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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:53 pm
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Results for police decision making
8 results foundAuthor: Rieken, Johannes Christian Title: Making situated police practice visible: a study examining professional activity for the maintenance of social control with video data from the field Summary: This PhD studies the professional practice of policing from a situated perspective. It explores with social psychological theories and methods how officers attend to incidents, showing that discretion exists within the ambiguity of a concrete situation that an officer interprets then and there. With Body-Worn Video(BWV), a head-mounted camera introduced into UK policing in 2007, officers record as part of their practice. Within the framework of Subjective Evidence-Based Ethnography (SEBE) (Lahlou, 2011) self-confrontation interviews of officers with their recordings allow insights into situated decision-making processes. I also became a Special Constable to train as an officer and organised a working group of police on the use of video, to gain insight into institutional factors. Hence, video use in policing is both an object of study and enabler of methodological innovation for this work. The empirical material is analysed to explore the interplay of institutions with concrete situations as displayed in officer recorded footage, focusing in particular on affordances (Gibson, 1986), connotations of action (Uexk=ull, 1956), sequential dimension (Knoblauch et al., 2006, Sacks et al., 1974) and social encounters (Goffman, 1961). The PhD develops 3 papers. Paper 1 focuses on discretion: crucial to the policing of an incident is whether it is pursued formally or informally. This categorisation occurs in a process where officers anticipate formal outcomes. They therefore often have discretion to construct an incident as warranting a formal response or not. So officers frame the situation as well as respond to it. Paper 2 expands on the formal/informal distinction to consider the trade-offs they have to make under cross constraints. Being able to simultaneously maintain an appearance of control Manning, 1977), adherence to due process, and attend to situational demands is only possible because officers have discretion in the process of co-constructing an incident in the 'correct' formats. Paper 3 discusses the relevance of seeing and visibility for policing. It also explores the impact of camera-mediated visibility on officer practice, therefore, addressing the implications of increasing visibility on policing and the biases resulting from using BWV as data for research. As the emphasis on appearance grows, officers lose the discretion that comes as part of interpreting a situation, forcing them to be more mechanistic in how they police incidents. Details: London: London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), 2013. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed March 18, 2015 at: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/775/ Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/775/ Shelf Number: 134966 Keywords: Law Enforcement Technology (U.K.)Police Decision MakingPolice DiscretionPolice Polices and PracticesVideo Recordings |
Author: Thompson II, Richard M. Title: Police Use of Force: Rules, Remedies, and Reforms Summary: Several high-profile police shootings and other law enforcement-related deaths in the United States have sparked intense protests throughout the country and a fierce debate in Congress concerning the appropriate level of force police officers should wield in a society that equally values public safety and the lives of each of its citizens under law. These incidents have been the subject of several congressional hearings, have prompted the introduction of various legislative measures, and have catalyzed a new civil rights movement in the United States aimed at reforming the criminal justice system. Reformers claim that police work too closely with local prosecutors resulting in insufficient oversight and have called for greater involvement by the federal government. The law enforcement community and its supporters have countered that these recent deaths are anomalous in otherwise exemplary police conduct, and that placing the federal government in direct regulation of state and local police would present an unwarranted intrusion into state and local affairs. To provide legal context for this debate, this report will address three overarching questions: (1) what are the constitutional rules governing an officer's use of force; (2) what role has Congress played in providing a remedy for a violation of these rules; and (3) what are the potential reforms to these rules and remedies? Rules. In a line of cases beginning in the mid-1980s, the Supreme Court ruled that all claims of excessive force occurring during an arrest or investigatory stop-deadly or otherwise-are governed by the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable seizures. Under prevailing judicial precedent, all uses of force must be "objectively reasonable" based on the totality of the circumstances viewed through the lens of the officer in the field. This requires a fact-intensive inquiry that is not easily reduced to categorical rules, but some general trends can be discerned from the case law. For instance, the courts have been deferential to officers in the field who are required to make split-second decisions in dangerous situations. Also, officers need not use the least intrusive means to effectuate a seizure so long as their actions are reasonable. Remedies. In an effort to provide teeth to federal constitutional restraints, Congress has enacted three federal statutes that accord various remedies for police use of excessive force. First is the federal criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. 