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The present research examines the long-term, bidirectional relationships between calls for service, crime, and two police patrol strategies in Santa Monica, California: foot patrol and police stops. Using nine years of monthly data (2006–2014), we estimate two sets of block-level, longitudinal models to tease apart these relationships. In our first set of models, we use police actions and calls for service in the preceding month(s) to predict crime in the subsequent month. In our second set of models, we use calls for service and crime in the preceding month(s) to predict police actions in the subsequent month. We find that while changes in calls for service and crime often precede changes in police action, changes in crime also tend to follow them. For example, police stops appear to be particularly receptive to burglary: blocks with more burglaries receive greater numbers of police stops, and blocks with more police stops have reduced odds of experiencing burglary. We also find that the length of effects of predictors varies as a function of predictor and outcome: whereas some predictors exhibit short temporal effects (e.g. one month), other predictors exhibit much longer temporal effects (e.g. twelve months). Our results thus provide important insight into the spatial and temporal relationships between police actions and police incidents. Police actions must be neatly tailored to police incidents at precise levels if long-term deterrent effects at these levels are to be achieved.

Policing in the United States has experienced immense change throughout the past quarter-century. Although police agencies have shared their goals of preserving life and protecting property, their philosophies and practices for achieving these goals have differed. The present research, therefore, explores patterns in policing via a novel, typological approach. Using six waves of data (1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007, and 2013) from the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) data series, we first employ factor analyses to generate indices for six important policing dimensions: (1) officer diversity, (2) community policing, (3) patrol strategy diversity, (4) militancy, (5) technology, and (6) staffing rigor. Using these indices, we then employ latent class analyses to construct typologies of police agencies, and examine the distribution of such typologies across space at various points in time. Our results reveal several key findings. We detect consistent patterns in typologies across time, including classes with high militancy, high diversity, or low staffing rigor (among others). Within these sets of classes, we also detect micro-heterogeneity amongst patterns of index values: for example, subsets of classes which all score high on one dimension but score high versus low on other dimensions. Finally, we find evidence to suggest spatial convergence of typologies in one large geographic region: Southern California. By offering a multidimensional classification scheme over a 20-year period, we contribute to the policing literature by highlighting the importance and implications of studying multiple policing dimensions simultaneously.

Working dogs play integral roles across many human workplaces. This is no exception in the criminal justice system, and policing more specifically, where police dogs are used in various capacities. Many questions remain, however, regarding the public's perceptions of dogs in different working contexts. Drawing upon data from a sample of Canadian and American adults (n = 201) obtained via Amazon's Mechanical Turk, the present research explores public perceptions of working dogs' utilities, with an emphasis on police dogs. The findings reveal that while participants overwhelmingly supported working dogs in health and wellbeing contexts, they expressed more mixed perceptions regarding police dogs. The findings also reveal that police dogs' utilities are related to participants' overall support for police dogs, but that the specific relationship varies as a function of the utility. Amidst growing concerns regarding the use of police dogs, these findings may help police organizations incorporate evidence-based decision-making related to the deployment of police dogs moving forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars and police organizations argue that when police officers don a uniform, they imbue a certificate of legitimacy. In our study of 238 police officers, we test the assumption that the police uniform impacts officers' beliefs about their own legitimacy, and, in turn, their projected behavior when in uniform. We find that, when comparing across various combinations of uniforms and accoutrements, officers in our study tended to prefer their standard uniform as a legitimating device. Moreover, we find that the legitimacy attributed to the standard uniform can impact officers' willingness to engage in certain behaviors when in uniform, at least for the female officers in our sample. This research supports the important role of officer appearance in shaping police perceptions and behaviors, complementing existing research that examines citizens' perceptions of police uniforms and accoutrements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police continue to cite struggles of attracting applicants to their agencies. One means by which police attempt to attract applicants is via their recruitment videos. As part of the present research, I employ content analysis to descriptively assess the material contained within a large sample of recruitment videos from police agencies across the USA (N = 567). Trained coders reviewed each video and coded them for an array of different variables, including video characteristics, officer representation, informational content, and behavioural content. The analyses reveal that in addition to including some technical information about the job, many videos also feature high-speed driving, the use of firearms, the demonstration of canine as well as special weapons and tactics units, and an emphasis on men, masculinity, and physicality. Although many videos still highlight some community-oriented behaviours, such behaviours are often less salient than the former. By cataloging recruitment videos, I both identify and interrogate the behaviours highlighted by police as part of their recruiting efforts and discuss the associated implications for people's potential interest in policing careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policing has historically been conceptualized as a masculine and maledominated profession. As part of the present research, we test two competing hypotheses about the effects of officer gender on citizens' (N¼251) perceptions of officer aggression. Our results reveal that women are perceived as less aggressive than men when wearing civilian clothes, but similarly aggressive as men when wearing their police uniform. By experimentally testing the salience of policing versus gender cues on judgments of officers, we provide insight into the gendered dynamics of policing and complement existing research in the fields of criminology and psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policing has historically been conceptualized as a team sport which requires the work of many to produce the output of one. Although police officers have been the focus of much policing research, it is important to recognize that the work of officers hinges upon the work of dispatchers. As a lifeline for both citizens and police officers, dispatchers play an integral role in ensuring that help is provided where help is required via their management of the emergency (911) telephone and radio system. Despite their importance, however, dispatchers have largely been excluded from mainstream criminological scholarship. Supplemented by a narrative review of the scant literature on the subject of dispatching, this commentary illustrates the important role of dispatchers in policing operations, theorizes the dearth of research regarding dispatchers, and calls for future research to better understand their discretionary and interpretive work. This commentary thus casts light on these highly important but understudied and undertheorized figures in the policing nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research experimentally evaluates the effects of vests, gloves, batons, sunglasses, and hats on perceptions of police officers as aggressive, approachable, friendly, respectful, and accountable. The results reveal a plethora of findings, which together suggest that variation in officer appearance elicits variation in perceptions of officers. For example, high-visibility vests exhibit positive effects on perceptions of officers. Black gloves, longstick batons, and sunglasses, in contrast, exhibit negative effects on perceptions of officers. Load-bearing vests exhibit mixed effects and baseball hats exhibit no significant effects. Accoutrements as signals of intent are important means by which police exude presence and nonverbally communicate their philosophies and intentions to the public. Practitioners and academics alike should consider these perceptual effects when examining the police-perception nexus. By strategically equipping and deploying officers in appropriate aesthetics, police departments may enhance their relations with the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]