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Traditional remedies for police misconduct, such as exclusion of evidence illegally seized from the defendant’s trial, permit the offending officer to remain in law enforcement. In most other professions, removal of the license or certificate of the offending professional has been a traditional remedy for serious misconduct. “Decertification” of peace officers is a relatively recent phenomenon. Presents an analysis of changing dimensions of decertification authority among states from 1985 to 1995. National patterns indicated a substantial strengthening of decertification authority and decertification practices among states. The largest movement of states was into the broad revocation category and a majority of states were found to have such authority. Finds that innovative decertification practices concerning departmental reporting requirements about police officers’ conduct to a state board and qualified immunity for police chiefs’ “good faith” reporting about employees alter relationships between local agencies and state boards. Demonstrates that police officer decertification is a national movement.

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.

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.

This chapter aims to make a contribution to recent debates on the ‘governance of security’ (Johnston & Shearing, 2003) by drawing upon empirical research conducted by the author and other writers on ‘plural policing’ and the construction of closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance networks. The chapter attempts to avoid the tendency in some of the ‘governmentality’ literature to ‘airbrush out the state’ (Hughes, 2007, p. 184), whilst at the same time showing that the aims and intentions of dominant state forces and elites are not always realised in practice. The chapter also tries to avoid any simplistic notion of a shift in policing strategies from ‘crime fighting’ to ‘risk management’. The aim instead is to show how the construction of surveillance networks is blurring the boundaries of the ‘public–private’ divide along the ‘sectoral’, ‘geographical’, ‘spatial’, ‘legal’ and ‘functional’ dimensions (Jones & Newburn, 1998), giving rise to a plural policing continuum.

There is no comparative research into the Chinese (PSB) police and the Indian police generally and none on police corruption in particular. This paper aims to show what police corruption and malpractices look like in China and India and offer up some suggestions as to why wide spread malpractices persists.

Horses’ mouth qualitative research is supported by primary public and police survey data.

There are many similarities in corruption “tricks of the trade” in both the countries, as well as in the reasons for its persistence. However, petty police corruption is more pervasive and less subtle in India. But both the forces suffer from politicization of policing, criminalization of politics, culture of tolerance towards substantive justice over procedural justice and master/servant attitude towards the public. In China, the police have administrative powers beyond criminal legislation, and Indian corruption is underscored by the culture of “Jugaad”.

This is largely a qualitative research, so the usual arguments regarding limitations on its generalization applies. However, the insights in this article may provide some understanding of this under-researched topic and may stimulate further research in this field. It may also offer pointers to potential solutions for practitioners and policymakers.

By providing data on what corruption looks like and why it persists, policymakers can use the findings of this study to develop measures to address them. In so doing they would create a police service in India and China that is less prone to corruption and misconduct, thereby increasing public trust in these institutions.

Peace and security is a prerequisite condition for economic and social modernization through the rule of law. Reform of the police is a critical success factor in this process. Therefore, by reforming the police, India and China stand a better chance of eradicating poverty and reducing inequality.

There is little in the way of research into the Chinese Police and none into Chinese police corruption. There is also no comparative study of the Chinese and Indian police generally and none on police corruption in particular.

Recent federal legislation and numerous public policy debates have relied heavily on estimates of the number of police agencies and police officers in the USA. Historically, these estimates have been problematic, varying tremendously over time, across different sources, and using different methodologies. Currently, the two main sources of agency‐level data for estimating these numbers are the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports and the Census Bureau’s Law Enforcement Directory Survey. While there is a great deal of overlap between these two databases, each contains thousands of departments not listed in the other. Also, among those departments listed in one or more of these databases, there is tremendous variation in the number of police officers recorded. While some of the disparity can be explained by banal differences in counting and record‐keeping methods, much is rooted in differing definitions of what constitutes a “police officer” and a “police agency”. In this study, we closely examine both databases in an effort to account for the differences between them. In addition, we introduce a new data source derived from the records of the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Based on a thorough exploration of all three databases, we discuss the impact of their differences on criminal justice policy and police research. We first develop our own estimate of the number of police departments and police officers in the USA that differs substantially from other current estimates. We then estimate the number of police officers that the COPS office and future evaluators should use as the baseline for measuring the Clinton Administration’s success at adding 100,000 officers to the streets of America. Finally, we offer a modest set of recommendations for achieving greater uniformity across separate police agency databases.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the police officer understandings of human trafficking and their awareness of relevant anti-trafficking policy and legislation, and identify whether this awareness was confined to particular officer demographics.

