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In 2018, the Bureau of Justice Assistance Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) began mandating SAKI funding awardees submit eligible cases to the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP), a database which allows for the identification and analysis of serial violent crimes. Limited research has examined the use of ViCAP by SAKI sites or SAKI site personnels' perceptions of ViCAP. To address this gap, we conducted a survey of SAKI sites (N = 24) to identify trends regarding ViCAP personnel and training, ViCAP case entry and eligibility processes, and barriers/opportunities to increase the use of ViCAP. Findings show most sites are entering cases into ViCAP, but the utility of ViCAP as an investigatory tool is hindered by structural barriers in hiring/retention and training which prevent SAKI sites from fully leveraging ViCAP's resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed police shootings in Canada (except Québec) between 2017 and 2019. Drawing upon media reports and information provided by police oversight agencies, we attempted to identify all incidents where on-duty police officers discharged their firearm with the intent to strike a person. Findings indicated that such incidents occurred an average of 58 times per year. Approximately 39% of police shootings were fatal, 48% were non-fatal, and 12% were non-injurious. Most occurred in public spaces and were initiated by civilian requests for police service, typically for crime-related reasons. We discuss our findings with respect to both research and practice. We also call for official, incident-level data regarding police shootings to address concerns that otherwise exist about these incidents among civilians, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives : Judgments about police procedural fairness consistently have a stronger influence on how the public ascribes legitimacy to the police than evaluations of police effectiveness. What remains largely underexplored, however, is the potential moderating effect of procedural justice on the relationship between effectiveness and legitimacy and whether this moderation varies by citizen race. Method: We administered two separate surveys to determine whether procedural justice's moderating effect on the relationship between police ineffectiveness and legitimacy varies by citizen race. The first was a mail survey of a random sample of citizens in a southern US city (N = 1,681) conducted in 2013; the second, a national survey of adults (N = 972) administered via Qualtrics in 2022. Results: We found that procedural justice could help protect against the harmful influence of perceived ineffectiveness on police legitimacy in Study 2. However, contrary to expectations, this moderation effect held only for White Americans. Conclusions: The effect of perceived ineffectiveness on legitimacy evaluations does not vary depending on citizens' perceptions of procedural justice. Yet, police still do have control over how they treat people with whom they interact, which is one mechanism that can improve citizens' views on police legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Would police racial and gender diversification reduce Black Americans' fear of the police? The theory of representative bureaucracy indicates that it might. We tested the effects of officer diversity in two experiments embedded in a national survey that oversampled Black Americans, producing several findings. First, in early 2022, nearly 2 years after George Floyd's killing, most Black Americans remained afraid of police mistreatment. Second, in a conjoint experiment in which respondents were presented with 11,000 officer profiles, Black Americans were less afraid when the officers were non‐White (Black or Hispanic/Latino) instead of White and when they were female instead of male. Third, in a separate experiment with pictured police teams, Black Americans were less afraid of being mistreated by non‐White and female officers. Fourth, experimental evidence emerged that body‐worn cameras (BWCs) reduced fear among both Black and non‐Black respondents. These findings support calls to diversify police agencies and to require officers to wear and notify civilians of BWC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the factors influencing police response times, with a particular focus on staffing levels, calls for service (CFS), and proactive police work. We estimate Bayesian Holt-Winters state-space models for each CFS priority level. Using a novel dataset that combines data from the Salt Lake City Police Department's staffing and Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems at the daily level over seven years, we estimate the effects that staffing, overtime, call volume, and the level of proactive work (e.g., traffic stops, pedestrian stops, business checks) have on police response times. Our findings indicate that the impact of staffing on response times is significantly greater than that of other independent variables in the models. Furthermore, improvements in response times for higher-priority (i.e., more serious) CFS have a lower elasticity response to increases in staffing levels. As police agencies face increasingly complex challenges, the empirical evidence presented herein serves as a cornerstone for making informed decisions in the intricate balancing act of resources, officer well-being, and public safety priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power to use force is a defining characteristic of policing, one that is accompanied by a responsibility to exercise these powers in the circumstances deemed necessary. This study analyzes data from four policing agencies to predict the likelihood of an officer drawing and pointing their firearm at a use of force incident. Findings suggest that situational factors were important in influencing whether an officer may draw and point their firearm. However, a priming effect, in which officers were more likely to draw their firearms when dispatched to an incident, may also be present. The rate that officers drew and pointed their firearms varied between jurisdictions, as did the nature of the incidents. Caution should be exercised in generalizing the results of single-site studies on police use of force, or introducing research into policy beyond the jurisdiction in which it was performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The police murder of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests in the summer of 2020 and revived claims that public outcry over such high‐profile police killings perpetuated a violent "war on cops." Using data collected by the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) on firearm assaults of U.S. police officers, we use Bayesian structural time series (BSTS) modeling to empirically assess if and how patterns of firearm assault on police officers in the United States were influenced by the police murder of George Floyd. Our analysis finds that the murder of George Floyd was associated with a 3‐week spike in firearm assaults on police, after which the trend in firearms assaults dropped to levels only slightly above that which were predicted by pre‐Floyd data. We discuss potential explanations for these findings and consider their relevance to the contemporary discussion of a "war on cops," violence, and officer safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The police murder of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests in the summer of 2020 and revived claims that public outcry over such high‐profile police killings perpetuated a violent "war on cops." Using data collected by the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) on firearm assaults of U.S. police officers, we use Bayesian structural time series (BSTS) modeling to empirically assess if and how patterns of firearm assault on police officers in the United States were influenced by the police murder of George Floyd. Our analysis finds that the murder of George Floyd was associated with a 3‐week spike in firearm assaults on police, after which the trend in firearms assaults dropped to levels only slightly above that which were predicted by pre‐Floyd data. We discuss potential explanations for these findings and consider their relevance to the contemporary discussion of a "war on cops," violence, and officer safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]