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The growth of multimedia and increasing archival of this footage by public safety agencies presents as a watershed moment in converting this footage into actionable data that can inform and improve public safety practice. However, despite the considerable volume of archival footage, there remains a profound lack of research leveraging this data. While data access will always remain an issue to researchers, this article argues that a lack of tools and methodologies for working with this data remains a barrier. As such, this article introduces a technique blending the best practices of systematic social observation and event modeling for deconstructing body-worn cameras, or other recorded observational data. Incorporating an empirical example detailing the application of the technique, this article summarizes the value of this integrated technique, while providing guidance on different analytical approaches.

This paper explores if, and to what extent, shifting instruction modality influenced student learning outcome success in a writing intensive undergraduate course when COVID-19 shifted the method of the course's delivery. With consistency in the instructor of record and writing prompt, the present study isolated and evaluated variability across student performance as assessed by final research project grades produced by the instructor, and assessment scores by two independent evaluators. Results show that instruction modality is associated with student performance. Students enrolled during the transitioning 2020 period earned lower grades on their final project as assessed by the instructor of record than students did in other course modalities. Additionally, these students performed lower in the areas of comprehension and citation. Students enrolled in 2021 hybrid class performed objectively lower, with lower scores on their final project and in the domains of clarity, comprehension, courtesy, cleverness, and citation in comparison to their pre-COVID-19 2019 face-to-face peers. Writing intensive capstone courses require faculty to work closely with students; students are more focused and attentive to improving the quality of their research papers and perfect their writing when faculty provide individualized attention to students in a face-to-face teaching modality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The War on Drugs resulted in increased arrest rates for women. Most of these arrests have been for low-level offenses, often involving cannabis. As states legalize cannabis, it is important to examine trends in arrests for women in a setting of early cannabis law reform. We examine National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) monthly cannabis arrest rates in Colorado, one of the first two states to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes, from January 2010 through December 2016 using an interrupted time series approach. The interruption is conceptualized as the legalization of recreational marijuana in December 2012. Our results document an immediate statistically significant and sizable drop in cannabis-related arrests for women following legalization. However, troublesome racial and ethnic disparities persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has associated Craigslist.com and Backpage.com as sources of victimization, which in part resulted in the closure of the erotic services of each respective website. However, research also claims the introduction of Craigslist was associated with a reduction in female homicide rates across 30 large cities. This research acts as a supplemental analysis to Cunningham et al. by analyzing if Backpage.com, considered to be Craigslist's successor, has similar effects on female homicide rates. When including measures of interest in each respective website, we find that Backpage is associated with a decrease in homicide rates for women. The purpose of this study is to extend the study conducted by Cunningham et al. through supplemental analysis. To determine the effect of online clearinghouses on female homicide rates, interest measures in Backpage along with the female homicide rates from 120 single city metropolitan and micropolitan areas over 14 years (2004–2018) were analyzed using multiple regression analyses. The regression analyses show that there is a statistically significant relationship between interest in Backpage and homicide rates for women. We find that Backpage is associated with a decrease in homicide rates for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1970s, Egon Bitner offered a critique of police academy training, signified by the ability to train compliant soldier-bureaucrats rather than competent practitioners. Over the years, subsequent training models have been implemented, evaluated, and modified in an attempt to exceed what has been deemed adequate training. This research provides the first of several outcome evaluations as part of a longitudinal study on the efficacy of problem-based learning in a Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA). Data for this research include survey results for the period of 2009-2012. Early results suggest the problematic nature of the dualistic dilemma within police academy training. Discussed are adaptations in the context of this dilemma. Furthermore, the research explores how environmental factors and broader socialization and acculturation processes should be included within subsequent implementations.

