Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management

Lambert, Eric; Liu, Jianhong; Jiang, Shanhe

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-12-2022-0156pmid: N/A

Police officers' attitudes toward their employing organizations are impacted by officers' perceptions of justice within the organization itself, and these perceptions can affect the bond that officers form with their organization. The current study explored how perceptions of three dimensions of organizational justice (i.e. interpersonal, procedural and distributive justice) were related to the affective (i.e. voluntary) organizational commitment of Chinese police officers.Design/methodology/approachThe data for the current study came from a voluntary survey of 589 Chinese police officers in three areas, one each in southern, central and western China.FindingsBased on an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression equation, interpersonal, procedural and distributive justice had similar sized positive associations with organizational commitment.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings support the contention that perceptions of organizational justice views are related to the commitment of Chinese police officers.Practical implicationsRaising the interpersonal, procedural and distributive justice views should raise the level of affective commitment of officers.Social implicationsEnhancing the justice views of officers should benefit officers by treating them more fairly, as well as benefiting the police organization by increasing commitment of officers.Originality/valueThere has been limited research on how the different forms of organizational justice are related to officer commitment, especially among Chinese officers.

Davila, Mario A.; Hartley, Deborah J.; Brown, Ben

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-03-2023-0041pmid: N/A

The purpose of this study is to gain a broad understanding of public perceptions of the police and violence.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses survey data collected from a nationally representative sample (N = 1,223) by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago. Descriptive, bivariate correlational and multivariate regression analyses of the data were conducted.FindingsDescriptive analyses show the populace is equally concerned about the police use of violence and violence against the police, but bivariate analyses indicate the two types of concern are unrelated, and multivariate regression analyses show that few variables impact both types of concern. Consistent with prior research, young people and racial/ethnic minorities reported greater concerns about police violence than did older adults and Whites, yet neither age nor race/ethnicity impacted concerns about violence against the police. Perceived mistreatment by the police was the only variable which impacted perceptions of police violence and violence against the police in a consistent and cogent manner.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine public perceptions of the police as both the agents and victims of violence. The results indicate public perceptions of the police are more complex than was previously believed.

Navarro, John C.; Hansen, Michael A.

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-03-2023-0035pmid: N/A

The purpose of this study is to explore the ideological gaps on police use of force.Design/methodology/approachIn a national-level survey distributed via Mechanical Turk (MTurk) (n = 979), the authors explore the role that respondents' political ideology plays in the approval of police use of force across a range of scenarios.FindingsAcross all scenarios, self-identified conservative respondents maintain strong approval of police use of force. In comparison, liberal respondents provide more variance in their views on approval of police use of force based on the scenario. The scenarios where there are small gaps in approval between the two ideologies are when reasonable force is used toward a violent threat.Social implicationsThere are specific circumstances where the messaging surrounding use of force can create agreement (reasonable) or disagreement (excessive) among conservatives and liberals.Originality/valueConservatives and liberals demonstrate gaps across an even larger set of use of force scenarios.

Cho, Joon Tag

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-12-2022-0148pmid: N/A

The author explored the direct and indirect relationships between policing and citizen satisfaction, considering both the policing and neighborhood context at the regional level.Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted regression and path analysis based on the combined data of 190 local governments from the Korean National Police Agency, the Korean Crime Victim Survey and Statistics Korea.FindingsPatrol officers, a public safety budget, criminal arrests and perceived safety were positively associated with citizen satisfaction, whereas drinking rate was negatively associated with citizen satisfaction. The arrest rate partially mediated the relationship between the public safety budget and citizen satisfaction. In addition, the relationship between drinking rate and citizen satisfaction with police was partially mediated by perceived safety.Practical implicationsPolice and local governments should enhance citizen satisfaction by improving poor indicators of policing and neighborhood context and by considering the dynamics between factors.Originality/valueStudies analyzing the mediating effects on citizen satisfaction with police are still lacking.

Somers, Logan J.; Terrill, William

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-04-2023-0047pmid: N/A

The focus of the current study is to assess whether officers' broad attitudinal orientations are linked with their situational perceptions of danger in various armed citizen encounters.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on survey data from 672 officers employed at a large metropolitan police department. The police culture literature is used to inform measures of occupational stress, danger, citizen distrust, views of upper management, and role orientation in relation to how officers perceive danger across a series of scenarios involving armed citizens that varied in terms of firearm placement and citizen resistance. Along with a host of control variables, a series of multivariate models are used to evaluate the degree to which these aggregated cultural views may shape officers' situational perceptions of danger.FindingsThe results indicate that a stronger endorsement of broad attitudinal orientations involving occupational danger and citizen distrust are linked with higher perceptions of danger in armed-citizen encounters, especially as the situations become more discretionary.Originality/valueEmpirical research related to police culture has typically relied upon highly aggregated assessments of how officers view their occupational and organizational work environments. However, yet to be explored is whether these broad views impact officers' assessments of specific encounters, particularly those that are dangerous in nature. The findings from this study also have the potential to inform ambiguous use of force standards that are heavily influenced by officers' situational assessments of danger.

Carter, Travis; Wolfe, Scott E.; Nam, Yongjae; Lawson, Spencer G.

