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1 – 7 of 7Melissa S. Morabito, April Pattavina and Linda M. Williams
Police officers are exposed to a wide variety of stressors – frequently interacting with people at their worst moments and sometimes absorbing the trauma that victims experience…
Abstract
Purpose
Police officers are exposed to a wide variety of stressors – frequently interacting with people at their worst moments and sometimes absorbing the trauma that victims experience themselves. Investigating sexual assaults reported by adults presents significant challenges given the often high levels of distress experienced by victims paired with the likelihood that no arrest will be made and the low conviction rates. Little research explores the impact this investigatory work has on the detectives who are assigned to these cases.
Design/methodology/approach
Using interviews conducted with 42 sexual assault detectives across six jurisdictions designed to understand sexual assault case attrition, the study enhances understanding of the effects of investigating crimes of sexual violence on detectives. Specifically, the aurhors explore their experiences within the context of burnout and secondary traumatic stress.
Findings
The current study clearly identifies the incidence of emotional symptoms among sexual assault investigators. During the course of interviews about their decision-making, detectives, unprompted by researchers, manifested symptoms of trauma resulting from their assigned caseloads.
Research limitations/implications
Open-ended interviews offer a promising approach to exploring foundational questions.
Practical implications
Exposure to victims who have suffered the trauma of sexual assault can have a subsequent impact on the job performance and personal life of those who respond to victims in immediate crisis and to those who provide long-term assistance. A plan for future research is detailed to better pinpoint how and when these symptoms arise and interventions that may address their effects.
Originality/value
While there is a large literature detailing vicarious trauma for social workers, nurses and doctors, the topic is generally understudied among police officers and specifically detectives despite their repeated contacts with adult victims of violent crimes. This research builds upon the knowledge of burnout experienced by child maltreatment detectives to enhance understanding of sexual assault detectives.
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Erik Alda, Richard R. Bennett and Melissa S. Morabito
The determinants of the fear of crime have been extensively investigated over the past three decades, yet few studies are comparative, include data from developing countries or…
Abstract
Purpose
The determinants of the fear of crime have been extensively investigated over the past three decades, yet few studies are comparative, include data from developing countries or use attitudes toward the police as explanatory variables. Understanding how perceptions of police performance influence fear of crime is essential to developing strategies which will reduce citizens’ isolation and reluctance to exert informal social control in their communities. Such lack of engagement creates opportunities for increased crime and disorder and heightens fear of crime. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the mediating effect of perceived confidence in the police on citizens’ fear of crime in seven developing Caribbean region countries using structural equation modeling. The data were collected in a 2011 United Nations survey from representative samples in each nation.
Findings
The results indicate that confidence in the police plays a significant and partial mediating role in explaining fear of crime and that community- and individual-level characteristics influence the level of confidence and independently affect fear of crime as well.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies that employs comparative victimization data in the Caribbean to examine the role that confidence in the police has on fear of crime. The findings of this study will contribute to fill the gap in the understanding of the drivers of fear of crime in developing countries.
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Melissa Schaefer Morabito, Amy Watson and Jeffrey Draine
The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictors of officer attitudes toward Crisis Intervention Teams, a new innovation designed to improve police response to people with…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictors of officer attitudes toward Crisis Intervention Teams, a new innovation designed to improve police response to people with mental illnesses.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study uses data from a larger study of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program. CIT and Non‐CIT officers were surveyed in four districts. To examine the predictors of officer perceptions of crisis intervention teams, OLS regression is used.
Findings
Neither CIT nor non‐CIT officers seem to show the kinds of negative views of CIT that have undercut other social welfare based police innovations. Among CIT trained officers, those who had the opportunity to practice their new skills by responding to mental health related calls for service had more positive attitudes toward the program than those who did not.
Originality/value
This paper adds to both the Crisis Intervention Team and innovation literatures by examining an important aspect of the CIT implementation process. A model is developed that explores the correlates of officer support for the innovation and the conditions necessary for its successful implementation.
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The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of the political environment in the implementation of community policing, using a model informed by the innovations perspective…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of the political environment in the implementation of community policing, using a model informed by the innovations perspective in addition to the criminal justice literature.