242, which prohibits officers from willfully depriving another of a constitutional right while acting under color of law. Enacted shortly after the Civil War, many have argued that Section 242's specific intent mens rea requirement is too high a threshold to provide an adequate deterrence to excessive force. Moreover, the federal circuit courts are split on how to apply this test, with some requiring a strict form of intent and others permitting a reckless disregard jury instruction. Second is the federal civil rights statute, 42 U.S.C. 1983, which provides a civil cause of action for deprivations of one's constitutional rights. While generally viewed as successful in providing monetary damages to those injured by officers in the field, the doctrine of qualified immunity has frequently shielded officers from liability when the law was not "clearly established" at the time. Third is the more recently enacted "pattern or practice" statute, 42 U.S.C. 14141, which authorizes the Attorney General to sue local municipalities whose police forces have engaged in a pattern of excessive force under the Fourth Amendment. Reforms. Various reform bills have been introduced in the 114th Congress to provide additional restraints on police use of force, including the Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act of 2015 (H.R. 2052), which would criminalize the use of chokeholds, and the Police Accountability Act of 2015 (H.R. 1102), which would create a new federal crime for certain homicides committed by law enforcement officers. Additionally, several bills would place requirements on states to report use of force statistics to the federal government. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2015. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: R44256: Accessed November 6, 2015 at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44256.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44256.pdf Shelf Number: 137208 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice Decision MakingPolice DiscretionPolice MisconductPolice Use of Force |
Author: Todd, Hilary Ellen Marta Title: The effects of citizen monitoring on the police: an examination of citizen monitoring and police use of justified force Summary: Citizen monitoring of police officers is an area of increasing importance in law enforcement research. The most powerful weapon against police misconduct is rapidly becoming the cellular phone and other hand held photography and videography devices. The practice of recording the police conducting their work either properly or improperly and subsequently uploading the footage onto the Internet has had marked effects on members of the force. Monitoring and surveillance are known to have a significant impact on individuals and their resulting actions (Campbell and Carlson, 2002). This study offers an examination of surveillance on the police population. Through the use of a qualitative approach, the present study explores the impact citizen monitoring has on police officers. The study addresses officers' perceptions of citizen monitoring, and the impact the interviewees felt it had on their use of justified force. Guided by the question: "What impact does citizen monitoring have on police use of force, and would body worn cameras (BWC) serve as a means to mitigate this impact?", this exploratory study found that indeed, the officers interviewed may be impacted by citizen monitoring, and further, that a great deal of uneasiness exists within the force around the potential adoption of BWC technology. Details: Burnaby, BC: Simon Fraser University, 2015. 132p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: http://summit.sfu.ca/item/15420 Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://summit.sfu.ca/item/15420 Shelf Number: 134047 Keywords: Body-Worn CamerasCitizen MonitoringPolice AccountabilityPolice Decision MakingPolice DiscretionPolice Use of ForceSocial Media |
Author: College of Policing (U.K.) Title: Bail report. Pre-charge bail -- an exploratory study Summary: The College of Policing today released its study into pre-charge bail which looked at the reasons behind the length of bail required by police. It comes after the Government proposed legislation to limit bail, authorised by inspectors, to 28 days. The new legislation also recommends bail which is extended beyond 28 days should be authorised by a superintendent and cases where bail is extended for three months or more be agreed at magistrates' court. Police use pre-charge bail as a way for officers to question a suspect and then allow the individual to return to their normal routine while further investigations are carried out. The law also allows officers to attach conditions to bail which can protect complainants or witnesses, preserve evidence and mitigate the risk of further criminality. The legislation introduces the requirement for bail to be used only when it is necessary and proportionate - so many cases where bail is currently imposed will no longer meet the required standards and those suspects would be released unconditionally. The professional body for the police worked with nine forces over six months to gather evidence involving more than 17,000 cases. It found; The average length of time individuals spent on pre-charge bail, including extensions, was 53 days 41 per cent of all cases involving violence and sexual offences were bailed for more than 28 