One of the most consistent and widely discussed findings in research on citizens' attitudes toward the police is that African‐American citizens view the police less favorably than…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the most consistent and widely discussed findings in research on citizens' attitudes toward the police is that African‐American citizens view the police less favorably than do white citizens. Frank and his colleagues, however, found that in Detroit African‐American residents held more favorable views of the police than did white residents. They suggested that as a result of “ethno‐racial political transitions” occurring in large cities attitudes toward the police of both African‐American and white residents may have changed. The current study seeks to examine this issue in Washington, DC which has undergone similar demographic and political changes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for the current study were taken from a 1998 survey of households in 12 US cities conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Findings
The results suggest that, although Washington, DC has undergone an “ethno‐racial political transition”, African‐American residents reported less satisfaction with the police than did white residents.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited by cross‐sectional data and the unique nature of politics and policing in Washington, DC. Future research using longitudinal data should consider these issues in other “transitioned” cities.
Originality/value
Examines African‐American and white citizens' attitudes toward police in Washington, DC.
Details
Keywords
Michael R. Smith, Jeff J. Rojek, Matthew Petrocelli and Brian Withrow
The purpose of this paper is to provide a contemporary review of the research on racial disparities in police decision making.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a contemporary review of the research on racial disparities in police decision making.
Design/methodology/approach
State of the art literature review.
Findings
The findings are mixed on racial disparities in the primary policing domains of stops, arrests, use of force, and neighborhood deployment. While minorities are often overrepresented among those subjected to police enforcement actions, these findings vary considerably. Almost all of the current studies that have reported racial disparities in the exercise of police authority lack the methodological rigor or statistical precision to draw cause and effect inferences.
Research limitations/implications
Efforts underway to document the impact of body-worn cameras on citizen complaints and force used by police could be extended to examine the impact of cameras on racial disparities in other enforcement-related outcomes such as arrests, stops and frisks, or searches. In addition, evaluating the effects of police training, such as anti-bias training or training on police legitimacy, on reducing racial disparities in police enforcement outcomes is another promising line of research inquiry.
Originality/value
This paper provides a concise review of the current state of the literature on a topic that is dominating the national conversation currently underway about the role of the police in American society.
Details
Keywords
Robert A. Brown and James Frank
To provide an empirical analysis of what influences police use of field citations (tickets) against citizens in nontraffic and traffic encounters.
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an empirical analysis of what influences police use of field citations (tickets) against citizens in nontraffic and traffic encounters.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted using systematic social observations of police‐citizen encounters in Cincinnati, Ohio, from April 1997 to 1998. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the effects of legal and extralegal factors on the dependant variable (receipt of a citation) versus an officer doing nothing or arresting a citizen in nontraffic and traffic encounters.
Findings
Officers appear to be more likely to issue citations, as opposed to doing nothing formal or making an arrest, in traffic encounters. The extant literature's focus on citation issuance being more relevant to police behavior in traffic encounters as opposed to other routine encounters may be appropriate. When the decision rests between issuing a citation or making a full‐custody arrest in traffic encounters, white officers are more likely to arrest than their black counterparts, and black suspects were significantly more likely than Caucasians to be arrested than cited. Race of the officer or the suspect exhibited no significant effect in any of the other models estimated.
Research limitations/implications
The study utilized data collected on police‐citizen interactions from one police agency in one jurisdiction, and the data do not come from a study designed primarily to examine citation outcomes or traffic encounters.
Practical implications
This study would be useful to researchers examining police use of citations, officer behavior in traffic and nontraffic encounters, quantifying law in police‐citizen encounters, and race‐based policing.
Originality/value
This study provides a comprehensive review of the literature, and an empirical analysis, regarding officer decision making as it pertains to the issuing of tickets relative to other police actions (i.e. arrest) in traffic and nontraffic situations.
Details
Keywords
Donald T. Hawkins, Frank J. Smith, Bruce C. Dietlein, Eugene J. Joseph and Robert D. Rindfuss
Results of an in‐depth study of the electronic publishing (EP) industry, with particular emphasis on the consumer marketplace, are presented. EP was defined as the use of…
Abstract
Results of an in‐depth study of the electronic publishing (EP) industry, with particular emphasis on the consumer marketplace, are presented. EP was defined as the use of electronic media to deliver information to users in electronic form or from electronic sources. EP is contrasted to electronic‐aided publishing, which is the use of electronic means to format and produce a conventional information product. An “information chain” model of the information flows between publishers (or producers) and users was helpful in understanding the boundaries of EP and defining its markets. Following a review of the conventional publishing industry, a model of the forces driving the EP industry was derived. Although technology is the strongest driving force, it is by no means the only one; the others are economics, demographics, social trends, government policies, applications growth, and industry trends. Each of these forces is described in detail in a “cause and effect” scenario, from which keys to success in the EP marketplace are derived. Although there is some turmoil in the industry, with new services continuing to appear and disappear, the overall picture is one of optimism. EP should be a significant part of consumers' lives by the end of the decade.
