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The study of policing in Anglo-American societies has been severely restricted in the last 20 years to quasi-historical overviews, studies of policing in times of stable, non-crisis periods in democratic societies that in turn had survived the crisis as democracies. Perhaps the epitome of this is the sterile textbook treatment of policing in Canada and the United States – a sterile rubble of functions, duties, training surrounded by clichés about community policing. Scholarly writing on democratic policing and its features is severely limited by lack of inclusiveness of the range of contingencies police face, and many respects this work is non-historical and non-comparative. In the present world of conflict and strife that spreads beyond borders and challenges forces of order at every level, the role of police in democratic societies requires more systematic examination. In my view, this cannot be achieved via a description of trends, a scrutiny of definitions and concepts, or citation of the research literature. Unfortunately, this literature makes a key assumption concerning police powers in democratic societies: that the police are restricted by tradition, tacit conventions, and doctrinal limits rooted in the law or countervailing forces within the society. While these constraints are sometimes summarized as a function of “the rule of law,” this assumption is much deeper and more pervasive than belief in the rule of law. It is possible to have a non-democratic police system that conforms to the rule of law and reflects the political sentiments of the governed. It is also possible to have non-democratic policing emerge from a quasi-democratic system as I show in reference to the transformation of the police in the Weimar Republic to the police system of the Third Reich. The complex relationship between policing and a democratic polity remains to be explored.

Policing agencies across the USA have cited difficulty recruiting qualified applicants, thus leaving many employment vacancies unfilled. One reason for this challenge may be that those who would make exceptional police officers are barred from employment because of their body art. Varying appearance policies exist concerning tattoos, yet little is known about these policies. The purpose of this paper is to survey the tattoo policies of policing agencies.

The tattoo policies of all 50 state-level policing agencies were reviewed to explore similarities and state-level correlates.

The majority, but not all, of state police have some type of appearance policy targeting tattoos. State policing agencies that have a “no visibility” policy regarding tattoos more often were in states with a low percentage of millennial residents, high percentage of young veterans, men and non-Hispanic white citizens, and low crime; t-tests indicate “no visibility” policy states significantly differed from other states in the percentage of non-Hispanic whites and crime. Further, state policing agencies with a “no visibility” policy tended to be in northeastern states, with southern states having the fewest state policing agencies with such policies, although the χ² test was non-significant.

Despite the ubiquity of tattoos in the American society, the literature is scant with studies of police appearance policies regarding tattoos. This study provides a partial summary of tattoo policies at the state policing level.

The purpose of this paper is to examine operational policing practice with reference to reducing sex trafficking.

This is a qualitative study in which in-depth structured interviews were conducted with state police officers in one state of Australia.

The paper reveals that state police officers have a good understanding of sex trafficking and are involved in reactive policing methods in order to reduce this crime type. The data set yields a limitation in proactive policing methods for reducing sex trafficking, primarily due to human and financial resources and the composition of state and federal laws and policing practices in Australia. Those interviewed also noted how sex trafficking can disguise itself as legitimate sex work.

The effectiveness in operational practice at the local, national and international level in reducing sex trafficking can be enhanced through a more co-ordinated response to the problem. Recognition of better communication strategies and partnership working can support a reduction in sex trafficking as well as allowing those who are trafficked the status of “victim”.

To ensure those who are trafficked for sexual servitude are viewed and treated as victims within the law. To review how state police forces in Australia are resourced in order to proactively address sex trafficking. To ensure state police forces can engage in more proactive policing initiatives in order to prevent sex trafficking. Reflect on examples of good practice between federal and state police forces in Australia to implement a co-ordinated approach for combatting sex trafficking.

This is one of just a few studies examining organised crime from the perspective of law enforcement personnel within Australia.

Investigates how effective the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) has been in reaching the goal to inculcate the police in the territory of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) with the West’s value system of policing, that is, “citizen friendly” police. Research methods utilized in this examination included a review of the literature, both interviews and correspondence with officials of the FRG(federal and state), and the content analysis of the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel. The scope of this study was limited to civilian policing, federal and state within the territory of the former GDR. Suggests that it will probably take a considerable amount of time to achieve the goal of citizen‐friendly police in the East, given the turbulence (economic, political, social, etc.) of the past several years. This goal can only be achieved when both police practice and citizen perception are in sync.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical examination of the characteristics of Indian reservation police agencies at the start of the twenty‐first century.

