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The institutional structures established by French and British colonists continue to shape the socio-economic landscape of sub-Saharan Africa, potentially contributing to the unequal distribution of child poverty. This study, therefore, has significant relevance as it aims to estimate child poverty disparities within the context of colonial origins in Francophone and Anglophone African countries.

This study utilised data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 2000 and 2019 involving 22 sub-Saharan African states. A rights-based framework was applied based on the SDG-updated Gordon et al. (2003) methodology to measure child poverty. We then compared child poverty disparities between colonial origins using one-way ANOVA tests and risk ratios to quantify the magnitude of these differences.

Critically high estimates of sanitation and housing poverty (above 70% prevalence) were observed in the two colonial settings. Children in Francophone states were 1.4 times (RR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.1–1.8) more likely to experience higher risks of low medical access, almost twice as likely to experience low vaccine uptake (risk ratios-RR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.2–2.8) or no formal education (RR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.1–2.5). All other dimensions were equal between colonial origins.

Due to its cross-comparative approach, this study is restricted in making conclusive inferences regarding the causal relationship between colonialism and health/education poverty. Also, given the limited number of countries, particularly Anglophone countries, our sample may not fully represent all French and British ex-colonies. As a follow-up to this study, we intend to repeat this analysis using the harmonised Multiple Indicator Cluster (MIC) surveys, providing a larger number of countries.

Despite similar household poverty levels in both colonial settings, Francophone states had lower access to health and education services than Anglophone states. These findings indicate deeper systemic issues that may be rooted in the historical governance styles of centralisation. More effective decentralisation of healthcare and education services in Francophone countries and improved government commitment to addressing household poverty throughout sub-Saharan Africa are imperative.

In response to calls for police reform, agencies and researchers have turned their attention to alternative responses to mental health crisis calls. Jurisdictions across the United States are adopting co-responder teams that bring qualified mental or behavioral health professionals into emergency responses by the police. The current study aims to estimate the prevalence and use of these teams in the United States and to document their varieties and features.

We developed and administered a first-of-its-kind survey to a nationally representative sample of local and state law enforcement agencies. A total of 568 agencies completed the survey. The current analysis provides a descriptive account of the use and practices of co-responder programs and crisis intervention among the responding agencies.

We find there is wide variation in the staffing, operations, qualifications, characteristics and beliefs about the effectiveness of co-responder programs across the country. Additionally, there is a lack of consistent programmatic guidance for these programs that can inform their future development. Consequentially, agencies face personnel and funding challenges in implementing and maintaining these programs.

This study showcases findings from the first national survey of co-responder teams that investigates the prevalence, characteristics and operation of these teams. This information is the first step in evaluating the effectiveness of co-responder programs and, in turn, developing evidence-based guidelines and protocols for their implementation.

This paper applies novel techniques from the field of operations management to examine the allocation of patrol and investigative personnel to identify which is most effective in improving police performance around homicide clearance.

A panel sample of homicide clearance rates from the 100 largest US cities between 2000 and 2013 were analyzed in two steps: first, a random-effects regression model was performed to locate influential factors; second, optimum analysis was applied to locate the optimal values that yield maximal homicide clearance.

Both patrol and investigative personnel levels have a significant impact on homicide clearance. Maximal clearance can be achieved by allocating departmental personnel to investigative roles.

Given recent trends around “defunding” police and public sector austerity measures, future research should continue to explore the utility of optimum analysis for efficient allocation of policing personnel.

This study provides proof of concept for the use of optimum analysis in policing research.