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1 – 10 of over 10000
Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Ronald J. Burke and Aslaug Mikkelsen

Although many studies have considered burnout in the human services, little research on burnout has focused on police officers. This study aims to examine the relationship between…

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Abstract

Purpose

Although many studies have considered burnout in the human services, little research on burnout has focused on police officers. This study aims to examine the relationship between burnout and police officers' attitudes towards the use of force and attitudes towards the use of social skills to solve problems.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 766 police officers in Norway using anonymously completed questionnaires.

Findings

Police officers reporting higher levels of cynicism also held more favorable attitudes towards the use of force; police officers reporting higher levels of professional efficacy also held more favorable attitudes towards the use of social skills to solve problems.

Research limitations/implications

Future research needs to examine these findings in other countries and using longitudinal research designs.

Practical implications

Organizations are advised to monitor burnout levels of front‐line service workers and introduce structures and processes to reduce burnout levels.

Originality/value

This study has value for senior police management and employment counselors.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 May 2022

Michael T.H. Lai, Emmy Yeung and Rosanna Leung

Policing activities aim to provide a safe environment for tourists. With the recent major protests that have erupted around the world, and the novel use of excessive police force…

Abstract

Purpose

Policing activities aim to provide a safe environment for tourists. With the recent major protests that have erupted around the world, and the novel use of excessive police force against protestors, people may wonder if the policing deployment is for destination safety or to deter tourists from visiting. This paper aims to investigate anti-police and pro-police attitudes and tourists' behavioural responses towards a popular destination experiencing an ongoing social movement.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected between December 2019 and January 2020 (during the social movement). An online survey with a snowball sampling method was adopted to reach international tourists who were aware of the social movement in Hong Kong.

Findings

The results revealed that an individual with an anti-police attitude was found to be related to cognitive and affective destination images and perceived risks while those holding a pro-police attitude were more concerned with destination images only. No significant correlation was found between attitudes towards policing and travel intention.

Originality/value

This research presents a first attempt to investigate the relationship between tourists' policing attitudes and their behavioural responses during an ongoing social movement in a popular destination city.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2010

James J. Sobol

The purpose of this paper is to use Klinger's theory of negotiated order to examine whether district crime and deviance levels exert influence on levels of police cynicism towards

2060

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use Klinger's theory of negotiated order to examine whether district crime and deviance levels exert influence on levels of police cynicism towards district residents. A secondary purpose is to discuss the policy implications for the proposed relationship between district crime and police cynicism.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews from the Project on Policing Neighborhood (POPN) and patrol district crime data were used to study whether crime and deviance levels exert influence on police cynicism of district residents (n=574). It was hypothesized that officers would be more cynical of citizens in districts with higher rates of violent crime compared with their colleagues assigned to districts with lower rates of violent crime.

Findings

The results of OLS regression analyses indicate that district violent crime rate was related to police cynicism and in the direction hypothesized, controlling for both individual and occupational covariates. Officers with more experience were also found to have lower levels of cynicism.

Research limitations/implications

Items used to construct the measure of police cynicism were adapted from the POPN survey data set which asked general questions about officer perceptions of district residents. Further research and better measures are necessary in order to examine the determinants of police cynicism with implications for explaining behavior. Findings from the study might be used by policymakers in terms of police assignment and deployment to high crime areas.

Originality/value

This is the first empirical attempt at examining Klinger's theory of social ecology. The study incorporates a policy argument based on the theoretical precepts and the results from the data analysis.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2006

Steven Chermak, Edmund McGarrell and Jeff Gruenewald

The purpose of this paper is to examine how celebrated cases affect attitudes toward police, controlling for key demographic, police contact, and neighborhood contextual variables.

19011

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how celebrated cases affect attitudes toward police, controlling for key demographic, police contact, and neighborhood contextual variables.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents two waves of public opinion data measuring attitudes toward police, police services, police harassment, and officer guilt before and after a celebrated police misconduct trial. Data were collected by telephone from residents living in three areas.

Findings

The findings in the paper suggest that news consumption of this celebrated case had no significant effects on general attitudes toward police, police services, and concerns about police harassment. Media coverage, however, did effect citizen evaluation of the guilt of the officers involved in the case. The more a citizen read a newspaper or read about the case, the more likely she was to think that the officers were guilty. Concern about crime in the neighborhood was an important predictor of attitudes toward the police, and race effects were much more pronounced after media coverage of the case.