days Forensic analysis was one of the key drivers of long periods of pre-charge bail. The study found 60 per cent of cases involving suspects who were bailed for more than 90 days involved some form of forensic analysis Phone downloads was the most frequent type of forensic analysis given as a reason for bail Other reasons that were cited for longer periods of bail were the file being with the Crown Prosecution Service for a decision on charging and the need to obtain a professional witness statement, for example, from a medical practitioner. The study found the implications for imposing a 28 day limit could create some difficulties for officers and staff including; A significant proportion of cases that are likely to require conditions, such as violent and sex offences, are currently bailed for more than 28 days The majority of rape cases are currently bailed for more than 28 days A high proportion of cases where computer interrogation was cited as the reason for bail were sexual offences, with an average bail length of 84 days, which may be difficult to reduce A high proportion of cases where phone downloads were cited as the reason for bail were drug offences, for which the average number of days bailed was 71. Details: Ryton-on-Dunsmore, UK: College of Policing, 2016. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 7, 2016 at: http://www.college.police.uk/News/College-news/Pages/Pre-charge-bail-report.aspx Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.college.police.uk/News/College-news/Pages/Pre-charge-bail-report.aspx Shelf Number: 149202 Keywords: Alternatives to DetentionBailPolice Decision Making |
Author: Campbell, Bradley A. Title: Predictors of Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Investigations Summary: Existing literature has identified several victim credibility and case characteristics that have been focal to practitioner decision making in sexual assault cases. Much of this research has assessed the impact of case and victim characteristics most important to decisions to arrest and charge in cases of sexual assault. Comparatively less research has examined the individual case and victim attributes that impact pre-arrest decisions made by police investigators. The current study analyzed data from 481 sexual assault cases, investigated by the Houston Police Department Sexual Assault Unit, to examine the impact of victim credibility and case attributes on police investigators' pre-arrest decision to present a case to the prosecutor for charges to be accepted. The study builds on findings from prior research by informing an understanding of early decisions made by police investigators, and by applying the focal concerns and downstream orientation frameworks to explain these decisions. Specifically, the study answered the research questions: (1) What are the focal concerns of the pre-arrest decision to present cases to prosecutors; (2) Which specific attributes of victim credibility are correlated with police decisions to seek charges in sexual assault investigations; (3) Does the impact of case characteristics, suspect characteristics, and victim characteristics and behavior change when the suspect has been identified; (4) Are the correlates of police decision making different in non-stranger cases; and (5) Are case, suspect, or victim characteristics more focal to police decisions in non-stranger cases? Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression models were conducted to examine the focal concerns of pre-arrest police decisions using the full sample of cases, as well as two subsamples of cases in which at least one suspect was identified, and non-stranger cases. Overall, findings across the three samples were consistent, and revealed that victim characteristics and credibility concerns were subordinate to case characteristics. Case characteristics, particularly victim cooperation, obtainment of a confession, and the presence of a witness were the primary focal concerns in investigators' decision to present cases to the prosecutor. Findings, policy implications and future research directions are discussed. Details: Houston, TX: Sam Houston State University, 2015. 130p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed November 21, 2017 at: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1696945275?pq-origsite=gscholar Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1696945275?pq-origsite=gscholar Shelf Number: 148284 Keywords: Criminal Justice InvestigationPolice Decision MakingSexual Assault |
Author: Perry, David Title: Critical Factors in Police Use-of-Force Decisions Summary: This study investigated law enforcement officers' perceptions of the legal, normative, and practical considerations that are implicit in their decisions when faced with using physical force. Law enforcement officers observe and protect fundamental human rights. A significant problem, however, is that physical force is sometimes misused, impacting public confidence in police services. The study was framed by Durkheim's conflict theory and Beirie's concepts of police corporate culture and social control. It used a grounded theory method and predeveloped case scenarios presented to 2 male focus groups of 7 and 6 participants respectively, and 2 female focus groups of 5 and 7 participants, who were police officers in Canada, to explore for gender differences in response strategies, decisions to use force, and arguments for their decisions, following the model set forth by Waddington (2009). Additionally, data were also collected through 12 individual semistructured interviews. Open, axial, and selective manual coding was used in the data analysis. The data collection and analysis for this study resulted in the development of, the paradigm of safety, a theory that reflects how female officers' useof-force decisions differ from the decisions of their male colleagues. These decision factors, when incorporated into their response strategies, reflect the timing and need for using force. This study promotes positive social change by providing information that will inform police policies and training practices. This information will enable police administrators and legislators to enhance workplace safety for their officers that are more consistent with democratic rights and freedoms for citizens by reducing use-of-force in conflict circumstances Details: Minneapolis, MN: Walden University, 2015. 