Evaluating the relative impact of positive and negative encounters with police: a randomized experiment

Objectives

Examines the influence of positive, negative, and neutral police behavior during traffic stops on citizen perceptions of police.

Methods

Participants were randomly assigned to view a video clip of a simulated traffic stop in which the officer communicates with the driver in a positive (procedurally just), negative (procedurally unjust), or neutral manner. After viewing the video, participants completed a survey about their perceptions of police, including their level of trust in police, obligation to obey police orders, and willingness to cooperate with police.

Results

Observing positive interactions with police enhanced people’s self-reported willingness to cooperate with police, obligation to obey police and the law, and trust and confidence in police, whereas observing negative interactions undermined these outcomes. The effects of these interactions were much stronger for encounter-specific outcomes than for more general outcomes.

Conclusions

The results from this randomized experiment confirm that procedural justice can enhance people’s prosocial attitudes toward police, whereas procedural injustice can undermine these attitudes. While positive (procedurally just) interactions tend to have weaker effects than negative (procedurally unjust) interactions, this study finds little support for the notion that only negative experiences shape people’s views about the police.

     

Building collective action at crime hot spots: Findings from a randomized field experiment

Journal of Experimental Criminology - The study examined whether Assets Coming Together (ACT), a policing intervention directed at increasing collective action and collective efficacy at crime hot...     

Deterrent effects of police raids on crack houses: A randomized,controlled experiment

We tested the block-level deterrent effects on crime of uniformed police raids of crack houses. Court-authorized raids were legally possible on 207 blocks with at least five calls for police service in the preceding 30 days. Raids were assigned randomly to 104 locations and were conducted at 98 of those sites; the other 109 were left alone. Experimental blocks, in relation to controls, showed reductions in both calls for service and offense reports, but effects were quite small and decayed in two weeks. Raids in which arrests were made (23 of 104 assigned) had no consistently different impact from raids in which no arrests were made. Raids had more effect on calls for service in the winter than in the spring, but we found little seasonal or period difference in effects of raids on offense reports. Alternative police methods may be far more cost-effective than raids in “harm reduction” for crack houses.     

Context manipulation in police interviews: a field experiment

Journal of Experimental Criminology - Recent writing and research on interrogation has highlighted the potential importance of the physical context in which the interview takes place. Whereas...     

The impact of a verbal warning on police consent search practices

This article explores the impact of requiring a verbal warning prior to a police request for consent to search a suspect's automobile. The United States Supreme Court expressed concern that requiring a verbal warning prior to a consent request would make consent searches impossible for the police. Twenty-seven months of motor vehicle stop data (N = 800) was analyzed during periods where a verbal warning was and was not required prior to a consent request. The findings did not support the conclusion that a verbal warning would cause a substantial decrease in consent searches. A slight increase in the volume of consent requests was observed after the police were required to administer the warning.     

A partially randomized field experiment on the effect of an acoustic gunshot detection system on police incident reports

Journal of Experimental Criminology - To examine whether the introduction of an acoustic gunshot detection system (AGDS) allied to CCTV cameras increased the frequency of confirmed incidents of...     

Situational deterrence and claim padding: results from a randomized field experiment

While it is generally argued that threats of legal sanctions are more effective with offenders involved in economic crimes than with delinquents committing more conventional crimes, such an affirmation rests on weak empirical evidence. Also, most studies supporting this proposition were conducted with non-experimental designs, thus, undermining the interval validity of the results. On the other hand, studies base their predictions on individual factors and do not incorporate contextual factors. To overcome those limitations, a randomized field experiment was implemented in four insurance companies to incorporate contextual factors into the dynamics of deterrence. This study assessed the effect of a written threat (a deterrent letter reminding insured persons of the punishment for insurance fraud) on claim padding behaviours of insured persons filing claims for residential theft. A deterrent-letter project was implemented in four insurance companies, with claims randomly assigned to the experimental or the control group. Cases belonging to the control group were managed as usual, while individuals in the experimental group received the written threat. The experimental design made sure that the deterrent stimulus was exactly delivered to the insured persons when they had the opportunity to exaggerate the value of their claims. Findings demonstrate that claimants in the experimental group were less likely to pad their claims than were those in the control group. The letter was effective, regardless of the means of delivery. In conclusion, the administration of a written threat at the moment of criminal opportunity appears to be an effective strategy for preventing economic crimes.

Politics and the police in Scotland: The impact of devolution

The creation of a Scottish Parliament and Scottish government in 1999, under the process of devolution within the UK, created a significantly different constitutional and political landscape from that which preceded it. The impact on domestic issues in Scotland, such as policing, has been considerable. This is partly because of new structural arrangements, including the creation of a Justice Minister and a Justice Committee of the Parliament, and partly because of the significance of the law and order agenda within Scottish politics. This paper discusses the impact of these developments on the Scottish police. Analysis focuses on the growing involvement of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish governments in key areas such as constabulary independence, police accountability and the management of police resources. Through this discussion, the paper seeks to make a contribution to the debate about the relationship between the police and politics, and the extent to which policing in Scotland is becoming increasingly politicised.     

The impact of police reform on communities of Trinidad and Tobago

Objectives  

Reforms were implemented at five selected police stations in Trinidad and Tobago. The reforms were designed to improve the services delivered by police stations, to reduce crime, and to increase public confidence in the police. The intervention involved improving police facilities, vehicles, and equipment, and enhancing station staffing, training, and technical assistance to improve basic police work and station management/supervision. It introduced service-oriented, problem-solving approaches to replace the traditional colonial and post-colonial models of policing.     

