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Significant concerns have been raised about the use of tactical officers, who are suggested to be predisposed to use force—particularly deadly force—when interacting with the public. Given this, we conducted a systematic review of research that compares the decision-making of officers with tactical experience and those without tactical experience (i.e. patrol and recruits). Specifically, we examined the following research questions: (1) across officers who received different training (i.e. officers with tactical experience and officers without tactical experience), are there differences in use-of-force decision-making (e.g. reaction time and decisions to use force)?; and (2) what cognitive processes explain any differences in decision-making (e.g. gaze control and mental models)? Using the PRISMA guidelines we conducted a systematic literature review in which six databases were used to identify articles. Of the 388 articles that were screened, we conducted a narrative synthesis of 10 studies and found that tactical officers are not only able to make more accurate decisions to use deadly force but are also able to make those decisions faster than officers without tactical training. The enhanced decision-making observed in tactical officers was largely explained by where tactical officers fixate their gaze during unfolding scenarios, as well as an enhanced ability to predict how a situation will unfold. Based on our findings, tactical officers are not primed to use (deadly) force as has been suggested. We call for more research that explores the decision-making processes of tactical officers and the extent to which they have expertise in managing potential use-of-force encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People are known to offload memory processing tasks to devices, such as cameras. We examined whether body-worn cameras (BWCs) are used in this way by police officers. Fifty officers responded to a simulated domestic dispute that resulted in lethal force. Half the sample was provided a BWC and told their footage would be available to assist with post-event recall, but it was later feigned that there was a technological issue. The remaining officers were not equipped with a BWC and thus were aware they would not have any footage to rely on. The amount, accuracy, and type of details reported by officers were coded and subjected to analysis. The results revealed that wearing a camera did not promote cognitive offloading in officers, suggesting that the training officers receive, or other factors that might be unique to policing, may mitigate an effect that has been observed in other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that it is possible to link serial crimes in an accurate fashion based on the statistical analysis of crime scene information. Logistic regression (LR) is one of the most common statistical methods in use and yields relatively accurate linking decisions. However, some research suggests there may be added value in using classification tree (CT) analysis to discriminate between offences committed by the same vs. different offenders. This study explored how three variations of CT analysis can be applied to the crime linkage task. Drawing on a sample of serial sexual assaults from Quebec, Canada, we examine the predictive accuracy of standard, iterative, and multiple CTs, and we contrast the results with LR analysis. Our results revealed that all statistical approaches achieved relatively high (and similar) levels of predictive accuracy, but CTs produce idiographic linking strategies that may be more appealing to practitioners. Future research will need to examine if and how these CTs can be useful as decision aides in operational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examines the impact of a recently implemented community-based Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST) in a small Canadian police service. COAST pairs a police officer from the South Simcoe Police Service in Ontario, Canada with a crisis response worker from either the Canadian Mental Health Association or York Support Services Network. Through a pre- versus post-implementation analysis, key outcome variables were examined. Results demonstrated that there were significant differences between general patrol and COAST in terms of time spent on crisis-related calls and this was associated with a reduced cost to the service. Additionally, compared to pre-implementation rates, the Service saw an increase in community resources provided to clients in need and a decrease in involuntary apprehensions. These initial findings provide some preliminary support for the value of the COAST initiative in the South Simcoe Police Service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present studies was to examine how officer characteristics influenced mock jurors' judgments in a police use of force case. In study 1 (N = 356), we examined officer race, suspect race, and weapon type (gun vs. taser vs. assault gloves), and in study 2 (N = 352) we examined officer gender, weapon type, and whether the officer was on or off duty. In both studies, participants read a case summary concerning police use of force where the suspect/victim died from his injuries. In study 1, mock jurors were more likely to vote guilty when the officer was White as well as when a gun was used. The officer was perceived most favorably when he was Black and a taser or assault gloves were used compared to a gun. Mock jurors' attitudes toward the police also were examined and were found to be related to mock jurors' guilt ratings and perceptions of the officer. In study 2, mock jurors were more likely to vote guilty for the defendant when the officer was male, off duty, and the weapon used was a gun. Mock jurors also viewed the police officer more negatively when he was off duty as well as when a gun was used. Overall, this study is the first to our knowledge to systematically vary both officer characteristics and suspect/victim characteristics and the results suggest that both have the capacity to influence how use of force cases are perceived by potential jurors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper reviews existing literature that relates to how body worn cameras might influence an officer's memory of their interactions with the public, namely those that involve the use of force. Notably, most of this research does not come from the policing field but focuses on the impact of camera technology in other settings. Much of the available research supports the commonly held view that body worn cameras