To present systematic social observation (SSO) data concerning the work routines and citizen interactions of suburban police officers, including a detailed breakdown of how these…
Abstract
Purpose
To present systematic social observation (SSO) data concerning the work routines and citizen interactions of suburban police officers, including a detailed breakdown of how these officers spent time on their shift and the nature in which they interacted with citizens.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents systematic social observation.
Findings
In some ways, suburban police officers behave much like other types of officers, especially the manner in which they spend time alone on shift. There appears to be some degree of variability in terms of the nature of police‐citizen encounters both within the observed group of suburban officers and between them and other types of police.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers interested in describing variations in police behavior across agencies should strive to include suburban agencies in their samples, so that it can be investigated whether or not, and to what degree, suburban community structures impact police behavior on the street.
Originality/value
Of value to those involved with, or interested in, variations in police behavior across suburban communities.
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John Liederbach, Eric J. Fritsch, David L. Carter and Andra Bannister
The purpose of this paper is to provide direct comparisons between the views of citizens and officers within a jurisdiction that has been largely influenced by the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide direct comparisons between the views of citizens and officers within a jurisdiction that has been largely influenced by the community‐oriented policing movement. Comparisons between police and citizen views are specifically made in terms of: the relative importance of crime problems in the jurisdiction; the value of community policing programs; overall satisfaction with the performance of the department; and strategies designed to improve the performance of the department.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology of the study is officer and citizen surveys.
Findings
Officers and citizens significantly differed in their assessment of the importance of specific crime problems in the jurisdiction, the value of community policing programs, the degree to which they were satisfied with the performance of the department, and their assessment of improvement strategies. These differences are discussed within the context of previous literature that has focused on the implementation and continued acceptance of community policing.
Research limitations/implications
Findings are derived from surveys conducted in one jurisdiction. Findings are limited to the degree that citizen/officer views within this jurisdiction differ from those found elsewhere.
Originality/value
The study utilizes seldom‐used concurrent surveys of officers and citizens within a single jurisdiction. The method allows for the direct comparison of police and citizen views. Thus, this paper provides evidence regarding the feasibility of collaboration between police and citizens, and the continued viability of community‐oriented strategies.
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The concept of state-corporate crime developed during the late 1980s and early 1990s in a series of papers authored by Michalowski and Kramer (Kramer, 1990; Kramer & Michalowski…
Abstract
The concept of state-corporate crime developed during the late 1980s and early 1990s in a series of papers authored by Michalowski and Kramer (Kramer, 1990; Kramer & Michalowski, 1990; Michalowski & Kramer, 1987). They specifically define state-corporate crime as:Illegal or socially injurious actions that result from a mutually reinforcing interaction between (1) policies and/or practices in pursuit of goals of one or more institutions of political governance and (2) policies and/or practices in pursuit of goals of one or more institutions of economic production and distribution. (Michalowski & Kramer, 2006a, 2006b, p. 15)
Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer, Hans D. Schmalzried, Brooke E. Mathna and Krista L. Long
The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of drug‐related police corruption. It identifies and describes incidents in which police officers were arrested for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of drug‐related police corruption. It identifies and describes incidents in which police officers were arrested for criminal offenses associated with drug‐related corruption.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles identified through the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts queries. Statistical analyses include classification trees to examine causal pathways between drugs and corruption.
Findings
Data were analyzed on 221 drug‐related arrest cases of officers employed by police agencies throughout the USA. Findings show that drug‐related corruption involves a wide range of criminal offenses, and that cocaine is the most prevalent drug. Older officers and those employed by large agencies are less likely than others to lose their jobs after a drug‐related arrest.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited by the quality of the available content in each case. The data are also limited to cases that involve an official arrest. Additionally, the data are the result of a filtering process that includes the exercise of media discretion as to types of news stories reported and the content devoted to particular news stories.
Practical implications
The data provide documentation of drug‐related corruption and the drug trade in 141 police agencies and the need for police executives to develop effective strategies to address it.
Originality/value
The study augments the few drug corruption studies published and is the only study known to describe drug‐related corruption at many police agencies across the USA.
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Charles Frank Klahm IV, James Frank and John Liederbach
The study of police use of force remains a primary concern of policing scholars; however, over the course of the last several decades, the focus has shifted from deadly and…
Abstract
Purpose
The study of police use of force remains a primary concern of policing scholars; however, over the course of the last several decades, the focus has shifted from deadly and excessive force to a broader range of police behaviors that are coercive in nature, but not necessarily lethal, violent, or physical. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the critical disjuncture between the conceptualization of police use of force and operationalizations of the construct throughout policing literature.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study provides a thorough, systematic review of 53 police use of force studies published in peer-reviewed outlets. These manuscripts were reviewed to determine whether authors cited a conceptualization of use of force and explained how the construct was operationalized, as well as the police behaviors captured in measures of force across studies, and how the data were collected.
Findings
The findings suggest that police use of force is conceptually ambiguous, as 72 percent of the studies failed to cite a conceptual definition of the construct. Moreover, there is little consistency in the types of police behaviors operationalized as force across studies.
Originality/value
The authors illustrate that problems associated with poorly conceptualized constructs make it more difficult for researchers to interpret empirical findings. That is, conceptual ambiguity has resulted in a line of literature that includes inconsistent and contradictory findings, making it difficult to summarize in a meaningful way and inform policy.
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Back in 2005 lawyers for the Milwaukee school board decided to exclude Viagra and similar erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs from health coverage for the teachers’ union because…
Abstract
Back in 2005 lawyers for the Milwaukee school board decided to exclude Viagra and similar erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs from health coverage for the teachers’ union because, well, they were simply too expensive.1 And besides, so the school board explained, such drugs are used primarily for recreational sex and are not a medical necessity.
James J. Chriss received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994. He is currently Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Cleveland…
Abstract
James J. Chriss received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994. He is currently Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Cleveland State University. His latest book is Beyond Community Policing: From Early American Beginnings to the 21st Century (Paradigm Publishers, 2010).
Eric E. Otenyo and Earlene A. S. Camarillo
This essay explores the reactions within police departments toward sexual harassment scandals. The study describes and analyzes reported cases of sexual harassment and misconduct…
Abstract
This essay explores the reactions within police departments toward sexual harassment scandals. The study describes and analyzes reported cases of sexual harassment and misconduct in police departments to discern citizen narratives and political consequences for elected officials. This assessment hypothesizes that political leadership is an essential element in establishing organizational cultures that combat sexual harassment in local governments. The article contributes to the knowledge about possible gaps in agenda setting, especially for a policy area in which knowledge and problem definitions continue to evolve.