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1 – 10 of 282Xinting Wang, Jihong Zhao and Jia Qu
The purpose of this study is to explore factors correlated with police cadets' perceived commitment to the police profession – whether or not personal attitudes and demographic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore factors correlated with police cadets' perceived commitment to the police profession – whether or not personal attitudes and demographic characteristics can make a difference.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used two-year longitudinal data collected from a population of 207 Chinese police cadets. Survey research based on pre-designed instruments was employed to collect the data.
Findings
The results from panel data analysis found that personal interest in adolescence and attitudes toward styles of policing were significant predictors. Specifically, attitudes toward community policing were positively related to the cadets' commitment to the police profession.
Originality/value
Police occupational commitment is essential since the commitment is closely linked to voluntary retention and organizational effectiveness. However, limited empirical research has been available regarding the factors associated with officers' identification and commitment to the occupation. This study provides insight into police officer training and recruitment and offers suggestions for future research.
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Xinting Wang, Jia Qu and Jihong Zhao
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect and duration of supervised field training on police cadets' worldview of police work in China.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect and duration of supervised field training on police cadets' worldview of police work in China.
Design/methodology/approach
The four-wave longitudinal data were collected from graduate students who were pursuing their master's degree in a national Chinese police university from 2016 to 2018. Independent variables including demographic characteristics and knowledge along with experience gained from the internship were used to explain police cadets' attitudes toward police work. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression models were used in the current study.
Findings
Findings derived from multiple regression analyses suggest that police cadets' attitudes toward police work are conducive to the “shock” of the real-world experience after three-month field training. However, the effect of the field training on police cadets' attitudes toward police work is temporary, not enduring.
Research limitations/implications
The data for this study were collected from one national police university, and the findings reported here may not be generalized.
Practical implications
Police field training is important for cadets to develop positive view of police work. It provides practical knowledge for police training and socializes cadets before entering into the law enforcement filed, avoiding the financial cost of resignation. However, the influence of field training is temporal. Hence, it is more appropriate for police administrators to arrange police cadets' field training close to their graduation date, the third year of their college education.
Originality/value
This study can be considered as an extension of relevant research on law-enforcement-related field training reported in the United States. However, it goes beyond the existing literature by using longitudinal data to answer a long-overdue question: Does supervised field training change the worldview of cadets concerning police work?
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Steven Jay Cuvelier, Di Jia and Cheng Jin
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Chinese police cadets’ background, motivations and educational perceptions and their attitudes toward common police…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Chinese police cadets’ background, motivations and educational perceptions and their attitudes toward common police roles.
Design/methodology/approach
Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 382 Chinese police cadets. Based upon predisposition and socialization theories, personal background, career motivation and attitudes toward education were examined as statistical explanations of cadets’ attitudes toward order maintenance, preventative patrol, law enforcement, and community building as elements of the police role.
Findings
Cadets who recognized more value in their practical and academic education also significantly favored the transitional and contemporary police roles (preventative patrol, law enforcement, and community building), which are taught as part of their college curriculum. But educational perceptions had no effect on order maintenance, which is a more historical role, and not emphasized by the police college. Cadets from lower SES backgrounds and those receiving outside influence to select a policing career tended to support traditional police roles whereas cadets with a relative in policing tended to show greater support for contemporary policing roles.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by being a cross-sectional study of a single police college. Future studies should incorporate a longitudinal element to follow the perceptions of cadets from their school experience into the policing profession and should be conducted in other settings to assess generalizability.
Practical implications
The impact of higher education on police cadets appears to be better measured as a function of their perceived importance of education (engagement) rather than measuring their exposure to it. The effectiveness of police training and education may be enhanced by adopting teaching methods that better engage learners.
Social implications
Better alignment between police officers’ attitudes toward their roles and duties and contemporary police standards and practices will assure more effective and responsible police action and delivery of police services to the community.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to demonstrate that Cadets who hold higher regard for practical and academic education are significantly better aligned to the policing roles emphasized by their educational program.
