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Article
Publication date: 12 July 2022

Kenghui Lin, Aiden Sidebottom and Richard Wortley

This paper aims to investigate how evidence-based policing (EBP) is understood by police officers and citizens in Taiwan and the influence of police education on police recruit's…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how evidence-based policing (EBP) is understood by police officers and citizens in Taiwan and the influence of police education on police recruit's receptivity to research evidence in policing.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a cross-sectional design that includes Taiwanese police officers (n = 671) and a control group of Taiwanese criminology undergraduate students (n = 85). A research instrument covering five themes is developed, and after a pilot test the final scale remains 14 items.

Findings

The analysis suggests that police officers in Taiwan generally hold a positive view towards the role of research and researchers in policing, more so than is often observed in similar studies conducted in Western countries. Receptivity to research was found to be significantly higher among the non-police sample compared to the police sample. Moreover, time spent in police education was significantly associated with lower levels of receptivity to research.

Originality/value

The paper makes two original contributions to the literature on police officer receptivity to research. It is the first paper to (1) empirically examine police officers' openness to, and use of research in an Asian setting and (2) to compare police officers' receptivity to research with those of a relevant non-police group.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 45 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 July 2018

Jessica Huff, Charles M. Katz and Vincent J. Webb

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been adopted in police agencies across the USA in efforts to increase police transparency and accountability. This widespread implementation has…

1916

Abstract

Purpose

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been adopted in police agencies across the USA in efforts to increase police transparency and accountability. This widespread implementation has occurred despite some notable resistance to BWCs from police officers in some jurisdictions. This resistance poses a threat to the appropriate implementation of this technology and adherence to BWC policies. The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that could explain variation in officer receptivity to BWCs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors assess differences between officers who volunteered to wear a BWC and officers who resisted wearing a BWC as part of a larger randomized controlled trial of BWCs in the Phoenix Police Department. The authors specifically examine whether officer educational attainment, prior use of a BWC, attitudes toward BWCs, perceptions of organizational justice, support for procedural justice, noble cause beliefs, and official measures of officer activity predict receptivity to BWCs among 125 officers using binary logistic regression.

Findings

The findings indicate limited differences between BWC volunteers and resistors. Volunteers did have higher levels of educational attainment and were more likely to agree that BWCs improve citizen behaviors, relative to their resistant counterparts. Interestingly, there were no differences in perceptions of organizational justice, self-initiated activities, use of force, or citizen complaints between these groups.

Originality/value

Though a growing body of research has examined the impact of BWCs on officer use of force and citizen complaints, less research has examined officer attitudes toward the adoption of this technology. Extant research in this area largely focusses on general perceptions of BWCs, as opposed to officer characteristics that could predict receptivity to BWCs. This paper addresses this limitation in the research.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 41 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 October 2022

Hannah Cochran and Robert E. Worden

The objectives of this research were to examine how officer perspectives on body-worn cameras (BWCs) are patterned by broader occupational attitudes, and to analyze stability and…

Abstract

Purpose

The objectives of this research were to examine how officer perspectives on body-worn cameras (BWCs) are patterned by broader occupational attitudes, and to analyze stability and change in officers' attitudes toward BWCs before and after the deployment of the technology.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analyze panel survey data on individual officers in the Albany (New York) Police Department (APD).

Findings

Pre-BWC deployment, officers varied in their occupational attitudes and BWC perspectives, and the officers' BWC outlooks bore relationships to several occupational attitudes. BWC outlooks were largely stable following deployment. Individual changes in BWC perspectives were related to officers' assignments and unrelated to officers' occupational attitudes.