Research limitations/implications

This paper highlights the need to examine more closely media coverage of celebrated cases and the effects of such high profile cases. In addition, it illustrates that public opinion research must be careful of contextual variables when conducting a study at a single point in time.

Practical implications

These findings also have critical implications for law enforcement agencies. The findings highlight the importance of police departments being prepared to respond to crisis events.

Originality/value

This paper is valuable to scholars and police practitioners because of its close examination of the effects of a celebrated case on various measures of public opinion of the police. Although there have many studies examining this general topic, research has ignored the impact of media coverage generally and coverage of high profile incidents.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2005

Yolander G. Hurst, M. Joan McDermott and Deborah L. Thomas

Recent research suggests that there is not widespread support for the police among juveniles. Unfortunately, this research typically involves either examining the attitudes of…

2696

Abstract

Purpose

Recent research suggests that there is not widespread support for the police among juveniles. Unfortunately, this research typically involves either examining the attitudes of boys toward the criminal justice system, or includes gender as one of many factors that explains attitudes. The present study, using survey responses from 431 females, examines the differences in the attitudes and experiences of girls as related to the police.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study were collected using self‐administered surveys distributed to 9th through 12th grade public high school students in the greater Cincinnati (Ohio) area.

Findings

The findings suggest that overall attitudes of black and white girls toward the police are significantly different from one another. Moreover, when a regression equation was estimated, race continued to be a significant predictor of less positive attitudes. However, seeing and hearing about police misconduct aimed at a third party (vicarious experiences of misconduct) was a stronger predictor of girls' attitudes toward the police.

Research limitations/implications

This study was limited to juveniles residing in and around a metropolitan area. Future research should explore the experiences of teenagers in rural areas with the police, and how these experiences may impact on their attitudes toward law enforcement.

Originality/value

Highlights the different attitudes of black and white girls towards the police.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2001

Sam Torres and Ronald E. Vogel

To address a persistent crime problem in a large, high crime apartment complex occupied by Latino and Vietnamese immigrants in Garden Grove, California, the local police

1306

Abstract

To address a persistent crime problem in a large, high crime apartment complex occupied by Latino and Vietnamese immigrants in Garden Grove, California, the local police department opened a storefront office. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact this community policing effort had on the residents of the complex in terms of reducing fear of crime and improving attitudes towards the police. A questionnaire was administered to the residents before opening the storefront office and at the conclusion of the project. Despite group differences, the results revealed that the intervention had a positive impact on both groups. Overall, Latinos reported less fear of crime after the intervention and improved perception of the police. The Vietnamese reported more fear of crime than Latinos (pre and post) but less fear of crime after the intervention. However, their attitudes towards the police, which were very positive on the pretest, did not improve on the post‐test.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2012

Gia Elise Barboza

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between global and specific attitudes of unfair police treatment towards Mexican Americans and how attitudes towards the

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between global and specific attitudes of unfair police treatment towards Mexican Americans and how attitudes towards the police vary with socio‐demographic characteristics, victim status, linguistic barriers, group consciousness and socially disorganized contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from the 2006 National Latino Survey, which is a representative random sample of 1,815 self‐identified persons of Mexican‐origin born in the USA were used to investigate three research questions: What is the prevalence in which Mexican‐Americans claim to be treated unfairly by the police?; What is the prevalence in which Mexican‐Americans perceive unfair treatment toward their ethnic group?; and Do cultural factors and/or heightened group consciousness and identity contribute to Mexican‐Americans perceptions of either specific or more generalized unfair police treatment? A structural equation model was developed to explore the relationship between global and specific measures of unfair police treatment and variables measuring socio‐demographic and linguistic characteristics, as well as socially disorganized contexts, group consciousness and identity.

Findings

Mexican‐Americans residing in socially disorganized contexts are significantly more likely to have positive global assessments of the police. The relationship between both social disorganization and specific and global attitudes was statistically significant. Individuals who have a strong sense of linked fate, possess a shared sense of common purpose and interest, and identify strongly with their ethnic group are significantly more likely to perceive that the police treat their group unfairly.

Research limitations/implications

The current investigation is limited by the nature of the data, which is based wholly on self‐report. In addition, while the frequency and nature of police contact plays a role in influencing negative perceptions of police encounters, it was not possible to assess those influences here. Finally, the current analysis is limited by the cross‐sectional nature of the data and no inferences regarding causality can be made.