Recent research in policing focuses on the nature of the police-citizen interaction itself. However, little of this research prioritizes the role that community member gender plays in these interactions. We examine how gender can influence a range of police outcomes including de-escalation and procedurally just policing behaviors. Using body-worn camera (BWC) footage from over 700 police-community member encounters, this study examines how gender, along with other situational factors including contact type, guardianship, and levels of resistance influence a range of police outcomes. Findings indicate that while gender did not directly influence police action, other situational characteristics of police encounters did. Police training protocols should focus on how police can account for some of these characteristics to improve decision-making and increase use of de-escalation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannabis legalisation was viewed with great concern by law enforcement personnel. Here we show that police perceptions of the societal effects of legalisation are shaped to a considerable degree by officers' geographic context. Urban communities tend to be relatively prosperous and hold political and social views characterised as progressive. In contrast, rural areas tend to be much less affluent, and their residents tend to share relatively conservative political and social views. Often lacking in resources, rural police agencies experience greater difficulty with the implementation of a broad new social policy such as cannabis legalisation. We investigate how the rural or urban and east/west geographic locus of a police officer tends to shape their perceptions on cannabis-related issues. Our qualitative study involved interviews conducted in 2018 and 2019 of 67 officers from 24 agencies across Washington. Officers were drawn from 11 urban, 1 rural, and 2 tribal police departments in western Washington, and 5 urban and 3 rural police departments in eastern Washington. Both common concerns and some differing perceptions were articulated by these officers from urban and rural agencies. The common circumstance of rural decline is present in Washington as elsewhere in the US; the findings reported here suggest that marijuana legalisation outcomes will likely entail greater challenges of adaptive implementation in rural areas experiencing decline than in urban centres in those states currently reforming their marijuana laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tests of self-control theory have examined a substantial number of criminal behaviors, but no study has examined the correlation of low self-control with software piracy. Using data collected from 302 students in this university, this study examined the correlation of low self-control with software piracy and the moderating role of associating with deviant peers in this correlation. Low self-control correlated with software piracy more strongly for those who had high associations with deviant peers than for students with low associations with deviant peers. Analysis indicated differential links for lack of moral attitude in relation to software piracy and favorable attitudes for software piracy for varying association with deviant peers.

This paper presents qualitative findings associated with the experiences of those tasked with enforcing laws within a novel environment of cannabis legalization. Research partner agencies and participants included local, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies in Washington and bordering areas of Idaho. Semi-structured interviews explored the pre- and post-legalization experiences of 92 police professionals (ranging from first-line officers to agency leadership). Findings suggest that law enforcement authorities in Washington felt insufficiently prepared for cannabis legalization, are now concerned about greater exposure of youth to cannabis as a result of legalization, and broadly believe that cannabis-related impaired driving has increased markedly and poses a major public safety problem for them. These issues, alongside pressing needs in the areas of agency staffing, training, and equipment related directly to dealing with cannabis legalization outcomes, necessitate attention by policymakers to mitigate major operational challenges. These same or similar issues are likely to arise in other states moving toward the commercialization and regulation of cannabis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past years the world has witnessed a myriad of 'viral' policing videos, some showing police officers in a positive light and many others showing officers in a negative light. Whichever direction these viral videos go, civility/incivility can be recognized in all of them. We believe that the proliferation of body-worn cameras (BWCs) offers a unique opportunity to study general (non-viral) police-suspect interactions at an interactional level. The present study documents incivility, as experienced by police officers and as experienced by suspects, using a sample of 152 police-suspect interactions involving one officer and one suspect. Key measures of incivility include interruptions, directed profanity, directed slurs, and proven deception. Results demonstrate that officers experience incivility in about one-third of one-on-one interactions. Interestingly, suspects experienced incivility at a similar rate. For the research site, interactions between officers and suspects of color were more likely to be civilized. Results reveal that officers in this study were significantly more likely to direct profanity and do so at a higher rate when interacting with male suspects. Although this study is inherently exploratory, the research offers practical implications for baselining interactions on key measures of incivility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has begun to explore to what extent I-502, the initiative authorising the retail distribution of recreational marijuana in Washington State, influenced a range of public safety outcomes. However, despite a growing body of research exploring potential impacts on crime, absent from this research has been a more nuanced analysis of officer workload. Specifically, an analysis into calls for service received and initiated by police. To document to what extent I-502 is associated with changes in the type of calls police agencies respond to, this research uses an interrupted time series, to analyse data provided from two border-straddling cities (Pullman, WA, and Moscow, ID). Findings indicate that recreational sales of marijuana is associated with noteworthy changes in police resourcing in the legalised state setting and the magnitude of those changes vary based on call type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies based on relatively weak analytical designs lacking contextualization and appropriate comparisons have reported that the legalization of marijuana has either increased or decreased crime. Recognizing the importance for public policy making of more robust research designs in this area during a period of continuing reform of state marijuana laws, this study