Much better than the sequential lineup: a 120-person lineup

Abstract

Large lineups may be more reliable than small ones. However, research has found greatly reduced identifications in 40-person lineups of photos shown sequentially one at a time. The task may be more difficult than necessary. Grouping photos may provide an easier one. Three studies had compared seven-page lineups (42, 84, or 168 members) with lineups of about 20. In the first two studies identification and mistaken choice rates were identical in the large and smaller lineup. Identifications in the 168-person lineup were much less. This study tested a 10-page 120-person lineup, and added a 12-person lineup. No difference was found between the 120- and 24-person lineups, and an interaction in 12-person lineups was found between graduate lab student witnesses and others. False identifications, and the probability that the suspect is innocent when ‘identified’, is much less in 120-person lineups than the 24- or 12-person lineups, or the sequential lineup.     

Policing of Political Protest. The Security Police's Control of the Extra-parliamentary Opposition in Sweden During and after the Cold War

Throughout history, those in power have monitored and exercised control over individuals and groups who have been perceived as representing some form of threat to their power. Irrespective of the system of government in place, political crime is a matter of central interest to a society's security police. Political crimes are often committed by extra-parliamentary groups or organizations. The focus of this paper is how the Swedish secret police (SÄPO) have acted against what they have perceived as the extreme left, mainly anarchists and autonomists, during and after the cold war. Did SÄPO's perception of this part of the extra-parliamentary opposition change when the cold war was over in the early 1990s? Were these groups and individuals perceived as the new enemy in the threat vacuum that temporarily arose in the aftermath of the cold war? Furthermore, had the new security concept that was introduced at that time any impact on SÄPO's activities?     

Diversity in Policing

Abstract

Police and minority relations have received much interest among public and academic audiences, yet little is known about policing in Latino communities. As Latinos emerge as the largest minority group in the United States, researchers and police agencies are increasingly concerned with the experience of Latinos in the criminal justice system. One strategy for improving police and community relations is to enhance the diversity of law enforcement agencies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the ethnic composition of law enforcement agencies in major U.S. metropolitan areas between 1990 and 2000. Using data from the U.S. Census and the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, it appears that the growth in the U.S. Latino population has been met with an increase in the percentage of Latinos as sworn full-time police officers. Further, the degree of enhanced diversity varies by the ethnic composition of the community served. Implications of findings for improving relations between police and the Latino community are discussed.     

Perceptions About Changing the MirandaWarnings Among Police Chiefs

Abstract

A number of studies have considered whether the race of a police officer influences police decision-making processes. The current study assesses whether a police chief's race influences perceptions about the Mirandawarnings. Police chiefs from the Commonwealth of Virginia completed questionnaires assessing various aspects about the Mirandawarnings when the fate of the warnings was to be determined by the Supreme Court. Results suggest that race only moderately influenced chiefs' perceptions. Implications are provided.     

Examining the Use of Informal Networks by NGOs in Azerbaijan and Georgia

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate whether and to what extent changes in the structural preconditions for volunteering have had an effect on the relative importance of ‘classic predictors’ of volunteering within two areas: (1) socio-economic and status variables that function as resources for civic engagement and (2) value orientations that guide volunteering. Arguably, upward changes in the level of human capital, such as education, or changes in values that put more emphasis on, for example, social responsibility, could be expected to lead to an increase in the relative importance of these variables because the groups who possess such resources or express such attitudes would be more likely to enter into the volunteer labour force. If this is the case, then we would expect to see increasing differences in the likelihood of volunteering between high- and low-status groups. On the other hand, it could be argued that it is the distribution and diffusion of such resources and values that matter. If, for instance, education has become more widespread and covers larger proportions of the population, it is also possible that the relative importance of education has diminished. In this case, we would see a mainstreaming effect on volunteering because this activity becomes more normal, independent of class and status. Finally, it is also possible that volunteering is relatively resistant to wider structural changes in society or at least experience a time lag in the effect of such changes. Based on an empirical analysis of Danish survey data from 1990 to 2008, we argue that the idea of a mainstreaming effect should be taken seriously.     

From the Balconies to the Barricades,and Back? Trajectories of Participation in Contentious Politics

Scholars have long been interested in explaining why some individuals engage in civil society through acts of protest while others do not. However, what happens after individuals are involved? Using a nationally representative panel data set that follows Americans from 1965 until 1997, I show that almost half of participants either engage in ‘individual abeyance’, moving in and out of engagement over time, or disengage. I examine the role of socio-political orientations, resources, biography or life-course factors, and group affiliation in predicting patterns of civil society participation over time. Past work suggests that persistent activists differ from those who disengage due to the formers’ particular socio-political orientations. However, I show that there are no significant differences in these orientations between those who persist and those who do not. Instead, biographical changes and engagement in political groups are the most important factors predicting persistent participation over time.     

Editors’ Introduction

Abstract

The police restructuring efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina driven by the international community, using in particular the leverage of European integration, attempted to achieve a reform that would transform a very fragmented police system into a de-politicized single structure and ended in the signing of a rather weak political agreement. The main reason why the process proved to be so difficult was that police restructuring touched upon the fundamentals of a delicate ethno-political power-sharing model in a post-conflict situation. But also, the approach chosen by the international community had serious deficiencies as the international community was far from speaking with one voice, thereby limiting its leverage.     

警察执法作战指挥训练方法构成探索

警察执法作战指挥训练方法是保证训练效果的重要因素。由于警察执法作战指挥训练内容的广博性,以及训练对象的多层次性,警察执法作战指挥训练的方法构成应具有很大的灵活性,探索其训练方法构成,对有效提高训练效益,提高警察指挥员的指挥能力具有重大作用和现实意义。     

湖南省基层交警警力不足的成因及解决对策

近年来,交通管理工作任务日益繁重与警力不足之间的矛盾日渐凸现。执法环境严峻、非警务活动多等是造成基层交警警力不足的外部因素;工作任务繁杂、源自工作本身以外的压力过重、警力配置不科学、经费保障不足等是公安机关内部的因素。要通过科学配置警力、完善管理机制以及落实从优待警等途径从根本上解决基层交警警力不足的问题。