The study utilised a mixed-methods design, drawing on data from an online survey of 87 police officers from an Australian state police agency.

Thematic analysis identified that, while the majority of participants held broad understandings of human trafficking consistent with the United Nations definition, a substantial number conflated the phenomenon with people smuggling. The majority of participants were also unaware of national anti-trafficking legislation and agency anti-trafficking policy, with constables significantly the least likely to be aware of these measures. Most of these officers, however, indicated they would take some form of case referral action in relation to a suspected case of trafficking, albeit across the sample these responses were inconsistent.

The findings underline the need for relevant training and concrete anti-trafficking policy within frontline agencies, which can facilitate the identification, investigation and referral of human trafficking cases.

While the Australian Federal Government’s response to human trafficking has been subject to ample critique, less attention has been paid to the supporting role played by state-level agencies and their frontline personnel. This paper demonstrates the practical barriers present within such agencies, identifying means to build a more effective response which may bolster the national anti-trafficking measures.

The adoption of community oriented policing (COP) is likely to have an impact on patterns of civil liability claims filed against police departments and officers. We hypothesize that COP practices may lead to an increase in civil liability claims by expanding the scope of police responsibilities and roles and by altering patterns of police citizen interactions which, in turn, could affect the clarity and uses of three legal standards which support civil liability claims: negligence in state tort claims, “color of law” under Section 1983, and the “legal duty” standard. We call for further research and suggest some managerial strategies to avoid the eventualities presented.

This paper aims to explore a critical component of the successful transition into a democratic police agency – the state of police integrity – among the Croatian police officers. The paper also analyzes the police officers' views about the community policing efforts.

The questionnaire administered to police officers in Croatia focuses on various forms of police misconduct, as well as the respondents' views about community policing. A random sample of 811 Croatian police officers was collected at the end of 2008.

The results of 2008 survey portray a more optimistic picture of integrity of the Croatian police than the results of the 1995 survey did. The respondents in 2008 seem to expect more serious discipline than the respondents in 1995 did. Furthermore, the code of silence – one of the key elements of police integrity theory – seems to be weakening. However, the evaluations of scenario seriousness remain relatively similar, indicating a common hierarchy of seriousness. Finally, the support for the idea of community policing is perceived to be much stronger at the top than at the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy or among individual police officers.

The 1995 and 2008 samples are random samples and thus do not constitute a panel data set.

The methodology can be utilized by police administrators to explore the contours of police integrity in their agencies. More specifically, the administrators can explore whether police officers know the official rules, how serious they evaluate police misconduct, what they think the appropriate and expected discipline is, and how willing they are to tolerate police misconduct in silence.

Prior studies of police integrity focused almost exclusively on one form of police misconduct – police corruption. Following the idea that police integrity encompasses the inclination to resist all temptations (and not just for‐gain ones) to abuse the rights and privileges, the questionnaire used in the study tests the police officers' tendency to resist a variety of temptations and thus yields a more comprehensive picture of police integrity. Furthermore, this methodology enables measurement of the changes in police integrity, which is particularly relevant for a police agency in transition or a police agency undertaking efforts to improve its state of police integrity.

This study examines the underlying reasons for the police use of deadly force and potential deadly force, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, during the period 1980‐94. Within this context, interactional violence and the phenomenon of victim‐precipitated homicide are examined in relation to the police use of deadly force. This study analyzes 58 separate documented incidents in which municipal and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, within the Province of British Columbia, have been confronted by a potentially lethal threat. In 27 of these incidents, the police responded by discharging their firearms and killing a total of 28 people. The remaining 31 cases that were examined reflect incidents in which the police responded with less‐lethal force. Through the examination of police investigations, verdict‐at‐coroner’s‐inquest reports, BC Police Commission data and interviews with police officers, this study reveals that, in roughly half of the cases examined (N = 28), the police reacted to a potentially lethal threat of victim‐precipitated homicide. These are incidents in which despondent individuals suffering from suicidal tendencies, mental illness, or extreme substance abuse, acted in a calculated and deliberate manner so as to force the police to use potential or deadly force. The study recommends that police personnel within the Province of British Columbia should be given further alternatives to the standard‐issue firearm, when responding to potentially lethal threats. Non‐lethal tools of compliance should be made readily available to the operational police officer with a view to providing alternatives to the traditional use of deadly force. In addition, the training of police personnel should emphasize non‐violent strategies in dealing with irrational individuals who are suicidal, mentally disordered and/or intoxicated.