Intergovernmental Cooperation in the Provision of Public Safety: Monitoring Mechanisms Embedded in Interlocal Agreements

This article examines how monitoring mechanisms embedded in interlocal agreements (ILAs) are associated with vertical and horizontal intergovernmental relations. The authors hypothesize that ILAs established by local governments with higher‐level governments are likely to rely on a clearly specified set of rules to establish an administrative structure, whereas ILAs established by local governments with other local governments rely on associational benefits to ensure that policy preferences are aligned across multiple political boundaries. The article examines ILAs established by small town, county, and municipal governments in Denton County, Texas, for the provision of emergency medical, police, and fire services. Findings show that more than half of the ILAs specified a financial reporting system, but an almost equal percentage did not contain features requiring financial records to be available for audit by a third party. Quadratic assignment procedure correlation analysis confirmed the presence of cross‐monitoring mechanisms and showed that the patterns of ILAs tend to cluster around a geographic space.

Practitioner Points

• Monitoring mechanisms embedded in interlocal agreements (ILAs) matter, highlighting the important managerial functions played by frontline officers drafting ILAs.
• The rules embedded in ILAs are important not only for encouraging intergovernmental cooperation but also for reducing the risks associated with contract failures.
• With the increasing number of ILAs, local government officials need to consider various types of ILAs that are suitable to meet jurisdictional interests and policy preferences.

     

Timber access in the Indian Himalaya: Rethinking social capital in public policy

Timber access in Himachal Pradesh (India) is formally regulated by state policy. However, actual access is determined through a complex network of informal social relations developed and maintained over time, which form a critical resource that allows particular forms of capital accumulation. This essay shows that the nature of policy execution in India necessitates the development and use of this type of social capital. However, existing social hierarchies compartmentalise social space and create differential opportunities for social agents to establish and nurture such networks. While supporting critiques of currently popular understandings of social capital that draw on Putnam and Coleman, this essay makes a case for the relevance of Bourdieu's conception of social capital in understanding the process of social differentiation.     

Characteristics of victims coarrested for intimate partner violence

This study evaluated the frequency of coarrest in female victims who utilized 911 for intimate partner violence (IPV) and any patterns or circumstances that increased the likelihood of coarrest. All cases of police-documented IPV where a female IPV victim was arrested in conjunction with the perpetrator were included. Each incident report was reviewed to determine demographic characteristics of the victim, weapon and substance involvement, presence of children, and violence severity. Of IPV victims, 9% (131 of 1,489) were arrested. Having a weapon, alcohol use, not being married, and older age were associated with increased likelihood of arrest (p < .001). The presence of a child decreased the likelihood of victim arrest (p < .001). Race, prior incidents of IPV, offender restraining order, and incident severity were not significantly associated with coarrest. Although coarrest occurred in a minority of cases, it may deter victims from contacting police for future incidents of police.