uses a quasi-experimental, multi-group interrupted time-series design to determine if, and how, UCR crime rates in Colorado and Washington, the first two states to legalize marijuana, were influenced by it. Our results suggest that marijuana legalization and sales have had minimal to no effect on major crimes in Colorado or Washington. We observed no statistically significant long-term effects of recreational cannabis laws or the initiation of retail sales on violent or property crime rates in these states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of body-worn cameras (BWC) by policing agencies has received widespread support from many individuals, including citizens and police officers. Despite their increasing prevalence, little is known about how the point-of-view (POV) of these cameras affects perceptions of viewers. In this research, we investigate how POV interacts with skin color of citizens in police use of force videos to affect perceptions of procedural justice. In an experimental study, participants watched eight police use of force videos—half recorded from BWC and half from an onlooker's perspective—in which skin tone of the citizen varied. Results indicate that POV interacts with citizen skin tone such that, compared to the onlooker perspective, the BWC exacerbated viewer racial bias against dark skin tone citizens. Furthermore, identification with the police officer fully mediated this relationship. Results are discussed in relation to media theory and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of multimedia and increasing archival of this footage by public safety agencies presents as a watershed moment in converting this footage into actionable data that can inform and improve public safety practice. However, despite the considerable volume of archival footage, there remains a profound lack of research leveraging this data. While data access will always remain an issue to researchers, this article argues that a lack of tools and methodologies for working with this data remains a barrier. As such, this article introduces a technique blending the best practices of systematic social observation and event modeling for deconstructing body-worn cameras, or other recorded observational data. Incorporating an empirical example detailing the application of the technique, this article summarizes the value of this integrated technique, while providing guidance on different analytical approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2012, Washington State legalized the production, sale, and possession of marijuana through Initiative 502. Advocates of legalization argued that it would decrease the jail population and reduce the disproportionate incarceration of minorities, reasoning that the police would refocus their resources on other matters. In order to evaluate this assumption, we examined jail booking data using a set of interrupted time-series regression models. Our findings indicate that jail population trends differ among counties across time and with respect to impacts on minorities and women. With regard to ethnic and racial disproportionate impact, there appears to be little positive change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outcomes associated with police body-worn cameras (BWCs) and their influence on use of force is chiefly known from large-scale implementation studies and randomised controlled trials. While these studies provide valuable insight, there is concern that these studies are susceptible to the Hawthorne effect. Using an interrupted time series analysis, this study examines whether the implementation of BWCs had an effect on use of force incidents within a United States department that independently adopted BWCs and did not participate in a collaborative research trial. Results show that while there was a non-significant drop in use of force incidents at the month of BWC implementation, there was a steady, significant increase in use of force incidents for every month following implementation. The number of incidents reaches pre-BWC implementation frequencies after three years. These findings indicate that BWCs may influence police behaviour immediately following implementation, though this influence weakens over time as BWCs become normalised with daily police use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in digital media streaming outlets, consumers are faced with a multitude of options as well as potentially increased costs to watch digital media. The traditional methods of studying digital media piracy have hailed to adequately capture long-term trends or reveal potential methodologies for understanding this behavior. Using Internet search query data for the period of2004-2018 and purchasing power parity indexes as a measure of standard of living, we examine the relationships between legal and illicit sources of digital media and how economic factors alfect their usage on a global scale. In certain contexts, the introduction of Netflix to a country has a disrupting influence on interest in piracy. However, this influence is not universal, nor of the same magnitude. A multitude of factors, including the availability of legal alternatives, alfect piracy globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, police administrators have argued that misconduct occurs among a few bad officers, undermining the notion that deviant acts transcend individual characteristics of officers to incorporate the characteristics of the department. The purpose of this study was to explore the state of police integrity within the Ghana Police Service by qualitatively analysing interview responses obtained from a select group of police officers in two police districts. Findings revealed that police misconduct in Ghana exists in different dimensions, and that officers are willing to engage in open discussions about deviant acts by their colleagues. Policy implication of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the individual, organizational, and ecological factors influencing police officers' adherence to the code of silence, while accounting for their evaluation of the seriousness of each identified behavior. This study collected 353 responses from a sample of police officers receiving in-service training at a national police university in China. Results show salient influences for several individual and ecological factors contributing to the extent of the code of silence and those influences varied based on the type of behavior. In addition, this study lends further support to an emerging body of research suggesting Chinese police display a strong code of silence, although the existence and perpetuation of that code must take into consideration unique cultural practices within China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legalization of recreational cannabis in Washington state (I-502) and Colorado (A-64) created a natural experiment with ancillary unknowns. Of these unknowns, one of the more heavily debated is that of the potential effects on public health and safety. Specific to public safety, advocates of legalization expected improvements in police effectiveness through the