The impact of race, police experience, and feeling of safety on attitude toward the police

This study surveyed 393 citizens who were either crime victims or complainants in the jurisdiction of the Marietta, GA Police Department in 2004. In addition to examining their local attitudes toward police demeanor and police performance, the study also evaluated the impact of race, police experience, and perceived neighborhood safety. Important findings included that overall (1) the majority of respondents felt safe in their neighborhood and were satisfied with the police who handled their case; (2) the same amount of blacks and whites reported negative experiences with the police; and (3) although all three factors greatly affected attitudes, contact experience with the police was the most influential.     

The results of a randomized controlled trial of police body-worn video in Australia

Journal of Experimental Criminology - We report the results of a randomized controlled trial of police body-worn video (BWV) cameras in an Australian context, with a focus on how cameras influence...     

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.     

Procedural justice training for police recruits: results of a randomized controlled trial

Journal of Experimental Criminology - Procedural justice training for police officers is designed to improve officers’ interactions with the public. Aside from the fact that it is a given...     

School-based services for youth with prior police contact: a randomized controlled trial

Journal of Experimental Criminology - We present results from a randomized controlled trial of a school-based intervention that provided services to youth with prior police contact. The...     

The impact of police charges in incidents of wife abuse

The present study addressed the impact of an urban police force laying criminal charges in cases of wife abuse. Follow-up data from battered women and from police officers were collected to identify the long-term consequences of this police policy that began in 1981, including any negative or unintended side effects. Results indicated that the policy resulted in a dramatic increase in police-laid charges (2500%), and a shift from the Family to the Criminal Division of Provincial Court. Based on interview data, victims did not decrease their requests for police service (a feared side effect) and reported a significantly higher level of satisfaction with police service in this area. A significant reduction in police calls and victim-reported violence was associated with police intervention, especially when charges were laid. Paradoxically, police officers' attitudes about the policy were more negative than the actual positive changes that they helped to produce. Considerations for future research and professional training are outlined.     

The effects of a group batterer treatment program: A randomized experiment in Brooklyn

Despite numerous evaluations of batterer treatment programs, most lack sufficient methodological rigor to yield valid answers about the programs' effectiveness. This paper presents results from an experimental evaluation in which 376 adult males convicted of domestic violence were randomly assigned to either a 40-hour batterer treatment program or 40 hours of community service that did not include any therapeutic treatment. We examined both official records and victims' reports of recidivism. Those assigned to the treatment program showed significantly lower recidivism, on the basis of all outcome measures from official records. Although victims' reports also recorded fewer failures among the batterers assigned to the treatment group, the differences in failure rates were not large enough to be statistically significant. Overall results suggest that therapeutic treatment for batterers may reduce domestic violence among convicted batterers who agree to this sentence.     

Offender-focused police intervention in residential burglary and theft from vehicle hot spots: a partially blocked randomized control trial

Objectives

To test an offender-focused police intervention in residential burglary and residential theft from vehicle hot spots and its effect on crime, arrests, and offender recidivism. The intervention was prevention-focused, in which detectives contacted offenders and their families at their homes to discourage criminal activity.

Methods

The study was a partially blocked, randomized controlled field experiment in 24 treatment and 24 control hot spots in one suburban city with average crime levels. Negative binomial and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression were used to test the effect of the presence of intervention and its dosage on crime and offender recidivism, and examination of average and standardized treatment effects were conducted.

Results

The analyses of the hot spot impact measures did not reveal significant results to indicate that the treatment had an effect on crime or arrest counts, or on repeat arrests of the targeted or non-targeted offenders living in the hot spots. However, the relationships, while not significant, were in a promising direction.

Conclusions

The collective findings from all four impact measures suggest that the intervention may have had some influence on the targeted offenders, as well as in the treatment hot spots. So, while the experimental results did not show an impact, they are promising. Limitations include large hot spots, the low case number, low base rates, and inadequate impact measures. Suggestions are provided for police agencies and researchers for implementing preventive offender-focused strategies and conducting studies in suburban cities.

     

The impact of intimate partner violence on decisions to leave dating relationships: a test of the investment model

This study explored the impact of violence exposure on investment-model constructs within a sample of college women involved in heterosexual dating relationships. Results generally supported the "common sense" hypothesis, suggesting that violence negatively impacts satisfaction for and commitment to one's relationship and is positively associated with intentions to leave. Exposure to psychological abuse uniquely impacted intentions to leave relationships above and beyond other model factors, suggesting that this may be a particularly important factor in determining college women's decisions. In a series of analyses examining the investment model within each of two groups (e.g., those exposed or not exposed to physical violence), results showed that the model predicted victimized women's decisions to leave as well as it predicted nonvictimized women's decisions. Taken together, results of this study suggest that victimized women base their relationship termination decisions on the same information as nonvictimized women do.     

Exhibitionism: findings from a Midwestern police contact sample

This study used a police sample to examine offense characteristics, recidivism rates, and other types of sexual offending among individuals suspected of exhibitionism. The sample consisted of 202 incidents of indecent exposure perpetrated by 106 identified individuals. Demographic information showed that one quarter of the sample had symptoms of a mental illness and one quarter had a history of substance abuse. More than 84% of the sample had other nonsexual criminal charges. Approximately 30% of the perpetrators were charged for more than one exposure incident. Masturbating during the offense, exposing to child victims, and speaking to the victim did not show any relationship to the occurrence of more sexually aggressive behaviors. However, individuals who had subsequent rape or molestation charges (16.9%) were more likely than those who did not to have had multiple exposure incidents and a history of physical assault charges.