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This paper aims to consider the training provided to Volunteer Police Cadet (VPC) Leaders in police forces across England and Wales who, as part of the wider policing volunteer…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to consider the training provided to Volunteer Police Cadet (VPC) Leaders in police forces across England and Wales who, as part of the wider policing volunteer family, lead organised youth development activities for uniformed police cadets.
Design/methodology/approach
An online ethically approved questionnaire was administered to volunteer leaders across six VPC schemes hosted by police forces in England and Wales. The sample population being selected due to their geographical spread across both nations, along with the similarities of their VPC schemes. The questionnaire collected demographic information of respondents, then used a blend of closed questions. Likert scales and free text boxes to explore attitudes.
Findings
The training for the volunteer leaders seems to focus on the mandated elements provided to protect the cadets from harm and also the organisation from litigation. With little development of additional knowledge, skills and behaviours (and in some cases required qualifications) to enhance the service and opportunities delivered to the young people by the volunteers.
Research limitations/implications
Due in part to the limited response rate, this research cannot claim to be representative of all individuals engaged in this voluntary role; it does however provide insights into the training of such volunteers.
Practical implications
The research informs the decision makers of how the training of volunteer cadet leaders within forces seems to focus on the completion of the mandatory elements, with little further development of the volunteers to deliver both varied and challenging activities for the cadets.
Originality/value
The research provides an insight for decision makers on how the training of volunteer cadet leaders within forces seems to focus on the mandatory elements, with few opportunities for further development of volunteer leaders to deliver new, varied and challenging activities for the cadets.
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Ivan Y. Sun, Michael A. Cretacci, Yuning Wu and Cheng Jin
The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese police cadets' attitudes toward police roles and their work.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese police cadets' attitudes toward police roles and their work.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey data collected from 182 cadets in a Chinese police college, this paper assesses the influences of cadets' characteristics and training on their attitudes toward law enforcement, order maintenance, preventive patrol, and community building.
Findings
Cadets without family members or relatives serving as police officers and with stronger physical capability are more likely to support the law enforcement role, while cadets with greater physical capability are less likely to favor order maintenance. Younger cadets and those without a Bachelor's degree are more likely to view preventive patrol as an important goal for the police. Cadets with stronger attitudes toward law enforcement are more likely to regard community building as an important police goal.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should continue to explore factors that influence officers' occupational attitudes and incorporate more attitudinal dimensions into the analysis. Future projects should also target local station officers from different departments.
Originality/value
This study represents one of the first attempts to empirically assess Chinese police cadets' work‐related attitudes. Findings of the study provide Chinese police administrators with useful references and directions to improve police training and enhance police‐community relations.
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Yuning Wu, Kai Lin, Luye Li and Xiying Wang
The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese police officers’ general support for police intervention into domestic violence, emphasizing adequate protection of the victims…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese police officers’ general support for police intervention into domestic violence, emphasizing adequate protection of the victims, and specific support for utilizing arrests to deal with the offenders.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on survey data collected from 1,064 police officers who worked in multiple areas in two provinces of China between June and July of 2019. OLS models were used to test whether organizational variables are significant predictors of officer attitudes toward domestic violence intervention.
Findings
Both agency endorsement and supervisory support are positively related to officers’ favorable attitudes toward police intervention into domestic violence and using arrests to handle offenders. The amount of training received from the agency on the recently promulgated Anti-Domestic Violence Law, however, has a negative influence on officer support for general intervention into domestic violence and no influence on officer attitudes toward arrests.
Originality/value
This study represents one of the first attempts to investigate the connections between organizational and managerial factors and Chinese officers’ support for both general and specific interventions into domestic violence. It contributes to the current literature that only included police cadets in the analysis of Chinese police attitudes toward domestic violence despite the fundamental differences between cadets and active-duty officers.
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Ivan Y. Sun, Jianhong Liu and Ashley K. Farmer
– The purpose of this paper is to assess factors that influence Chinese police supervisors’ attitudes toward police roles, community policing, and job satisfaction.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess factors that influence Chinese police supervisors’ attitudes toward police roles, community policing, and job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from police supervisors in a major Chinese city. Multivariate regression was used to assess the effects of officers’ background characteristics and assignments on their occupational attitudes.