reduction in police time and attention to cannabis offenses, thus allowing them to reallocate resources to more serious offenses. Using 2010 to 2015 Uniform Crime Reports data, the research undertakes interrupted time-series analysis on the offenses known to be cleared by arrest to create monthly counts of violent and property crime clearance rate as well as disaggregated counts by crime type. Findings suggest no negative effects of legalization on crime clearance rates. Moreover, evidence suggests some crime clearance rates have improved. Our findings suggest legalization has resulted in improvements in some clearance rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers universally agree that interactions between police and community members have the propensity to be emotionally charged. However, to date, there is limited research investigating situational and dynamic factors that make an interaction between a police officer and citizen more or less emotionally charged. Analyzing unedited police body-worn camera footage, associated with 287 criminal code violations, this research explores the individual, behavioral, and environmental factors that affect police officers' and citizens' emotional states during a police–citizen interaction. Results show clear variations at the situational, organizational, and environmental levels influencing the observed emotional state of the suspect and police officer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 20 years, sex offender policies, specifically in terms of community corrections, have increased in scope. One of the most controversial and pervasive sex offender policies is that of registration. In response to the consumption of already limited resources, jurisdictions have imposed increasingly higher community supervision fees onto the offenders, requiring them to pay for their own re-entry. However, to date no research study has examined the statutory language associated with registration fees collected post release from formal community sanctions. Using a statutory analysis within the United States, this research finds and quantifies the imposition of a registration fee on offenders who are legally compelled to pay these registration costs, regardless of whether they are still currently under community supervision. Results show that more than half of U.S. states (n = 28) incorporate statutory language authorizing registration fees, ranging anywhere from $5 per registration to up to $250 per year. These findings, as well as suggestions for future research and policy recommendations, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examine the frequency of civil commitment petitions and rates of congruence within those initial requests. Using data provided by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Division of Behavioral Health, the authors analyzed 32,749 petitions for civil commitment, between 2010 and 2016, as submitted by police officers, inpatient physicians, hospital administrators, and others. Results demonstrate a persistent decrease in the level of congruence with police officers displaying the lowest level of concurrence. Factors contributing to these lower rates are discussed with emphasis given to future research and broader policy consideration and discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional research on community awareness and use of sex offender registries relies upon random digit dialing and other survey instruments. While important sources of data, these sources have limitations and attempts to improve on these measures are bound to funding limitations impeding the collection of larger samples. Analyzing internet search query data associated with interest in sex offender registries from 2006-2016, we explore regional and temporal trends associated with interest in sex offender registries. Results substantiate prior research using mail and telephone surveys, and that of other similar methodologies, showing that interest in sex offender registries display low to moderate interest, which are relatively stable overtime and declining in interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Using temporal sequencing of unedited police body-worn camera (BWC) footage of use of force incidents, we test four hypotheses to understand how incident-characteristics influence use of force, duration of that force, and the type and severity of force used by police. Method: We code and analyze using data visualization techniques and regression analysis unedited BWC footage involving use of force in a single police agency in the United States. Results: Use of force occurs relatively early in most interactions, though gender, race, and behavioral factors partially explain when and how much force is used. Regression results indicate that force is used more quickly against Black suspects and males. Suspect resistance predicts both time to force (TtF) and the duration of force applied. Finally, police are more likely to use greater levels of force in longer, more drawn-out interactions. Conclusions: Our results appear to support existing theories for disproportionate use of force, though we caution restraint in generalizing our results. We find support only at our temporal level (TtF) and do not find support for the duration or severity of that force used. These temporal variables provide additional context toward better understanding and further contextualizing use of force by police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A commonly held assumption in the sex-based industry is interest always exists. However, assuming interest undermines any holistic attempt to study the licit and illicit economies associated with this industry. This research explores Backpage.com and the influence this website has on licit markets associated with prostitution and the illicit activities often associated with the economy. Results suggest Backpage.com does have an influence on two prominent licit markets, strip clubs and massage parlors. Moreover, results of the spatial analysis indicate the presence of “interest corridors” uniquely aligning to known transportation corridors associated with routes for prostitution and human trafficking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Community-oriented policing (COP) has become, at least in rhetoric, the dominant style of policing among countries systems across the globe. Yet even limited comparative research reveals the vast variations that have occurred among and within nations that nominally seek to implement the basic principles and values underlying COP. One core principle of COP is partnership/co-production. We focus on the question whether a policing system can be said to implement the COP philosophy if effective partnerships are lacking. Partnerships, or working together, can range from merely symbolic interactions to effective and roughly equal cooperation among the police and civic society groups. Based on selected country studies, we argue that the type of partnership adopted depends heavily on societal conditions that enable or constrain implementation, but also who--police or civic society--originates and implements the