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1 – 10 of over 41000Stopping and questioning citizens is an important policing tactic. Prior research explores citizens’ perceptions of stop and question policing, or “SQP”, by municipal…
Abstract
Purpose
Stopping and questioning citizens is an important policing tactic. Prior research explores citizens’ perceptions of stop and question policing, or “SQP”, by municipal police, yet campus police also use this tactic. The purpose of this paper is to understand whether and why college students believe campus police should have the right to engage in SQP.
Design/methodology/approach
Data come from 73 in-depth interviews with students attending a university in metropolitan Atlanta, GA. The sample was obtained through convenience and purposive sampling methods. Data were analyzed using the ethnographic perspective.
Findings
Most participants said campus police should practice SQP for three reasons: it is their job; SQP is an effective crime fighting tactic; and SQP is useful given the features and functions of college campuses. Among participants who said campus police should not practice SQP, they were concerned that officers would use it in unwarranted situations.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that the police might be able to reduce resistance to SQP by clearly explaining to suspects why they are being stopped and also clarifying to the public the legal thresholds for stopping and questioning citizens.
Originality/value
This is the first study to consider perceptions of SQP by campus police. The findings also shed light on how campus and municipal police are (dis)similar in perceptions of their SQP practices.
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Steven F. Lehrer and Louis-Pierre Lepage
Prior analyses of racial bias in the New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk program implicitly assumed that potential bias of police officers did not vary by crime type and that…
Abstract
Prior analyses of racial bias in the New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk program implicitly assumed that potential bias of police officers did not vary by crime type and that their decision of which type of crime to report as the basis for the stop did not exhibit any bias. In this paper, we first extend the hit rates model to consider crime type heterogeneity in racial bias and police officer decisions of reported crime type. Second, we reevaluate the program while accounting for heterogeneity in bias along crime types and for the sample selection which may arise from conditioning on crime type. We present evidence that differences in biases across crime types are substantial and specification tests support incorporating corrections for selective crime reporting. However, the main findings on racial bias do not differ sharply once accounting for this choice-based selection.
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Brian C. Renauer and Emma Covelli
This paper aims to use three theoretical perspectives to understand variation in public opinion regarding the frequency with which police use race/ethnicity unfairly in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to use three theoretical perspectives to understand variation in public opinion regarding the frequency with which police use race/ethnicity unfairly in making stops: procedural and instrumental justice, local government responsiveness, and intra‐racial differences.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper looks at data from a telephone survey of 1,431 Oregon residents: 741 from a stratified state‐wide random sample by county; 164 African‐Americans and 161 Hispanics over samples.
Findings
Perceived negative treatment during recent involuntary police contacts is related to a perception that police are more biased. Instrumental judgments regarding local government responsiveness to constituent needs and personal safety showed a negative relationship to perceptions of police bias. African‐American respondents exhibited the strongest police bias opinions; however, intra‐racial analyses showed that perceptions of government responsiveness weaken bias perceptions across race/ethnicity.
Research limitations/implications
Research needs to explore how the public's relationship to their local government influences perceptions of police. The conclusions of the study are limited by the cross‐sectional design.
Practical implications
The study illustrates that proper police‐citizen communication tactics, stop and investigatory procedures, and ethical decision making should continue to be reinforced along with better promotion of local government and police success in meeting constituent needs through the media.
Originality/value
The paper examines the influence of both procedural and instrumental justice perceptions, and voluntary and involuntary police contacts. The sample contains sufficient numbers of African‐Americans and Hispanics and diverse communities (urban, suburban, and rural) to gain a representative view.
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Robert C. Davis, Christopher W. Ortiz, Yakov Gilinskiy, Irina Ylesseva and Vladimir Briller
Long a tradition in the USA, surveys of citizen perceptions of the police are beginning to gain prominence in emerging democracies. Recently, citizen surveys using common…
Abstract
Long a tradition in the USA, surveys of citizen perceptions of the police are beginning to gain prominence in emerging democracies. Recently, citizen surveys using common items were conducted in New York and St Petersburg, Russia. This paper reports on a cross‐national analysis of data on citizen perceptions of the police using data from these two surveys. The analyses include comparisons of voluntary and involuntary contacts with the police, perceptions of police effectiveness, and perceptions of police misconduct. Results suggest that residents of St Petersburg are more likely to be stopped by the police, while residents of New York are more likely to contact the police for assistance with crime and other neighborhood problems. Police in New York were generally seen as more effective than their counterparts in St Petersburg. In both cities, roughly half of those surveyed believed that the police engaged in misconduct.
