Books received

The Politics of Local Expenditure, K. Newton and T.J. Karran, Macmillan, 1985, pp. 165, £5.95 paperback.

Welfare Bureaucracies, David Billis, Heinemann, 1984, pp. 252, £11.50 paperback.

Paying for Welfare, Howard Glennerster, Black well, 1985, pp. xi + 273, £7.50.

School Governing Bodies, M. Kogan, D. Johnson, T. Packwood and T. Whitaker, Heinemann Educational Books, 1984, pp. 210, £18.50 hardback, £8.50 paperback.

Something in the Air, Andrew Blowers, Harper and Row, 1984, pp. 359, £6.95.

Controlling the Constable: Police Accountability in England and Wales, Tony Jefferson and Roger Grimshaw, Frederick Muller/The Cobden Trust, 1984, pp. 205, £18.95 hardback, £7.95 paperback.     

BELIEFS ABOUT THE CUES TO DECEPTION IN HIGH- AND LOW-STAKE SITUATIONS

Prison officers and students completed a questionnaire concerning beliefs about 34 verbal and non-verbal behaviours in high- and low-stake situations. They were asked to consider behaviour in four different situations (two high-stake and two low-stake) and were asked to rate each scenario in terms of both the behaviour that they believed that they would show and the behaviour that they believed someone else would show. For each behaviour they were asked to rate on a seven-point scale how frequently they believed it occurred during deception (when compared to truth-telling). While there were no differences within high- and low-stake conditions (i.e. between scenarios of similar stakes), certain behaviours were believed to increase more in high-stake situations compared to low-stake ones. People rated their own behaviour differently to other people's, suggesting that they believed they would appear more credible in deception situations than other people would. Prison officers and students did not differ in their overall beliefs about the cues to deception in line with previous research. Results are discussed in terms of the roles that high-stake, infrequent, easily accessible situations and unsuccessful deceptions may play in the development and maintenance of general beliefs about the cues to deception.     

Evaluation of police recruit training involving psychology

Abstract

Claims have been made that critical thinking is a necessary skill for constructing accurate offender profiles. However, in studies purporting to demonstrate this, critical thinking ability amongst participants has never been adequately assessed, making it impossible to draw any valid conclusions about the importance of this skill for profiling. In order to empirically examine the relationship between critical thinking ability and profile accuracy, participants (n=36) in the current study completed a mock profiling exercise and the Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal – Form S (WGCTA-S). Profile accuracy scores were calculated for each participant and correlated with his or her scores on the WGCTA-S. Although the majority of participants were found to be adequate critical thinkers, no significant relationship was found between critical thinking ability and profile accuracy. Potential explanations for this finding are discussed.     

A randomized test of initial and residual deterrence from directed patrols and use of license plate readers at crime hot spots

Objectives

To test the effects of short-term police patrol operations using license plate readers (LPRs) on crime and disorder at crime hot spots in Mesa, Arizona.

Methods

The study employed a randomized experimental design. For 15 successive 2-week periods, a four-officer squad conducted short daily operations to detect stolen and other vehicles of interest at randomly selected hot spot road segments at varying times of day. Based on random assignment, the unit operated with LPRs on some routes and conducted extensive manual checks of license plates on others. Using random effects panel models, we examined the impact of these operations on violent, property, drug, disorder, and auto theft offenses as measured by calls for service.

Results

Compared to control conditions with standard patrol strategies, the LPR locations had reductions in calls for drug offenses that lasted for at least several weeks beyond the intervention, while the non-LPR, manual check locations exhibited briefer reductions in calls regarding person offenses and auto theft. There were also indications of crime displacement associated with some offenses, particularly drug offenses.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that use of LPRs can reduce certain types of offenses at hot spots and that rotation of short-term LPR operations across hot spots may be an effective way for police agencies to employ small numbers of LPR devices. More generally, the results also provide some support for Sherman’s (1990) crackdown theory, which suggests that police can improve their effectiveness in preventing crime through frequent rotation of short-term crackdowns across targets, as it applies to hot spot policing.     

Star Power: An Experiential Learning Exercise to Foster Ecological Perspectives on Power,Privilege, and Oppression

The purpose of this article is to describe the utility of Star Power as an experiential learning exercise applied in a community psychology undergraduate course. This exercise simulates systems of power, privilege, and oppression while fostering an ecological perspective that raises students’ awareness and knowledge about power differentials within society. The simulation of trading and lawmaking works best with 18 to 35 students and takes approximately 80 minutes to conduct. This article highlights three representative student perspectives concerning their participation and experience with Star Power. Strategies for facilitating class discussion are also reported.