International Journal of Police Science and Management

Publisher:: Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication date:: 2021-09-06

ISBN:: 1461-3557

Issue Number

No. 26-2, June 2024

Latest documents

‘Unless one of us dies’: The stickiness of taint and perceptions of support in policing
The behaviour of certain members of a profession can ‘taint’ other workers. In this qualitative study, we explore how police officers perceive media constructions of their profession. Participating police officers feel ridiculed by the media and are overwhelmed by instances of public disdain. They acknowledge moments of esteem, often as a result of self-sacrifice, yet lament that these are generally temporary and fleeting, and instead, their profession is tarnished by the heinous acts committed by some police officers, constructed as representative of the profession as a whole. We discuss police officers’ understanding of the stickiness of ‘taint’ within their occupation and how it can affect perceptions of the self.
The persistent attractions of low-tech: Challenging the efficiency paradigm of forensic technology
Questioning the link between organizational justice and external procedural justice in police–citizen interactions
External procedural justice in police–citizen interactions has been found to have a relationship with cooperation, compliance, and police legitimacy. The individual dimensions of organizational justice comprised of distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice, have been less frequently examined. Organizational justice has been found to be associated with many desirable outcomes both within policing and in other professions. This study utilized a convenience sample (n = 106) of police officers from five school district police departments in the Houston, Texas metropolitan area. The study combined two sections of two existing instruments for the purpose of examining the extent to which officer perceptions of the four dimensions of organizational justice contribute to officer perceptions of external procedural justice in police–citizen interactions. Results indicated officers rated themselves very highly on the levels of external procedural justice they demonstrated with the public. Officers rated their supervisors highest in the interpersonal justice dimension of organizational justice. Surprisingly, no significant associations emerged between any of the four dimensions of organizational justice and external procedural justice. The findings of this study were inconsistent with the majority of extant research which found that organizational justice correlates with and predicts external procedural justice. This study indicated that officers may overestimate their own utilization of external procedural justice. In addition, it suggests the four dimensions of organizational justice may not predict external procedural justice and raises questions regarding the relationship between these two variables.
The predictive validity of cognitive ability and personality tests toward police on-the-job training
This study investigates the predictive validity of psychometric tests included in the Norwegian Police University College selection process for 106 accepted trainees. Predictor variables were from the Scales (lst, verbal admin, lt-no) cognitive ability tests and the Shapes (basic) personality test, distributed by the contractor Aon Assessment Norway AS (formerly cut-e). The criterion variable was from the on-the-job training phase of the police bachelor program, in which instructors rated trainees’ work behaviors two years after initial selection. The results revealed a lack of predictive validity, as witnessed in both correlational analysis and a regression approach controlling for police academy performance. Contrary to expectations, cognitive ability test scores negatively predicted trainee work behaviors in the regression model. These results are compared with those of other relevant studies and are evaluated in light of this study's main strengths and weaknesses. The results of this study deserve an exploratory interpretation, given the limited sample size and a lack of hitherto peer-reviewed psychometric documentation for the tests. This study substantiates the need for further research with respect to the use of psychometric tests in law enforcement selection, particularly contractor-distributed tests, which are rarely studied.
Sexism and misogyny as traits of police culture: Problems, red flags and solutions
The aim of this article is to utilise pre-existing literature to explore the problems of misogyny and sexism currently found to be operating within the police service, and to provide recommendations around reform. This article analyses problems associated with sexism and misogyny at a time of media scrutiny following the Baroness Casey Review of the Metropolitan Police culture, which identifies these concepts as an institutional problem that can impact upon female police officers and women in general. The article begins by highlighting the importance of understanding the differences between sexism and misogyny and then reviews potential strategies towards police reform. These changes include a review of policy and law, use of education, leadership changes, reform to the Police Complaints and Discipline system, male peer support and more-effective whistleblowing processes. The article concludes by establishing that all strategies are worthy of consideration to reform a negative police culture. It also acknowledges that failures to respond to the challenges of dealing with misogyny and sexism effectively, will result in the strengthening of a police culture that continues to damage the police’s reputation and public trust and which will consequently affect all who are victim and witness to this behaviour.