249p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 20, 2018 at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2269&context=dissertations Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2269&context=dissertations Shelf Number: 149864 Keywords: Police Decision MakingPolice DiscretionPolice MisconductPolice Policies and PracticesPolice TrainingPolice Use of Force |
Author: Baumgartner, Frank R. Title: Driving while Black (and male, and young, and...): Evidence of disparities at the margin and the intersection Summary: A police officer must make a quick judgment about whether to search a vehicle following a routine traffic stop. Similarly, officers must decide whether to carry out an arrest if the conducted search is successful. Informing profiles of whom to investigate, the psychology literature on perceptions of risk tells us that those perceived more threatening will face greater suspicion, and accordingly a greater likelihood of search and arrest. In the context of policing, the intersection of age, gender, and race are easily visible cues that officers may use, and indeed we know that young men of color are more likely to observe adverse police outcomes than older white women. When assessing whether disparities exist across intersectional identity groups in search and arrest decisions, common estimation strategies fall prey to the problem of infra-marginality: absent systematic disparities, the rates at which minority and white drivers are searched and arrested might still be different if the groups have different risk distributions. To avoid these pitfalls, we rely on a hierarchical Bayesian latent thresholds model developed by Simoiu, Corbett-Davies, and Goel 2017 and on a covariate-balancing matching algorithm developed by Imai and Ratkovic (2014). Using these techniques, this paper identifies important disparities in the accuracy of police inference about criminal suspicion, the rates at which drivers are subjected to fruitless and unwarranted search, and who is arrested even after being discovered with contraband of various amounts. Details: Paper prepared for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA, August 30-September 2, 2018. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 18, 2018 at: https://www.unc.edu/~fbaum/papers/BaumgartnerEtAl_APSA2018.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.unc.edu/~fbaum/papers/BaumgartnerEtAl_APSA2018.pdf Shelf Number: 151567 Keywords: Police Decision MakingPolice Decision-Making Racial Disparities Racial Profiling Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement Stop and Search |
Author: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Title: Police Use of Force: An Examination of Modern Policing Practices Summary: The relationship between law enforcement and many communities in the U.S. is fraught and challenging, particularly for those who experience violent crimes coupled with intensive police presence and surveillance. A number of recent developments suggest a renewed commitment to resolving this issue. For the first time in decades, the country has witnessed ubiquitous and sustained protests by young people, communities of color, and other impacted populations in cities all across the country. Further, in hope of fostering better community-police relationships, many law enforcement and city officials around the country have started implementing reform strategies to allay communities' concerns about actual or perceived unfair and unequal policing. Reform advocates often acknowledge the positive steps that some jurisdictions are undertaking, but reported cases of excessive force remain a national concern. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights of both law enforcement and the communities they serve, whose rights are protected under the Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. While allegations that some police force is excessive, unjustified, and discriminatory continue and proliferate, current data regarding police use of force is insufficient to determine if instances are occurring more frequently. The public continues to hear competing narratives by law enforcement and community members, and the hard reality is that available national and local data is flawed and inadequate. A central contributing factor is the absence of mandatory federal reporting and standardized reporting guidelines. Former FBI Director James Comey stated that: Not long after riots broke out in Ferguson [in 2014], I asked my staff to tell me how many people shot by police were African-American in this country. I wanted to see trends. I wanted to see information. They couldn't give it to me, and it wasn't their fault. Demographic data regarding officer-involved shootings is not consistently reported to us . . . [b]ecause reporting is voluntary, our data is incomplete and therefore, in the aggregate, unreliable. Until recently, data on officer-involved shootings were