Findings
Ethnic minority supervisors were more likely to have a broader order maintenance orientation, a narrower crime fighting orientation, and supportive attitudes toward quality of life activities. Less experienced supervisors were more inclined to favor the order maintenance role. Supervisors with a stronger order maintenance orientation tended to support problem solving activities and have a greater level of job satisfaction. Officers with military service experience also expressed a higher degree of job satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
Survey data collected from a single Chinese city may not be generalizable to officers in other regions and departments.
Practical implications
Police administrators should screen all applicants on attitudes that reflect departmental work priorities and styles of policing during the initial selection process. Desirable attitudes can be further molded into officers during their academic training, field officer training, and in-service training. Police administrators should continue their recruiting efforts targeting former military personnel. With adequate training in fulfilling civilian tasks and displaying proper outlooks, these individuals could become effective members of the forces.
Originality/value
Despite a growing number of studies on crime and justice in China, empirical research on policing in general and on officers’ occupational attitudes in particular remains very limited. This study represents one of the first attempts to assess factors related to police occupational outlooks in China.
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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.
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Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovic´ and Maria R. Haberfeld
During the last decade Croatia and Poland underwent a period of major political transformation from communist regimes to democratic forms of government. Although their police…
Abstract
During the last decade Croatia and Poland underwent a period of major political transformation from communist regimes to democratic forms of government. Although their police forces function within similar political frameworks, their operational agendas are somewhat different. Due to the differences in social and economic environments, as well as the recent war in Croatia, the challenges the two police forces faced in the transition period varied substantially. This paper analyzes and compares the processes of change encountered by the two law enforcement agencies.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine how receptive police officers are to having women as partners and supervisors at work in a cross-national context. Specifically, it…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how receptive police officers are to having women as partners and supervisors at work in a cross-national context. Specifically, it compares male and female police officers’ views on women in policing along three dimensions in Dubai and Taipei: perceived efficacy of women in policing; receptiveness of women at work (as partners and supervisor); and perceived women’s role in police work.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys (with the same instrument) were conducted with 622 officers (344 male and 278 female officers) in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and 391 officers (297 male and 94 female officers) in Taipei, Taiwan. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed to compare male and female officers’ views on women in policing in both countries.
Findings
It was found that female officers (in Dubai and Taipei) were more likely than their male colleagues to see women as capable and effective in performing police duties. Compared to their colleagues in Taiwan, the Emirati male and female officers were more likely to be supportive of women’s restricted role in policing. Dubai male officers were less likely to be receptive to working at a unit with a female as their supervisor in comparison to their female colleagues in both countries.
Research limitations/implications
Although this study provides important information from a cross-national perspective, caution should be taken while interpreting these findings. The gender roles embedded in Islamic cultures seem to explain Dubai officers’ favorable attitudes toward women’s restricted role in policing. Future studies should incorporate in-depth interviews to explain why officers in Dubai prefer women’s restricted roles in policing.
Practical implications
The statistical analyses show that officers with higher levels of confidence not only held more positive attitudes toward women in policing, but also were more receptive to having women as their partners and supervisors. It suggests that confident officers would be more open-minded and welcome the entry of women into police work. By offering training courses that enhance officers’ work confidence, police organizations in both countries might well cultivate a welcoming work environment for women.
Social implications
If police organizations in Taiwan and the UAE instill cultures with an emphasis less on masculine traits than on collaborative style, male officers might free themselves from traditional gender norms and become more welcoming to women who work in policing.
Originality/value
Previous scholarly efforts on examining different areas of women in policing have mainly focused on police officers in western countries, leaving a relative scarcity of information about how officers perceive women’s role in policing in the other parts of the globe. Female officers have to work hand in hand with male officers in policing. To enhance the efficiency of deployment and cohesion of work relationship among male and female officers, it is important to understand how male officers perceive women’s roles in policing and how receptive they are to having women as partners. Understanding their perceptions from both sides can help administrations initiate effective training and educational programs.
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