Challenges and opportunities for minority students at police academies: A national sample
This article examines institutional factors influencing graduation rates for police trainees of different races and ethnic groups. The study is based on the Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies data collected in 2013 and 2018. It uses both analysis of variance and ordinary least squares regressions to analyze the data. Overall, the article reports a statistically significant improvement for Hispanic trainees’ graduation rates when comparing 2013 and 2018. However, the same was not true for Black students at the police academies who continued to trail in 2018 compared with both White and Hispanic students. Our findings show that the length of the program and the location of the academy in the South were negatively influencing the graduation rates for all groups of cadets in both datasets. Other findings show that minority trainees were more likely to succeed where minimum education requirements for the instructors were in place, academies were affiliated with academic institutions, field training was the preferred mode of instruction, and where dormitories were not present.
Policing social media: Are procedural justice principles guiding Canadian police interactions online?
Police presence on social media has become increasingly common in recent years and has arguably altered policing in many ways. Although research in this area is increasing, the growing presence of police on a range of social media platforms requires further examination of the various nuances that continue to emerge regarding this symbiosis. To that end, only a small number of studies have examined this topic from the perspective of police personnel in the Canadian context. Accordingly, drawing on in-depth interviews with police personnel overseeing police social media sites, this article examines how Canadian police services manage negativity and conflict online. The findings suggest that police services address negativity and conflict on their social media sites by drawing on the principles of procedural justice to guide their interactions. We discuss the implications of these findings and how police–public social media interactions might be improved.
Embedding a domestic violence specialist in a police station: Police perspectives and engagement
This article discusses the findings of an evaluation of the co-location of a domestic violence specialist embedded in a regional police station in Queensland, Australia. With widespread police failures in the response to domestic and family violence (DFV), innovation is critical. There is mounting evidence that DFV victim-survivors are more satisfied when police respond collaboratively with specialist DFV workers, but police support is critical for translation to broad practice. Using a range of data sources, our evaluation found three key benefits of co-location: strengthening of victim support, improved integrated response and enhancement of police practice. This article adds new knowledge about integrated responses to domestic violence, particularly where there are evidence gaps in police perspectives. In view of these findings, implications for practice support further implementation of co-locational responses in Australia.
Assaults on police officers: A comparison between England and Wales and New Zealand from 2015 to 2022
This research discussed in this article examined assaults on police officers in England and Wales and in New Zealand between 2015 and 2022. Although different sources of data were used to examine the number of assaults on police officers in the three countries, it was found that the number of assaults on police officers in England and Wales and in New Zealand increased during this period. England and Wales experienced a 56% increase in the number of assaults on police officers, while the New Zealand Police experienced a 41% increase. Using the population of each country as a basis there was an increase in the number of assaults of more than 16% in New Zealand and more than 63% in England and Wales. The main limitation of the research was that the information that was available lacked detail, and this would limit the development of policy to minimize the threat to police officers of being assaulted.
Time to drop the mounted: Reimagining a Royal Canadian Gendarmerie
As Canada's federal police service celebrates its 150th anniversary, the past and future of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police/Gendarmerie royale du Canada (RCMP/GRC) is coming under intense scrutiny. Dogged by historical legacies and endemic external and internal controversies, this national police service with military characteristics serves the Canadian state loyally and professionally. The anachronistic connection with horses in the English name has long outlived its usefulness and it is time that Canada's federal police service embraced more French, greater inclusivity in the ranks, better accountability and a functional approach to provision of national security policing at higher levels. A new refresh requires rebranding into a truly effective gendarmerie adequately manned, trained and equipped for the task, already anticipated in the French name. Refocusing on federal roles at the national level without the distraction of contract policing would give the RCMP/GRC greater purpose and coherence. The aligned symmetry of a Royal Canadian Gendarmerie/Gendarmerie royale du Canada (RCG/GRC) provides a basis for necessary change to happen and reconciliation to begin.