Practical implications

This study has implications for the legitimacy of the criminal justice system and will help criminal justice actors understand the broader implications of police‐citizen interactions.

Social implications

The paper shows how social interactions are affected by group membership.

Originality/value

No study to date explores the relationship between group‐based identity, group consciousness and perceptions of unfair treatment by the police. These studies are usually limited to the political science literature.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 6 April 2023

Gali Perry, Tal Jonathan-Zamir and Roni Factor

Purpose – Emergency situations are known to have significant effects on public attitudes toward the police. However, little is known about these effects over prolonged periods of…

Abstract

Purpose – Emergency situations are known to have significant effects on public attitudes toward the police. However, little is known about these effects over prolonged periods of time, and how they vary across different types of attitudes. Moreover, it is unclear what the root causes of fluctuations in public sentiments of the police in emergency situations are. The present chapter reviews the findings of a research project designed to address these questions.

Methodology/Approach – A three-wave panel survey carried out in Israel in the first three peaks (and corresponding lockdowns) of the COVID-19 pandemic: April, September and December, 2020.

Findings – Following what appears to be a rise in support for the police at the first peak of the pandemic, the authors find a significant drop in numerous types of attitudes in the second peak. Between the second and the third peaks, broad evaluations of the police (not directly related to the pandemic) stabilized, while some pandemic-specific attitudes continued to deteriorate. The drop in diffused support for the police was associated with participants’ assessments of the government’s performance in handling the pandemic.

Originality/Value – Beyond shedding light on fluctuations in public attitudes toward the police over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, these findings add to our more general understanding of what happens to the relationship between the police and the public in emergency situations.

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2018

Amy M. Alberton and Kevin M. Gorey

This scoping review thoroughly scanned research on race, contacts with police and attitudes toward police. An exploratory meta-analysis then assessed the strength of their…

1313

Abstract

Purpose

This scoping review thoroughly scanned research on race, contacts with police and attitudes toward police. An exploratory meta-analysis then assessed the strength of their associations and interaction in Canada and the USA. Key knowledge gaps and specific future research needs, synthetic and primary, were identified. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A germinal methodological framework for conducting scoping reviews was used (Arksey and O’Malley, 2005). The authors searched for published or unpublished research over the past 15 years and retrieved 33 eligible surveys, 19 of which were included in a sample-weighted meta-analysis.

Findings

The independent association of contact with attitudes toward police was estimated to be three times larger than the independent race association. Three large knowledge gaps were identified. Almost nothing is known about these associations among specific racial groups as they were typically aggregated into visible minority groupings. The authors have essentially no knowledge yet about specific racial group by a specific type of contact interactions. There is also a lack of generalizable knowledge as research has been largely restricted to locales.

Originality/value

This is the first research synthesis of race and attitudes toward the police that incorporated contacts with the police. Its observation of the relative importance of contacts suggested a great preventive potential. This scoping review identified needs for a full systematic research review and a formal meta-analysis to plan future primary research including large national studies that are truly representative of Canada and America’s diversity. Such will be needed to advance more confident knowledge about the factors that would support more trusted relationships between police and people in the communities they aim to serve.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 41 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2006

R.J. Applegate

This paper considers the influences that have shaped local domestic violence policy and how this has affected police practice in one English police force.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper considers the influences that have shaped local domestic violence policy and how this has affected police practice in one English police force.

Design/methodology/approach

The research in this paper is based upon theoretical concepts of central government and local accountability over policing; policy making and implementation; and pressure group influence. Documents issued to local police forces from Central Government were examined and compared to local policy documents to assess their affect over local police policy. Using a structured format, senior managers were interviewed to gain their impressions of these influences. Views of ground level staff were obtained through postal questionnaires.

Findings

This paper finds public opinion and pressure from academic research upon Central Government has resulted in a very strong central influence over local police policy and practice. Police officers believe that these influences have had a major affect upon the way that they respond to domestic violence issues at a local level, to the point where both managers and front line police officers believe that their discretion in dealing with these issues has been curtailed, and that top down control over police practice has increased. Police attitudes towards policing domestic violence are more enlightened than they once were.

Originality/value

This paper examines the opinions of both senior local police policy makers and front line policy implementers and will be of value to those interested in the policing of domestic violence issues.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

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