extremely rare; moreover, the data that are available is most frequently compiled by grassroots organizations, nonprofits, or media sources.5 Data are not only lacking regarding fatal police shootings, but data regarding all use of force are scant and incomplete: Data on lower level uses of force, which happen more frequently than officer-involved shootings, are virtually non-existent. This is due, in part, to the fact that most police precincts don't explicitly collect data on use of force, and in part, to the fact that even when the data is hidden in plain view within police narrative accounts of interactions with civilians, it is exceedingly difficult to extract. Without accurate data on police use of force, allegations by community members and actions by law enforcement not only sow distrust among communities and the police, making policing more dangerous, but also jeopardize public safety. Research consistently shows that positive relationships between community members and law enforcement are essential for safer communities. Citizens are more likely to aid in crime reduction and partner with police if they believe that law enforcement are engaging in equitable treatment and are impartial towards all. Communities are calling for greater transparency and accountability on the part of the police. Similarly, law enforcement officials are calling for better data on current practices, and instituting policies aimed at reducing bias and improving community relationships. All citizens in every community in this country live subject to police enforcement practices, and therefore benefit from effective, constitutionally sound police practices. Against this backdrop, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission) investigated rates of police use of force; questioned whether rates and instantiations of that use of force violate the civil rights of persons of color, persons with disabilities, LGBT communities, and low-income persons; and evaluated promising or proven policies and practices worth replicating to minimize unnecessary use of force and the perception and reality of discrimination in police use of force. The Commission held a briefing on April 20, 2015, on police practices and the use of deadly force in the U.S. The panels consisted of community leaders and police reform advocates, law enforcement and court officials, scholars, and legal experts. These experts convened to discuss the longstanding and emergent causes of the recent police-involved fatal shootings of people of color and other disadvantaged populations. Since 2015, several of the Commission's state advisory committees have also investigated police practices, and testimony and findings from their briefings are incorporated throughout the report. No single solution stands out as an immediate fix to the complex problem of police unauthorized use of force. After examining the literature and data available regarding police use of force in Chapters 1-3, the Commission highlights the following findings and recommendations, discussed in full in Chapter 4: Highlighted Findings: Police officers have the difficult and admirable job of providing crucial services to the communities they protect and serve. Their job sometimes puts them in harm's way and may require the use of force. Accordingly, police officers must operate with the highest standards of professionalism and accountability. Every community resident should be able to live, work, and travel confident in an expectation that interactions with police officers will be fair, operate consistent with constitutional norms, and be guided by public safety free from bias or discrimination. Unfortunately, today, too many communities are not confident in that expectation and do not trust fair police-community interactions. Communities have demanded reforms to foster better community-police relations and to prevent unjustified and excessive police uses of force. Accurate and comprehensive data regarding police uses of force is generally not available to police departments or the American public. No comprehensive national database exists that captures rates of police use of force. The best available evidence reflects high rates of use of force nationally, and increased likelihood of police use of force against people of color, people with disabilities, LGBT people, people with mental health concerns, people with low incomes, and those at the intersections of these groups. Lack of training and lack of funding for training leave officers and the public at risk. Critical training areas include tactical training, de-escalation techniques, understanding cultural differences and anti-bias mechanisms, as well as strategies for encounters with individuals with physical and mental disabilities. Repeated and highly publicized incidents of police use of force against persons of color and people with disabilities, combined with a lack of accurate data, lack of transparency about policies and practices in place governing use of force, and lack of accountability for noncompliance foster a perception that police use of force in communities of color and the disability community is unchecked, unlawful, and unsafe. Details: Washington, DC: The Commission, 2018. 230p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Report: Accessed January 23, 2019 at: https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/11-15-Police-Force.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/11-15-Police-Force.pdf Shelf Number: 154381 Keywords: Deadly ForcePolice AccountabilityPolice BrutalityPolice Decision MakingPolice MisconductPolice Use of ForcePolice-Citizen InteractionsPolice-Community Relationships |