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-06-2023-0076pmid: N/A

This study aims to evaluate a promising community-oriented policing strategy called “front porch roll call” (FPRC), which involves conducting roll calls in public forums.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methods approach was used by drawing on survey data, field observations and qualitative interviews to describe how FPRCs were implemented in Saginaw, MI from 2019 to 2022, and how they can be successfully implemented to operate in accordance with the theoretical foundations of community-oriented policing.FindingsSurvey data from FPRC attendees reported improvements in their perceptions of police legitimacy, trust in the police and procedural fairness—each of which are vital pathways to developing collaborative crime prevention initiatives in community-oriented policing. Qualitative interviews and field observations provided unique insights into areas of improvement and ways to enhance sustainability for future use.Originality/valueCommunity-oriented policing offers a philosophical approach to addressing crime problems through the formation of localized, collaborative solutions that come from police-community partnerships. A key implementation challenge is that such programs can fail to align their initiatives with the theoretical principles of community policing. FPRCs offer an innovative solution that operates closely with the spirit of community-oriented policing. Data from a mixed-methods evaluation provide further insights into their challenges with implementation and ways to improve upon them.

White, David R.; Schafer, Joseph

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-05-2023-0065pmid: N/A

Policing scholars have largely ignored the workgroup dynamics of police command staffs. These officers work closely at the top of police organizations, promoting strategic objectives and overseeing significant changes. As leaders, emotional regulation is critical to the maintenance of internal and external relationships. Only a few research studies address emotional intelligence (EI) among police leaders. The current study combines these two issues to examine whether emotionally intelligent leaders report better perceptions of workgroup fit with their respective command staffs.Design/methodology/approachUsing a survey of 304 United States (US) command staff officers attending the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy (NA), the authors apply person-environment fit theory and test several hypotheses using structural equation modeling.FindingsCommand staff officers with better EI report significantly better perceptions of workgroup fit, suggesting that they may be better equipped to navigate the command staff workgroup dynamics in this complex environment that demands high emotional regulation. Workgroup fit was also significantly higher among higher ranking officers and among officers racialized as White.Originality/valueFew studies have addressed perceptions of workgroup fit among command staff officers, and little attention has been given to the concept of EI. The authors add to these two important areas of research and provide evidence that emotional intelligence is an important characteristic for leaders when considering how well command staffs work together. This finding may have implications for the efficacy of agencies to facilitate change efforts or to carry out daily operations.

McIntyre, Michael Louis; Hodgkinson, Tarah; Caputo, Tullio

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-11-2022-0143pmid: N/A

This study aims to provide information concerning practices for creating strategic plans in municipal policing organizations and their use in practice.Design/methodology/approachThis study surveyed a sample of Canadian police services, including four of the ten largest services in Canada, to investigate their planning practices and the study’s findings to the results of a content analysis of strategic plans reported by Rogers et al. (2020). This study did not conduct content analysis and therefore relied on the findings of Rogers et al. (2020).FindingsSome respondents indicated they do not apply some practices generally considered advisable. Other respondents indicated they undertake a practice even though doing so is not evident from a review of the associated strategic plans.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is based entirely on self-reported survey data. The study did not interview respondents to find out why they responded as they did.Practical implicationsThis study points to specific improvements municipal policing organizations could adopt which offer the prospect of creating better strategic plans and better strategic planning outcomes.Social implicationsPolicing organizations are important institutions in society. As a regular part of their activities, they interact with a broad cross-section of the society within which they operate. This paper presents ideas concerning how policing organizations can improve how they adapt themselves to their social environment to improve those interactions.Originality/valueNo other study collects self-reported data on how police services conduct strategic planning and use strategic plans at this level of detail.

Keaton, Jacquelyn; Black, Kristen Jennings; Houdmont, Jonathan; Beck, Emma; Roddy, David; Chambers, Johnathon; Moon, Sabrina

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-05-2023-0056pmid: N/A

Community-police relations have gained increasing public attention during the past decade. The purpose of the present study was to better understand the relationship between perceived community support and police officer burnout and engagement.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered via online survey from 117 officers from a city police department in the Southeastern United States.FindingsCommunity support was negatively correlated with burnout and positively correlated with engagement. Moreover, multiple regression analyses showed that community support explained significant incremental variance in most dimensions of burnout and engagement, above and beyond demographic factors and community stressors. Qualitative results showed that police officers had mixed perceptions of how they were viewed by the general public, with more negative than positive responses. However, officers felt more positively perceived in their own communities, but concerns were raised that national events affected the perceptions of officers even in positive relationships with their communities. Finally, officers felt that public perceptions impacted their job satisfaction, job performance and personal lives.Practical implicationsThe results have practical implications for how to encourage positive interactions between officers and their community, with recommendations for both law enforcement leaders and civilians.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few that highlights the officers' perspective on how public perceptions affect their work. This is important in understanding how to maximize quality community interactions while minimizing conditions that would increase burnout.

James, Lois; James, Stephen; Mitchell, Renée Jean

doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-01-2023-0014pmid: N/A

The authors evaluated the impact of an anti-bias training intervention for improving police behavior during interactions with community members and public perceptions of discrimination.Design/methodology/approachFifty patrol officers from a diverse municipal agency were randomly selected to participate in an anti-bias intervention. Before and after the intervention, a random selection of Body Worn Camera (BWC) videos from the intervention group as well as from a control group of officers was coded using a validated tool for coding police “performance” during interactions with the public. Discrimination-based community member complaints were also collected before and after the intervention for treatment and control group officers.FindingsThe treatment group had a small but significant increase in performance scores compared to control group officers, F = 4.736, p = 0.009, R2ß < 0.01. They also had a small but significantly reduced number of discrimination-based complaints compared to control group officers, F = 3.042, p = 0.049, p2 = 0.015. These results suggest that anti-bias training could have an impact on officer behaviors during interactions with public and perceptions of discrimination.Originality/valueAlthough these results are from a single municipal police department, this is the first study to suggest that anti-bias trainings may have a positive behavioral impact on police officers as well as the first to illustrate the potential for their impact on community members' perceptions of biased treatment by officers.