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PurposeDomestic law enforcement increasingly utilizes military tools and techniques in traditional policing activities. An increased militaristic approach is not without controversy, given the many high-profile incidents involving such tactics that have resulted in tragedy. We seek to assess specific views of policymakers who implement such strategies by measuring the attitudes of Texas sheriffs on these measures.Design/methodology/approachIn late 2019 and early 2020, a census was completed with Texas sheriffs to better understand their attitudes about the use of military tactics. A robust return rate captured the views of 142 (56%) respondents from a diverse set of rural and urban counties. Opinions on the appropriateness, effectiveness and necessity of military techniques were measured.FindingsResults indicate Texas sheriffs strongly support the use of military tools and techniques, believe they protect officer safety and should continue to be taught and utilized by law enforcement when appropriate.Practical implicationsSecondary consequences of police militarization may counteract its desired positive outcomes and lead to significant risks for officers and citizens alike. Strong police support makes the reduction in use of these tactics unlikely, but these results give opportunity for consideration of such policy to all law enforcement agencies.Originality/valueIt is the first study to examine county sheriffs' perceptions of militarization since the events of Ferguson, Missouri and provides a very recent assessment of views from a population of leaders both integrated into policy decisions and intimately accountable for policy implementation.

Larry Nassar, a once world renowned Olympic doctor, was arrested and charged with child abuse and child pornography in 2016, becoming one of the most prolific abusers in history. The current paper examines Nassar’s abuse through the lens of Routine Activities Theory. Drawing from the complete transcripts of 172 victim impact statements read at his trial, a formula for Nassar’s systematic abuse was developed. This content analysis illustrates the perceived depths of his motivation, the suitability of his targets, and egregious lack of capable guardians for these victims. Recommendations for additional training to recognize and report abuse, harsher penalties for those who do not report, a shift in the athletic culture of silence, and progress towards a society where victims are believed are presented within.

While the process of finding employment in academia has always been a daunting task for the job candidate, in recent years, in the criminal justice discipline, the process of finding an acceptable candidate to fill a university vacancy has become an equally formidable problem for the employer. This research addresses this reality from the perspectives of both potential employers and employees. Job candidates applying for a university position in 2005, and universities soliciting for hires in criminal justice during the same time frame were surveyed in relation to a variety of issues surrounding their respective search procedures. The primary goal of the research was to determine what factors were associated with perceptions of a successful job search. Suggestions about “successful” searching are offered.

PurposeTo identify and assess the current state of professionalism and operations in the field of bail recovery, or bounty hunting.Design/methodology/approachA multi‐method approach, which integrated information from interviews with bond agents with information taken from a survey of workers in the bond field.FindingsSurvey respondents averaged 51 years of age, and were mostly Caucasian males. Most were religious and conservative, and over 25 percent reported having obtained a four‐year college degree. Roughly one‐third of all survey respondents reported experience in law enforcement; nearly half indicated having specialized skills in weaponry. Money was the most cited reason for becoming a bail enforcement agent, and most respondents believed that bail enforcement agents are an under‐appreciated component of the criminal justice system.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings were taken from a small number of survey respondents. Consequently, these data are not assumed to be representative of the population surveyed. Additionally, the interviews with key individuals in the field are also not assumed to be representative.Practical implicationsThis research has shown that bond agents are not yet professionalized, but a substantial number of them desire greater professionalism in their field, and believe that more professional behavior is necessary to receive greater respect from their fellow criminal justice practitioners.Originality/valueVery little is known about the operations and attitudes of bond agents. This research has added some critical information to this knowledge base, and has helped to raise other questions which may stimulate further research in this under‐examined field.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the conceptualization of the predatory stalker came to the forefront of the criminal concerns imagined by the American public. With this growing public concern and the associated media coverage, legislation designed to enhance punishments against those who might stalk became a political asset and a significant plank for reelection campaigns. Adequate definition for the phenomena, however, has yet to be established, and idiosyncratic application of the law at the policing level remains a problem. This study works toward providing a better definition of the problem from the public’s perspective. Variables significant to the definition of the problem were identified and used in survey work to assess their importance in the individual’s interpretation of the stalking label. Several of these variables are significantly tied to the individual’s willingness to ascribe a stalking label to a given behavioral transaction.

This paper discusses the findings from a survey of admissions officers at law schools in the United States. Deans of Admission (N=119) were asked a variety of questions pertaining to how the undergraduate criminal justice major is perceived in relation to the adequacy of the academic preparation it provides for individuals applying and/or currently attending law school. The findings suggest that the criminal justice major is not perceived as adequate preparation for law school education by the Deans of Admission. Results are discussed within the context of the criminal justice curricula standards recommended by the academic review committee of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

Recent survey data indicate that as many as 80 percent of citizens support the death penalty for offenders convicted of homicide. These surveys, however, typically pose abstract questions about gen...