Originality/value

The authors use panel survey data to test hypotheses about the effect of broad occupational attitudes on officers' receptivity to BWCs and to analyze change pre-/post-BWC deployment.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 46 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2002

John K. Cochran, Max L. Bromley and Matthew J. Swando

Many criminologists have investigated the implementation process concerning the transformation toward community‐oriented policing, while researchers interested in the area of work…

Abstract

Many criminologists have investigated the implementation process concerning the transformation toward community‐oriented policing, while researchers interested in the area of work and occupations and/or complex organizations have examined factors which contribute to or inhibit successful organizational change. To date, however, there has been little empirical research addressing the issue of employee receptivity to such change. The present study examines the effects of sheriff’s deputies’ socio‐demographic characteristics, work orientations, and perceptions of agency readiness/preparedness on their receptivity to organizational change. These deputies are employed in a sheriff’s department undergoing an agency‐wide shift toward community‐oriented policing. Our findings suggest that a service orientation and a belief that the agency has attained an appropriate level of preparedness positively influence their receptivity to change.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 January 2023

Kenneth M. Quick

This study aims to investigate critical differences between police officer willingness to use and recommend an employee assistance program (EAP) to a peer, including the…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate critical differences between police officer willingness to use and recommend an employee assistance program (EAP) to a peer, including the relationship between officer perceptions of macro-level organizational support and micro-level EAP support.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of 213 police officers from a large, urban police department in the Northeast United States of America is used to evaluate the relationship between officer perceptions of the EAP and the officers' willingness to use and recommend the EAP to peers. Generalized linear regression models are used to evaluate the moderating effect of perceived organizational support (POS) on perceived EAP support.

Findings

The findings of this study suggest that POS strongly predicts willingness to use the EAP, but POS has no significant relationship with willingness to recommend the EAP. There is evidence that POS moderates the relationship of EAP support on willingness to recommend the EAP to a peer. When POS decreases, the relationship of EAP support with willingness to recommend the EAP to peers becomes stronger.

Research limitations/implications

The current study is limited by the study's focus on only one police department and the department's use of cross-sectional data, which may limit the generalizability of the results to agencies that differ in size and type.

Practical implications

This research has practical implications for those who seek to improve officer receptivity to mental health support and improve the quality of police services provided to the public. The findings demonstrate that improving officer willingness to recommend the EAP to peers may be a more sustainable pathway to addressing officer mental health than willingness to use the EAP considering the current movement toward police reform.

Originality/value

The research unveils significant differences in police officer decision-making between using the EAP and recommending it to a peer. The research also adds empirical evidence to existing research on the role of POS in policing and the altruistic, peer-focused nature of the police subculture.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 46 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2011

Chang‐Hun Lee and Junseob Moon

The purpose of the current study is to address limitations identified in the literature on officers' attitudes and their effects on community policing activity. Prior studies are…

1111

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the current study is to address limitations identified in the literature on officers' attitudes and their effects on community policing activity. Prior studies are limited in that attitudes toward COP strategy were treated as outcome variables and that factors affecting officers' attitudes were under‐investigated. The current study employed officers' attitudes toward individual and departmental policing as well as perception of community relationship to investigate path mechanisms among these exogenous variables and their direct and indirect effects on COP activity.

Design/methodology/approach

The data utilized for structural equation modeling were collected from 206 South Korean police officers, who were designated as COP officers or who were under COP training at the time of the survey. Variables were measured by an organizational survey developed by the Michigan Regional Community Policing Institute. Based on results of the literature review, a hypothesized structural model was proposed and tested to identify a best‐fitting model, explaining the greatest amount of variance in COP activity.

Findings

The results of SEM indicated that officers' positive attitude toward managerial leadership was one of the direct influences on COP activity, and cynicism toward departmental policing and its effectiveness directly and negatively influenced COP activity. In addition, cynicism was negatively influenced by community ownership and job satisfaction, and it in turn negatively influenced commitment to COP. Finally, community ownership directly and positively influenced strategic commitment among South Korean police officers.

Research limitations/implications

Although the current study utilized data collected from a random sample, the number of data are relatively small, so as to make generalization of the findings to the entire population of South Korean police departments.

Originality/value

The current study investigated attitudinal factors that have not been examined in previous studies on COP implementation. In addition, using SEM, the current study attempted to identify a path mechanism among various attitudinal variables relevant to COP activity.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 September 2019

Jacinta M. Gau and Nicholas D. Paul

The purpose of this paper is to examine police officers’ attitudes toward community policing and order maintenance, as well as the facets of the work environment that impact those…

1587

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine police officers’ attitudes toward community policing and order maintenance, as well as the facets of the work environment that impact those attitudes.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data come from a sample of officers in a mid-sized police department. Ordinary least squares regression modeling is used to examine community-policing, order-maintenance and law-enforcement role orientations.

