An Exploratory Analysis of Florida Law Enforcement Domestic Violence Policies

The high social cost of domestic violence has caught the attention of lawmakers and criminal justice agency administrators across the country. As public awareness and concern over the incidence of domestic violence has risen, domestic violence legislation has focused on, among other things, the law enforcement response to domestic violence. The purpose of this study is to examine Florida law enforcement agency response to domestic violence by analyzing agency standard operating procedures (SOPs) across measures identified in the Florida Model Policy for Domestic Violence. Utilizing content analysis, the authors identify agency policy mandates including the number of officers responding to the scene, the use of specialized units, availability of victim advocates, and procedures for investigation.     

Destructive Competition or Competition Destroyed? Regulatory Theory and the History of Irish Road Transportation Legislation

The principal aim of our study is to contribute to the debate over whether regulation is enacted in the interest of consumers, producers, political agents, or some combination of these. We examine the legislative debates and subsequent regulatory bills surrounding road transportation regulation in Ireland in light of the three dominant theories which purport to explain the existence of regulation: the public interest theory and the so-called Chicago and Virginia theories. A unique feature of our study is an attempt to integrate specific rhetorical concepts used in the public policy debates into the theoretical analysis of regulation. One noteworthy conclusion of our study is that theories of economic processes affect the shaping and results of public policy.     

Implementing Change in an Urban School District: A Case Study of the Reorganization of the Little Rock School District

In July 2005, the Little Rock, Arkansas, school district implemented a new policy to reorganize its management structure in order to create a more efficient bureaucracy. Using Richard Matland’s ambiguity‐conflict model of policy implementation, the authors examine the implementation of this school reorganization policy. Interviews and surveys were conducted with the superintendent and his executive assistants, school principals, teachers, and staff. In line with Matland’s model, the findings suggest that successful implementation is directly related to the policy characteristics of ambiguity and conflict. However, the authors point to the importance of recognizing particular characteristics for different groups of stakeholders within the policy implementation process. Discrepancies among groups of policy actors in the degree of policy ambiguity and policy conflict lead to strikingly different implementation strategies.