Surveys were administered to assess policymaker perceptions on the effectiveness and consequences of, and their commitment to “tough” criminal legislation in California. In relation to this, policymaker reaction to California's 1982 DUI laws was assessed. Results suggest that the populations surveyed recognized that problems were created by “tough” laws, specifically jail crowding. Differences existed, however, between the various populations on the perceptions of the effectiveness of such law changes and their commitment to them. Policy implications drawn from this research are discussed.

Crime has long been an important topic in the media. Researchers examining the relationship between beliefs about crime and exposure to the media have found evidence suggesting that such beliefs are influenced by both the form and content of media coverage of crime. Moreover, other research has discovered that the media often presents a seriously distorted picture of criminal activity. The study described in this article examines the question of whether a newly important form of crime coverage, the “true crime” genre, provides a distorted portrayal of homicide. True crime books are accounts of actual homicide cases which are presented in a style which often resembles fiction. A content analysis of true crime cases is compared with official data on murder, and the results indicate that, in accord with research on other media forms, the portrayal of homicide in the true crime realm is extremely narrow, and significantly differs from the full range of cases which typify murder in America.

Over the past 20 years, there has been an enormous increase in American jail populations. The most frequently documented result of this increase has been overcrowding in jail facilities. Many also hypothesize that an array of secondary problems for the jail have arisen from such crowding. A nationally representative sample of sheriffs was questioned about 13 of these problems in relation jail crowding within their respective facilities. It was found that although many problems are perceived as related to over-crowding by this study group, others are not believed to be as problematic as is typically assumed. Policy implications of these perceptions are discussed.

We re-examine science fiction films of the 1950s (made during the cold war), and their remakes in the 1970s and 1980s (made in the post-sixties, after Vietnam and Watergate) in conjunction with sto...

County sheriffs were surveyed to assess their beliefs regarding the impact overcrowding within the criminal justice system was having on the operations of their respective departments. Also tested was the premise that certain public order (or victimless) crimes were having a detrimental impact on the operations of their departments and the ability of the criminal justice system to sanction such offenses. Finally, sheriffs were quened as to their relative approval of decriminalization of each of these public order offenses. It was found that the strong majority of the sheriffs surveyed believed that attempts to police public order offenses were having a detrimental impact on their department and the criminal justice system. In spite of this, however, sheriffs were unwilling to decriminalize public order offenses, even those which are officially decriminalized in many jurisdictions, and unofficially ignored in many others.

In 1982, California passed into law severe sanctions for driving while intoxicated. The effects of these law changes on policing were investigated. Using limited time series and elite interview methodologies, it was found that the law's passage was related to reduced arrest rates for several misdemeanors, including driving under the influence.

This paper examines how public policies are formulated and are applied to the jail overcrowding problem. Strategies of blame avoidance and subscription to myths were found to exert a strong influence on problem definition and policy design. Using an elite interview methodology, we examined the perceptions of 64 key criminal justice policy makers at local and state levels of government. We used statistical data from the California Bureau of Criminal Statistics to supplement the analysis. Policy makers identified eight major themes related to overcrowding: 1) conservative public attitudes, 2) decreased county revenues, 3) resistance to alternatives to incarceration, 4) problems in siting new jails, 5) increased crime, 6) population growth, 7) problems in interagency communication, and 8) general social malaise. Implications for policy design, outcome, and analysis are discussed.

This study assesses key actors’ “worlds of fact” regarding jail overcrowding in California through an examination of their perceptions of causes and effects, support for different solutions, and adherence to major punishment ideologies. How policymakers define and structure a specific problem Gail overcrowding), can influence how policy options are differentially weighed as well as how existing policy processes can be improved. A mail survey was sent to two key decision making groups who largely regulate the intake and outflow of local jails: sheriffs and chief probation officers of the 58 California counties. Group differences in responses were predicted from the perspectives of blame avoidance, domain dissensus, and punishment theory. Relationships were examined among perceived causes, effects, solutions, and punishment ideologies. While both sheriffs and probation chiefs advocated highly similar “control-oriented” punishment ideologies, probation chiefs advocated more “progressive” solutions to jail overcrowding. Perceived causes and effects of jail overcrowding, along with support for deterrence ideology, were strongly related to elite support for three potential solutions: building more institutions, passing tougher laws to deter potential offenders, and using shorter sentences for low-risk offenders. Implications of these results for understanding jail overcrowding and policy processes are discussed.