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This study examined if the police and citizen views of police misconduct are similar, different, or somewhere in between with the three sets of survey data: the Klockars (Police corruption in thirty agencies in the United States, 1997. ICPSR version. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999) data, the data administered to police officers from 2009 to 2010 in Texas, and the student survey data collected from 2013 to 2017 at the three 4-year public universities located in Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States. Results showed that the views of police officers were similar but also different on certain misconduct by their rank. Middle- and high-rank officers seem to share some common ground on assessments of police misconduct, but their views were significantly different from the views of line officers. Interestingly, line officers’ perceptions of the seriousness of police misconduct were somewhat similar to the views of university students. However, their perceptions of police misconduct differed by their academic majors, CJ majors vs. non-CJ majors. The results demonstrated the existence of a significant gap in the assessments of police misconduct provided by students and police officers.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to partially replicate and extend the work of Klockars et al. and others on police integrity by examining how individual, organizational, and ecological factors affect police supervisors’ perceptions of police misconduct and willingness to report fellow officers’ misconduct. Design/methodology/approach – Surveys containing 17 scenarios developed by Klockars et al. (2000, 2004, 2006) were administered to 553 ranking officers attending training at the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas from June 1, 2009 to March 1, 2010 and employed by municipal police departments, county sheriff’s departments, and constable agencies. Findings – Results suggest that individual and organizational factors affect supervisor willingness to blow the whistle on underling misconduct, although their effects varied by seriousness of the behavior. Originality/value – The current project partially replicates and extends prior studies of factors affecting police integrity by surveying supervisors, measuring their willingness to whistle blow, and including variables in statistical models that prior studies have not included.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether indirect police contacts through observational learning models impact students’ trust in the police and their perceptions of police bias.Design/methodology/approach– The study is based on a survey at two public universities in the mid-western and southern regions of the USA (921 out of 1,089 responses were retained for this study). The empirical analysis relied on a principle component factor analysis and a multivariate regression analysis.Findings– Results show that three observational learning models (live, verbal, and symbolic) significantly influence perceptions of the police. In particular, the symbolic model is significant regardless of students’ direct and indirect contact experiences with the police.Originality/value– This study is the first to examine the modeling effects on attitudes toward the police applying the classic social learning theory developed by Albert Bandura. The results highlight the importance of indirect police contact experiences in shaping young citizens’ perceptions of the police.

Police corruption is one of the most significant law enforcement issues to citizens, practitioners, and researchers. Prior research on the impact of police organizational structure on corruption has remained mostly descriptive or comparative. This paper examines the direct effect of supervisors’ tolerance of line officers’ misconduct and departmental deviant subculture on the extent of police corruption. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the current study reports that line officers’ attitudes toward corruption are highly influenced by their supervisors in the chain of command and deviant subculture. Implications and limitations are discussed.

This study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents (Add Health) data, a nationally representative sample of adolescents, to disentangle the relationship between child maltreatment and violent delinquency. Also examined are potential moderating effects of gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and religiosity on the association between child maltreatment and violent delinquency. Contrary to prior research findings, the current analyses reveal that physical abuse is not associated with future violent delinquency, whereas sexual abuse and neglect predict violent delinquency significantly. The current study also did not reveal any moderating effects of gender, SES, and religiosity on the association between maltreatment and violent delinquency. Interpretations of these findings are presented, drawing on the properties of the national probability sample compared to the findings of most prior studies that used localized samples.

Introduction : AIDS is a leading cause of death among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, legal, policy and social barriers continue to restrict their access to HIV services. In recent years, access to independent HIV testing and treatment for adolescents has gained increased attention. The 2013 WHO Guidance on HIV testing and counselling and care for adolescents living with HIV (WHO Guidance) calls for reviewing legal and regulatory frameworks to facilitate adolescents’ access to comprehensive HIV services. As of 31 March 2017, some 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have adopted HIV-specific legislation. But there is limited understanding of the provisions of these laws on access to HIV services for adolescents and their implication on efforts to scale up HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care among this population. Methods : A desk review of 28 HIV-specific laws in sub-Saharan Africa complemented with the review of HIV testing policies in four countries using human rights norms and key public health recommendations from the 2013 WHO Guidance. These recommendations call on countries to (i) lower the age of consent to HIV testing and counselling and allow mature adolescents who have not reached the age of consent to independently access HIV testing, (ii) ensure access to HIV counselling for adolescents, (iii) protect the confidentiality of adolescents living with HIV and (iv) facilitate access to HIV treatment for adolescents living with HIV. Results : Most HIV-specific laws fail to take into account human rights principles and public health recommendations for facilitating adolescents’ access to HIV services. None of the countries with HIV-specific laws has adopted all four recommendations for access to HIV services for adolescents. Discrepancies exist between HIV laws and national policy documents. Inadequate and conflicting provisions in HIV laws are likely to hinder access to HIV testing, counselling and treatment for adolescents. Conclusions : Efforts to end legal barriers to access to HIV services for adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa should address HIV-specific laws. Restrictive provisions in these laws should be reformed, and their protective norms effectively implemented including by translating them into national policies and ensuring sensitization and training of healthcare workers and communities. This study reiterates the need for action in all countries across Africa and beyond to review their laws and policies to create an enabling environment to accelerate access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services for adolescents. Keywords Adolescents; consent; age; legislation; HIV-specific law; independent; evolving capacity (Published: 11 August 2017) Eba PM and Lim H Journal of the International AIDS Society 2017, 20 :21456 http://www.jiasociety.org/index.php/jias/article/view/21456 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.20.1.21456