Administrative interventions on police shooting discretion: An empirical examination

In August, 1972, the New York City Police Department promulgated administrative shooting guidelines and shooting incident review procedures far more restrictive than former statutory “defense of life” and “fleeing felon” justifications for police shooting. Using a data base that includes all reported New York City police firearms discharges and serious assaults on police between 1971 and 1975, this article examines the effects of the new guidelines and procedures on shooting frequencies, patterns, and consequences.Great decreases in “fleeing felon” shootings, “warning shots,” and shooting-opponent injuries and deaths were found to be associated with the new rules. This change also appeared to have a favorable effect on line-of-duty officer deaths and serious injuries. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Thymic hyperplasia. A clue to the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism

The association of simultaneous abnormalities of the thyroid and thymus is well documented, particularly in the case of Graves' disease. We present a case of a natural death following thyroid storm in which marked thymic hyperplasia was present. This finding can be helpful in determining the cause of death.     

Hypopharyngeal lipoma as a cause for sudden asphyxial death

Lipomas of the hypopharynx are uncommon tumors that are rarely life threatening. When positioned in the hypopharynx, asphyxia may be the result of the tumor size or sudden displacement into the oropharynx. We present a case of a large hypopharyngeal lipoma, review the literature, and discuss mechanisms by which these lesions may cause sudden asphyxial death.     

DIFFERENTIAL POLICE TREATMENT OF MALE-ON-FEMALE SPOUSAL VIOLENCE*

Recent studies of police response to violence in which men attack women with whom they have a history of shared intimacy have not addressed the issue that inspired research in the first place: the “leniency thesis” that police treat men who beat their spouses less punitively than other violent offenders. In addition, research examining the deterrent effects of various police treatments of misdemeanor domestic violence is not responsive to complaints that abused women are denied protection of law when they have been victims of serious, felony-grade, abuse by their spouses. This research analyzes the response of the Chester, Pennsylvania, police to 392 consecutively reported felony-grade assaults by persons whose identities were known to victims and police. Results confirm the leniency thesis. Tabular analysis demonstrates that arrests occurred in 13% of male-on-female spousal assaults and 28% of other assaults. Logit analysis indicates that this difference in police response is not attributable to other variables that might be expected to result in differential treatment. We conclude that the practices and results reported by research conducted in progressive police jurisdictions that volunteer to participate in studies of police response to violence against women may not be generalizable to the great majority of U.S. police agencies that have not welcomed such study.     

Manpower planning and development in an organization

Manpower planning has in the past relied too much on the forecasting of manpower requirements in an organization or a society. It should be more concerned with gaining a better understanding of people, and how to develop and match their skills to what organizations or societies require. Employees should be involved in the formulation of manpower policy objectives. Manpower planning involves a ‘stocktaking’ of the workforce and its skills; forecasting the future demand and supply of skills; and diagnostic approach so that adjustments can be made to meet organizational and/or country objectives. The essence of the diagnostic approach is in the understanding of the reasons for any imbalance between the supply of and demand for manpower.     

Garner plus five years: An examination of Supreme Court intervention into police discretion and legislative prerogatives

This paper examines legislative changes, state attorney general activities, and early federal case law following the 1985 United States Supreme Court holding inTennessee v. Gamer that laws authorizing police use of deadly force to apprehend fleeing, unarmed, non-violent felony suspects violated the Fourth Amendment. Only four of the 23 states apparently affected by this decision have brought their statutes into line with it. Only two of the attorneys general in the remaining 19 states have advised police of the decision. These findings indicate that control of police discretion in use of deadly force has been assumed by police administrators, and that criminal law definitions and the legal advice of attorneys general are largely irrelevant to effective control of police behavior     

Does police size matter? A review of the evidence regarding restructuring police organisations

Restructuring and merging public sector organisations is often seen as a way to enhance efficiency and efficacy. There is ongoing debate about the impact of police force sizes, structures and mergers as police organisations attempt to adapt to reductions in their budgets and changes in patterns of criminality. The article reviews the evidence regarding key aspects of police reform: finding mixed evidence regarding the links between size and performance, while noting risks that mergers may impair local policing. The article discusses the impact of mergers on protective services, governance and accountability, while also discussing potential risks and opportunities associated with the merger process itself. The review finds significant gaps in the available evidence, and significant opportunities to expand the evidence base on this topic. Given current gaps in the evidence regarding size, efficacy and efficiency, it is important to give due consideration to symbolic and rhetorical aspects of mergers.