Findings

Officers endorse community partnerships, but are less enthusiastic about order maintenance. They also display mid-level support for traditional law enforcement. Work–environment variables have inconsistent impacts across the three role orientations.

Research limitations/implications

This was a survey of attitudes in one department. Future research should examine officers’ involvement in community-policing and order-maintenance activities and any impediments to such activities.

Practical implications

The findings have implications for police leaders seeking to implement community policing and ensure street-level officers are carrying out partnership and order-maintenance activities. In particular, top management must foster a positive work environment and personally model commitment to policing innovations.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the currently sparse body of literature on officer attitudes toward community policing and order maintenance, and incorporates traditional law-enforcement attitudes as a point of contrast. This paper advances the scholarly understanding of police officers’ role orientations.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 42 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 17 February 2023

Jon Maskály and Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovich

Abstract

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 46 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Article
Publication date: 7 July 2021

Obed Magny and Natalie Todak

Emotional intelligence (EI) reflects an ability to acknowledge one's own emotional state and keep one's emotions in balance while recognizing emotions in others, managing…

2209

Abstract

Purpose

Emotional intelligence (EI) reflects an ability to acknowledge one's own emotional state and keep one's emotions in balance while recognizing emotions in others, managing interactions and relationships with them and resolving conflict. Considering that police work largely involves interactions with others, the purpose of this paper is to offer a state-of-the-art review of the research on EI in policing.

Design/methodology/approach

Using several online databases, a literature search was performed to collect all peer reviewed studies on EI in policing from around the globe. The authors review the nature of this research and its major findings. They also summarize how EI was conceptualized and measured across studies.

Findings

The authors' search generated a list of 20 studies carried out in 9 countries. Almost all used survey methods and most adopted an ability-based model of EI. The most common area of focus was on correlates of EI in police officers (N = 12), followed by descriptive studies of EI in police officers (N = 5), and finally assessments of the relevance of EI for police training (N = 3).

Originality/value

Policing research has not paid enough attention to EI. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first effort to assess the state of this literature. With law enforcement agencies looking for ways to improve citizen trust and legitimacy worldwide, the preliminary evidence suggests EI warrants considerably more empirical and practical consideration.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 44 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 August 2010

Chang‐Hun Lee, Jung‐Mi Kim and Jong‐Gil Kim

The aim of the current study is three‐fold: it aims to empirically investigates the relationship between officers' perceptions on organizational structure and preventive policing…

1038

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the current study is three‐fold: it aims to empirically investigates the relationship between officers' perceptions on organizational structure and preventive policing practices (PPP) in the South Korean context; it attempts to find what aspects of organizational characteristics will be influential in police officers' day‐to‐day activities;, utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM), it aims to identitify the complex networks of influences among various organizational aspects.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study utilizes data collected from two different samples: a total of 146 randomly selected police officers in a metropolitan police agency, and 60 police officers who were attending a community policing training course. Overall response rate was 73.6 percent. The organizational characteristics investigated include strategic direction, decentralization of authority, system flexibility, reward system, and open‐system feedback mechanism.

Findings

The results of SEM indicate that officers' perceptions on organizational structure (except open‐system feedback mechanism) of Korean police agency do not influence an individual police officer's preventive policing activity. The study found a significant relationship between officers' perceptions on open‐system structure and preventive policing practice. Finally, the study also identified a complex network of organizational traits on preventive policing: strategic direction influences all other organizational factors; system flexibility is a prerequisite for the open system; and decentralization of authority influences the open system structure.

Research limitations/implications

Although this study uniquely utilized organizational factors measured at the individual level, one may criticize the lack of a more direct organizational measure, such as organizational size, age, task scope, or number of ranks. Future study on this topic will benefit from employing both direct and indirect organizational measures.

Originality/value

The current study enhances the understanding of individual perception of organizational characteristics on police officers' day‐to‐day preventive policing activities.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

1 – 10 of 475