could be used to enhance memory for these interactions, particularly interactions that are complex or stressful. However, contrary to what people might expect, research also exists that suggests body worn cameras may actually have a detrimental effect on officer memory. Three major potential detriments: cognitive offloading, retrieval-induced forgetting and misinformation-type effects are highlighted. Future studies examining the impact of body worn cameras on officers' memory are necessary. Ways forward are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests that certain individuals exhibit vulnerability through their gait, and that observers select such individuals as those most likely to experience victimization. It is currently assumed that the vulnerable gait pattern is an expression of one's submissiveness. To isolate gait movement, Study 1 utilized kinematic point-light display to record 28 individuals walking. The findings suggested that victimization history was related to gait vulnerability. The results also indicated that, contrary to expectation, individuals with more vulnerable features in their gait were more likely to self-report dominant personality characteristics, rather than submissive characteristics. In Study 2, a sample of 129 observers watched the point-light recordings and rated the walkers on their vulnerability to victimization. The results suggested that observers agreed on which walkers were easy targets; they were also accurate in that the walkers they rated as most likely to experience victimization tended to exhibit vulnerable gait cues. The current research is one of the few to explore the relationship between internal dispositions and non-verbal behavior in a sample of self-reported victims. The findings provide exciting insights related to the communicative function of gait, and the characteristics that may put some individuals at a greater risk to be criminally targeted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the middle manager is crucial to a police organization. Despite this, little research exists concerning the characteristics of effective police managers, or the role that the promotional process and/or training plays in identifying and developing effective managers. To examine these issues, 328 Canadian police officers were surveyed and interviews were conducted with an additional 50 police professionals. The results highlight: (1) the importance of management in achieving organizational goals, (2) key characteristics of effective managers and common mistakes managers make, and (3) concerns surrounding the promotional process and the lack of managerial training. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted to examine the false recognition effect in criminal profiling. Participants (N=83) were presented with a crime scene description and a criminal profile made up of semantically related statements. After a one week delay, the task for each participant was to recognize statements from a suspect description that were included in the profile, either with or without the profile in front of them. The suspect description consisted of descriptors that were: (1) included in the profile, (2) related to, but not included in the profile, and (3) unrelated to the profile. Participants in the memory-based condition also had to indicate, for each recognized item, whether they actually remembered reading the statement or simply knew that they had read it. Results indicate that participants who had to rely on their memory were more likely to recognize descriptors that were related to the profile, but not included in it, and these participants frequently indicated that they remembered, rather than simply knew, that they had experienced these statements. Potential explanations for these findings, implications for profiling practices, and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the immense popularity of offender profiling as both a topic of fascination for the general public as well as an academic field of study, concerns have been raised about the development of this area of scientific inquiry. The present study provides a preliminary step towards moving the field forward as it reviews the type and quality of studies dealing with offender profiling over the past 31 years. Based on a content analysis of 132 published articles, the review indicates that researchers investigating this phenomenon rarely publish multiple articles, and they are generally reported across many different journals, thereby making knowledge synthesis and knowledge transfer problematic. In addition, the majority of papers published in the area are discussion pieces (e.g., discussing what profiling is, how profiles are constructed, and when profiling is useful), despite the fact that the processes underlying offender profiling are still not well understood. Finally, although peer-reviewed articles exploring this topic have steadily increased, the statistical sophistication of these studies is sorely lacking, with most including no statistics or formal analyses of data. Suggestions for future research and recommendations to streamline efforts in this field are provided based on the results of this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographic profilers have access to a repertoire of strategies for predicting a serial offender’s home location. These strategies range in complexity-some involve more calculations to implement than others-and the assumption often made is that more complex strategies will outperform simpler strategies. In the present study, we tested the relationship between the complexity and accuracy of 11 strategies. Data were crime site and home locations of 16 UK residential burglars who had committed 10 or more crimes each. The results indicated that strategy complexity was not positively related to accuracy. This was also found to be the case across tasks that ranged in complexity (where complexity was determined by the number of crimes used to make a prediction). Implications for police’ policies and procedures, as well as our understanding of human decision-making, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on several changes in the format of the "Journal of Police & Criminal Psychology" and its editorlal board.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including one by Melissa Martineau and Shevaun Corey on the degree to which crime descriptions can be coded reliably using the variables included in the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS) and another by Brandy Doan and Brent Snook on the fundamental assumptions underlying many forms of criminal profiling.