and 2009. There were blunt force injuries (BFI) in 262 cases (53.7%), sharp force injuries (SFI) in 163 cases (33.4%), and firearm-related wounds (FRW) in 63 cases (12.9%). The results showed significant differences in the monthly distribution of assaults, localization of injuries, and severity of injuries depending on the types of assaults. Most of the injuries were localized to the face, head, and neck in BFI and SFI and to the lower limbs in FRW. The results of this study will help researchers to investigate characteristics of victims, offenders, and injuries and types of assaults because of nonsexual violence.     

A view into police stress

High levels of stress can be found in many occupations and professions. Police work has become one of the more recognized of the high-stress professions. Divorce and suicide rates are found to be extremely high among police officers. There are several explanations as to why this high level of stress exists. Today’s police officer needs to be aware of the dangers that are associated with high stress and should be able to recognize the symptoms. In an effort to gain a better under-standing of this area, the following study was done. As a result of a search and analysis of police-stress related literature this study examines the causes of stress, how stress can be recognized, and how to successfully cope with the job-related stress.     

Opportunity,motivation, and assaults on police: A bivariate arima analysis

Drawing on insights garnered from the routine activity and pluralistic conflict perspectives, the present investigation examines the interrelationships between structural sources of opportunities and motivations to engage in potentially conflictive interactions with police personnel and assaults against the police. Overall, the longitudinal analyses of the reciprocal relationship between total and disaggregated measures of arrest and non-lethal assaults within Oklahoma City, Oklahoma tend to produce weak and insignificant results. The implications of these findings for opportunity theories of crime are discussed.     

Extreme value theory applied to police performance analysis

Extreme value theory is used to provide, according to one reviewer, a quantitative measure of the probability of a police dispatch operation going “haywire” under pressure. Convensional queuing theory that concentrates on measures of average performance is not readily adaptable to this application. In a major police department, average values of delay response were found to be acceptable, and preliminary analysis showed that sufficient resources were available to avoid excessive queuing at peak loads. Nevertheless, reports of occasional excessively delayed responses indicated the existence of serious problems. Extreme value theory concentrates on the statistically rare long delays that, because of the many repetitions of requests for service, can occur more frequently in time than is acceptable to police management. In the example discussed, the predicted magnitudes and frequencies of these long delays provided the justification for an immediate improvement program. In general, the straightforward methodology described would appear to have broad applications and great practical value. The subsequent analysis to identify causal factors is not a part of the discussion.