Shadid N. Bhuian, Eid. S. Al‐Shammari and Omar A. Jefri
The authors explore the nature of commitment, job satisfaction and job characteristics, and the nature of the interrelationships among these variables concerning expatriate…
Abstract
The authors explore the nature of commitment, job satisfaction and job characteristics, and the nature of the interrelationships among these variables concerning expatriate employees in Saudi Arabia. An examination of a sample of 504 expatriate employees reveals that these employees are, by and large, indifferent with respect to their perceptions of commitment, job satisfaction, and job characteristics. In addition, the results provide strong support for (1) the influence of job satisfaction on commitment, (2) the influence of job variety on commitment, and (3) the influence of job autonomy, identity, and feedback on job satisfaction.
Ronald J. Burke, James Graham and Frank J. Smith
Two studies examined the relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction in two service organizations.
Abstract
Purpose
Two studies examined the relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction in two service organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction data were gathered separately and aggregated to branch or store level measures.
Findings
The data indicated generally positive and statistically significant relationships between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Customers reported greater service satisfaction with branches or stores whose employees indicated higher levels of work and employees' satisfaction.
Originality/value
Implications for the delivery of high quality customer service are offered.
Details
Keywords
Yuning Wu and Ivan Y. Sun
This study aims to examine Chinese college students' perceptions of police.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine Chinese college students' perceptions of police.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey data collected from over 400 college students in two cities, the study empirically analyzes the global and specific perceptions of police among Chinese college students and factors that accounted for the variation in Chinese college students' evaluations of police. The study incorporates a broader range of explanatory variables to explain Chinese college students' attitudes toward the police, including demographic characteristics, crime and criminal justice experience, perceptions of quality of life, and locality. The study reviews research on public perceptions of police published in Chinese academic journals.
Findings
College students' global satisfaction with police as well as their specific evaluations of police fairness, effectiveness, and integrity were significantly related to their crime and criminal justice experience, perceived quality of life, and locality. Students' background characteristics only had a weak effect on attitudes toward police.
Research limitations/implications
More empirical research is warranted to gauge the extent of Chinese satisfaction with police and police performance. Future research should continue incorporating crime and criminal justice factors into analysis.
Practical implications
Findings of the study provide Chinese police administrators with useful references and directions to improve police‐community relations..
Originality/value
This study represents one of the few attempts to empirically assess Chinese citizens' perceptions of police. It examines not just Chinese college students' global satisfaction with the police, but also their more specific views of various areas of police performance including fairness, effectiveness, and integrity.
Details
Keywords
Kenneth J. Novak, Brad W. Smith and James Frank
Shaping and monitoring the behavior of street‐level officers has continued to be a difficult task for police managers, and this task may prove to be more difficult as modern…
Abstract
Shaping and monitoring the behavior of street‐level officers has continued to be a difficult task for police managers, and this task may prove to be more difficult as modern departments increasingly rely on proactive law enforcement for the delivery of police services. A popular method to shape police behavior is holding officers, departments and municipalities civilly liable for street‐level behavior. While it may be assumed fear of civil litigation influences the manner in which the police interact with the public, there is little empirical evidence for this claim; in fact, the frequent use of civil liability claims is poised to have an unanticipated side effect on contemporary policing. Officers may engage in fewer proactive law enforcement activities as a way to insulate them from litigation. This study examines whether experience with and attitudes toward civil liability influence the behavior of police officers, with particular attention on officer propensity to make arrests, use force, conduct searches and initiate encounters with suspects. Multivariate results indicate attitudes toward civil liability are weak and inconsistent predictors of behavior.
Details
Keywords
Vivian B. Lord, Joseph B. Kuhns and Paul C. Friday
This paper aims to examine the impact of the implementation of community‐oriented policing and problem solving in a small city.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of the implementation of community‐oriented policing and problem solving in a small city.
Design/methodology/approach
Citizen surveys that measure perceptions and activities of the police are completed before and three years after broader implementation of community policing. Because the existing literature supports the influence of a number of individual, neighborhood, and situational characteristics, several variables are included and controlled.
Findings
The results show that although the police invest a great deal of time building partnerships with and problem solving in neighborhoods, there are no significant differences over time in citizen satisfaction with police or in fear of crime. Personal contact with police mediates the influence of individual and neighborhood characteristics on citizen satisfaction. Police presence remains a common significant predictor of citizen satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
Ensuring anonymity of subjects requires different samples between data collection periods; however, the same stratified random sampling process is used both times. The pre/post research design allows for measuring changes over time, but the lack of a control city threatens internal and external validity.
Practical implications
Citizen satisfaction is an important concern for all police and local governmental administrators; therefore, the findings of this study are useful for smaller agencies that are implementing or planning to implement community‐oriented policing.
Originality/value
With its focus on a small city and the capability to survey citizens before department‐wide implementation, this article expands research conducted on citizen satisfaction with police in a small town.