idea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of influence public discourse has on policy can vary widely. Research has noted that while it is largely dependent on the topic, frequency, and severity of the message, political rhetoric has the potential to sway public opinion and support. Particularly true for crime policy, rhetoric has historically been a strong factor for many countries such as the United States and England often understood as popular punitivism. However, popular punitivism has not been empirically characterized with specific focus given to political discourse, especially in international context. This paper attempts to capture the scope and relationship between rhetoric, political gain, crime policy, and public response in the Netherlands. Using the context of popular punitivism, we analyze rhetoric from three different political outlets (party platforms, coalition agreements, and statements of the throne) and triangulate the codes with passed policies, voter support, and systemic action. Findings suggest that recent rhetoric often exaggerates observed crime in society, consistent with expectations of popular punitivism perspectives. However, such exaggeration does not necessarily correlate with public support and system response patterns. Implications for discourse theory and popular punitivism are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transgender inmates provide a conundrum for correctional staff, particularly when it comes to classification, victimization, and medical and health issues. Using LexisNexis and WestLaw and state Department of Corrections (DOC) information, we collected state statutes and DOC policies concerning transgender inmates. We utilized academic legal research with content analysis to determine whether a statute or policy addressed issues concerning classification procedures, access to counseling services, the initiation and continuation of hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery. We found that while more states are providing either statutory or policy guidelines for transgender inmates, a number of states are lagging behind and there is a shortage of guidance dealing with the medical issues related to being transgender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an exploratory analysis, this research investigates the factors influencing public confidence in the court systems of five African nations; namely, South Africa, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali and Zambia. Incorporating frequency descriptive measurements and ordinal logistic regression, this research provides a comparative assessment across varying political, cultural, social and historical contexts to foster continued research within the criminal justice institutions, specifically the courts. The findings indicate that public confidence in the courts remains high, despite popular speculation to the contrary. There were, however, varying levels of confidence between the five nations; differences at theoretical and practical levels are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academics and activists called to attention decades prior the importance of identifying, analyzing, and tracking the transmission of attitudes, behaviors, and norms correlated with violence against women. A specific call to attention reflected the media as a mode of transmission. This research builds on prior studies of media, with an emphasis on Internet search queries. Using Google search data, for the period 2004 to 2012, this research provides regional analysis of associated interest in rape-oriented pornography and pornographic hubs. Results indicate minor regional variations in interest, including the use of “BDSM” or “bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadomasochism” as a foundational query for use in trend analysis. Interest in rape-oriented pornography by way of pornographic hubs is discussed in the context of microaggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides background, insight and an assessment of the challenges and benefits of using college student interns to monitor public safety cameras. Based on one element of a strong partnership between the Pullman (WA) Police Department and Washington State University, this descriptive study focuses on the formation of a student internship program to monitor public safety cameras in a high-disorder area to enhance crime prevention, police response capacity, and public safety. This effort has been underway for over2 years, and illustrates the positive outcomes for public safety that can result from effective practitioner/academic collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1970s, Egon Bitner offered a critique of police academy training, signified by the ability to train compliant soldierbureaucrats rather than competent practitioners. Over the years, subsequent training models have been implemented, evaluated, and modified in an attempt to exceed what has been deemed adequate training. This research provides the first of several outcome evaluations as part of a longitudinal study on the efficacy of problem-based learning in a Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA). Data for this research include survey results for the period of 2009-2012. Early results suggest the problematic nature of the dualistic dilemma within police academy training. Discussed are adaptations in the context of this dilemma. Furthermore, the research explores how environmental factors and broader socialization and acculturation processes should be included within subsequent implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary goal of this paper is to raise awareness regarding legal loopholes and enabling technologies, which facilitate acts of cyber crime. In perusing these avenues of inquiry, the author seeks to identify systemic impediments which obstruct police investigations, prosecutions, and digital forensics interrogations. Existing academic research on this topic has tended to highlight theoretical perspectives when attempting to explain technology aided crime, rather than presenting practical insights from those actually tasked with working cyber crime cases. The author offers a grounded, pragmatic approach based on the in-depth experience gained serving with police task-forces, government agencies, private sector, and international organizations. The secondary objective of this research encourages policy makers to reevaluate strategies for combating the ubiquitous and evolving threat posed by cybercriminality. Research in this paper has been guided by the firsthand global accounts (via the author's core involvement in the preparation of the Comprehensive Study on Cybercrime (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013) and is keenly focused on core issues of concern, as voiced by the international community. Further, a fictional case study is used as a vehicle to stimulate thinking and exemplify key points of reference. In this way, the author invites the reader to contemplate the reality of a cyber crime inquiry and the practical limits of the criminal justice process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]