The paper uses national data on tribal police agencies from the 2000 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies and from the 2002 Census of Tribal Justice Agencies (both conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics).

The analysis presented documents both common and distinctive trends in Indian Country policing, and compares tribal police agencies on reservations with non‐Indian police organizations generally.

The paper provides an empirical reference point for assessing future changes and developments in this mostly undocumented form of US policing.

Public opinion regarding the police is generally positive, although there are number of individual and contextual variables that affect these views. Yet research examining public perceptions regarding state law enforcement agencies (particularly state patrols) is rare.

The paper utilizes a representative state‐wide sample of state residents and examine their perceptions of the Colorado State Patrol (CSP).

The paper finds positive views of the CSP overall and place particular emphasis on how individual, contextual, and contact‐related variables affect opinions.

The study focusses on one state patrol and is not generalizable to all state patrols and to other forms of state law enforcement.

The paper fills a void in the research on public opinion regarding state law enforcement and discuss similarities and differences in how they are viewed when compared to municipal agencies.

The purpose of this research is to analyse the vehicular pursuit policy of State Police and State Highway Patrol agencies in the USA.

Written policies were compared against a Standard Policy, developed by the researcher, based on prior academic and legal research in combination with the existing policies of the Connecticut State Police, California Highway Patrol, and the Minnesota State Police. A total of 47 written pursuit policies were received for a 94 percent return rate.

All policies had statements pertaining to safety and the need to pursue with due care and regard for public welfare. Items not included in many policies involved elements pertaining to liability and negligence: concerns that have been demonstrated to be instigators of litigation.

This work centers solely on state agencies. This study is the first step in an ongoing, long‐term project aimed at law enforcement vehicular pursuit policy analysis. The first step in the project centered on state agencies but will grow to include municipal agencies as well.

A very useful treatment of the practical side of law enforcement policy. Existing pursuit policies are examined, as are the legal principles used to guide police policy development.

This paper fills an untapped niche in policy research. It is both a practical analysis of existing pursuit policies and an examination of legal cases and constitutional guidelines.

Uses statistics from FBI annual reports (1985‐1992) to compare felonious killings, analyzing and comparing with data for deaths of non‐state police officers. Finds that state police officers are feloniously killed in proportional numbers to non‐state officers, with both classes showing a recent downward trend. Calls for further research, by region or state, into the higher percentage of killings in Southern USA. Finds similar patterns in state and non‐state police officer killings but identifies some elements of divergence. Recommends that this data be used in police training to emphasize high‐risk factors such as routine traffic stops. Notes that domestic disputes do not cause a large number of police killings. Suggests that the wearing of body armor be made mandatory.

There are a number of individual and contextual variables that influence public opinion of the police but we know little about the public opinion regarding state law enforcement agencies. Prior studies involving municipal police and other criminal justice agencies indicate that the perceptions of procedural justice, or fair treatment, are important predictors of citizen satisfaction with police services. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether individuals who perceive procedurally just treatment during their contact with a state patrol officer improve the levels of satisfaction with the state patrol.

This paper presents the results of a public opinion study (n=846) regarding the Colorado State Patrol conducted in 2009. A subsample of 393 individuals who had contact with the state patrol and were further surveyed about their contact with the officer. Logistic regression models were used to examine individual- and contextual-level variables influence satisfaction with the state patrol and whether this relationship was mediated by the perceptions of procedural justice.

The authors found that individuals who perceive higher levels of procedural justice expressed higher satisfaction with the state patrol. Females, older respondents, and non-white respondents expressed greater satisfaction, as well as those who had voluntary contact or were not arrested. More importantly, procedural justice mediated the effect of involuntary contact and arrest on levels of satisfaction, and while non-white respondents were less likely to experience procedural justice, when levels of procedural justice are controlled for, they have higher levels of satisfaction.

The findings emphasize the significance of citizen perceptions of procedural justice during contacts with members of the state patrol. The current study contributes to our knowledge of procedural justice and citizen satisfaction with police encounters given previous research on citizen satisfaction with police focuses almost exclusively on local-level agencies, and research on procedural justice asks the respondents almost exclusively about the police in general.

Provides a profile of state laws pertaining to campus police. Reveals wide variations across the USA. Notes that statutes are often the state legislature’s ad hoc response to a problem. Many campuses require their police to be deputized by the local police authorities. Finds that the majority of states grant police authority to officers at public institutions and that it is usual for the governing body or chief executive officer to have appointing authority over campus police. Suggests elements for a model campus police statute.