Design/methodology/approach
Using archival data, this paper draws a national sample of 428 police jurisdictions. Multivariate models are estimated to determine the influence of reform governments as indicated by city managers, non‐partisan and at‐large elections, on community policing.
Findings
This paper finds evidence to suggest that reform governments have a limited but significant influence on the adoption of community policing. Form of government and the type of municipal elections do directly influence community policing. Results demonstrate that the innovations literature does explain some variation in community policing adoption across municipalities.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the study should have implications for understanding the extent to which police strategies are implemented in jurisdictions of varying size and demographics. Further research about the adoption of police innovation should be informed by both the criminal justice and the innovations literature.
Originality/value
This paper has value for academics and practitioners interested in the relationship between municipal government and police activities and policies.
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Melissa Thompson and Kimberly Barsamian Kahn
The purpose of this paper is to understand whether mental health status – either alone or in conjunction with race – affects perceptions of police legitimacy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand whether mental health status – either alone or in conjunction with race – affects perceptions of police legitimacy.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey data collected from Portland, Oregon residents (n=259), this research examines predictors of trust in the police.
Findings
Results show that individuals with a history of mental illness are similar to African-American respondents: both are especially distrustful of the police. The combination of race and mental illness does not appear to create additional levels of distrust.
Social implications
This research suggests there are important racial and mental health disparities in perceived police legitimacy, and that these disparities will need to be addressed for the police to successfully combat crime and encourage compliance with the law.
Originality/value
Although research has consistently highlighted how race affects perceptions of police legitimacy, research has not yet examined whether mental health status affects perceptions of police legitimacy; in addition to race, this paper highlights the unique perspectives of individuals with mental health concerns regarding policing.
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The paper aims to propose a novel strategic approach, named a Scorecard‐Markov model, combining an evaluation scorecard and a hidden Markov model (HMM) for new product idea…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to propose a novel strategic approach, named a Scorecard‐Markov model, combining an evaluation scorecard and a hidden Markov model (HMM) for new product idea screening (NPIS) decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
A scorecard is constructed to evaluate new product ideas on several criteria, including customer needs, marketing strength, competency, manufacturing compatibility, and distribution channels, involving a consideration of risk buy. A HMM is then developed accordingly to predict the overall performance of new ideas in terms of success probability. To implement the model, it is trained and tested by the historical dataset of a world‐class, leading company in the power tools industry through a case study.
Findings
The approach is proven to be encouraging and meaningful. The scorecard can serve as a guide for new product idea evaluation to convert experts' linguistic judgments to quantifiable and comparable data, whereas the HMM can determine the success probability of new product ideas to support NPIS decision making based on their computed evaluation performance. The optimal cut‐off value for making either a go or kill decision on each idea can thus be determined. Concerning the case company, a go decision should be made when the probability lies in the interval [0.53, 1].
Practical implications
The model can prevent companies from undertaking risky and failed new product development projects. Further, it is believed that this study can assist decision makers in choosing winning new product ideas towards commercialization in an effective and certain manner, thus enhancing the new product success rate in the innovation industry.
Originality/value
The approach incorporating the scorecard method and HMM is novel. Illustrated by the case study, the application of this approach to NPIS decisions is confirmed to be effective.
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Patrícia R. Sousa, João S. Resende, Rolando Martins and Luís Antunes
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of blockchain for identity management (IdM) in the context of the Internet of things (IoT) while focusing on privacy-preserving…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of blockchain for identity management (IdM) in the context of the Internet of things (IoT) while focusing on privacy-preserving approaches and its applications to healthcare scenarios.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the most relevant IdM systems focusing on privacy preserving with or without blockchain and evaluates them against ten selected features grouped into three categories: privacy, usability and IoT. Then, it is important to analyze whether blockchain should be used in all scenarios, according to the importance of each feature for different use cases.
Findings
Based on analysis of existing systems, Sovrin is the IdM system that covers more features and is based on blockchain. For each of the evaluated use cases, Sovrin and UniquID were the chosen systems.
Research limitations/implications
This paper opens new lines of research for IdM systems in IoT, including challenges related to device identity definition, privacy preserving and new security mechanisms.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the ongoing research in IdM systems for IoT. The adequacy of blockchain is not only analyzed considering the technology; instead the authors analyze its application to real environments considering the required features for each use case.
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