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Mark E. Hill, John McGinnis and Jane Cromartie
This paper seeks to examine the pivotal guiding role of “marketing thinking” in an organization, to identify the obstacles to marketing thinking, explaining how they…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to examine the pivotal guiding role of “marketing thinking” in an organization, to identify the obstacles to marketing thinking, explaining how they hinder its implementation, and offering strategies to minimize those negative effects, and thereby, to enable improved marketing thinking and enhanced performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Relevant literature is synthesized, to derive a definition of marketing thinking before a conceptual framework is developed, on the basis of which to discuss the potential obstacles.
Findings
In viewing marketing thinking as type of questioning, potential obstacles are found to be: what is “familiar” typical questioning practices, and a “static” orientation. Identification and examination of the source and impact of each obstacle can in turn allow for enhanced understanding of both the detrimental effects and the potential benefits of effective counter‐action.
Research limitations/implications
Three types of obstacles to marketing thinking are identified and discussed, but there is no intended implication that only those three exist. If marketing planners will treat marketing thinking as a type of questioning behavior, the identification of additional obstacles is not only possible but likely. Future research can move the agenda in that direction.
Practical implications
Understanding marketing thinking as a special type of questioning is key to developing strategies and plans which allow for maintaining a meaningfully differentiated position in a constantly changing environment of continuously differentiated products and services. Confronting the obstacles to marketing thinking will facilitate that objective.
Originality/value
New strategies are offered to enable practitioners to work around the obstacles to marketing thinking, thereby improving its value as a tool in marketing intelligence and planning.
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Alexander Weiss and Sally Freels
Reports on a field experiment in Dayton, Ohio, where the police department has no specialized traffic division, hence traffic enforcement is part of the routine…
Abstract
Reports on a field experiment in Dayton, Ohio, where the police department has no specialized traffic division, hence traffic enforcement is part of the routine assignment. Aims to measure the effects of traffic law enforcement on crime, arrests and traffic accidents. Presents data covering all index arrests and special arrests involving weapons, drugs and offenders driving under influence, plus all reported traffic accidents. Contrary to other research, fails to detect a relationship between traffic enforcement and crime. Investigates possible reasons for this.
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Vincent J. Webb and Chris E. Marshall
Undertakes research in Omaha, Nebraska on factors found to be predictors of attitudes toward the police (ATP). Addresses the question of whether ATP are primarily a…
Abstract
Undertakes research in Omaha, Nebraska on factors found to be predictors of attitudes toward the police (ATP). Addresses the question of whether ATP are primarily a function of police‐citizen interaction or if they derive from the transmission of cultural values. If the former, strategies to modify police and citizen behavior are required; if the latter, an impact on socialization may be needed to improve ATP. Summarizes the nature and measurement of ATP. Finds, in common with earlier research, that although age, gender and police contact have significant effects, race variables have the greatest effect. In contrast with other research, finds that social class has some influence on ATP. Compares Hispanic, black and white respondents’ ATP. Suggests that neighborhood is an important influence on ATP. Recommends further studies on the development of ATP in youth.
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Michael R. Smith, Jeff J. Rojek, Matthew Petrocelli and Brian Withrow
The purpose of this paper is to provide a contemporary review of the research on racial disparities in police decision making.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a contemporary review of the research on racial disparities in police decision making.
Design/methodology/approach
State of the art literature review.
Findings
The findings are mixed on racial disparities in the primary policing domains of stops, arrests, use of force, and neighborhood deployment. While minorities are often overrepresented among those subjected to police enforcement actions, these findings vary considerably. Almost all of the current studies that have reported racial disparities in the exercise of police authority lack the methodological rigor or statistical precision to draw cause and effect inferences.
Research limitations/implications
Efforts underway to document the impact of body-worn cameras on citizen complaints and force used by police could be extended to examine the impact of cameras on racial disparities in other enforcement-related outcomes such as arrests, stops and frisks, or searches. In addition, evaluating the effects of police training, such as anti-bias training or training on police legitimacy, on reducing racial disparities in police enforcement outcomes is another promising line of research inquiry.
Originality/value
This paper provides a concise review of the current state of the literature on a topic that is dominating the national conversation currently underway about the role of the police in American society.
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Yolander G. Hurst, James Frank and Sandra Lee Browning
The relationship between race and attitudes toward the police has been the subject of numerous studies since the, 1960s. Unfortunately, only a limited number of studies…
Abstract
The relationship between race and attitudes toward the police has been the subject of numerous studies since the, 1960s. Unfortunately, only a limited number of studies have addressed this relationship as it applies to juveniles. The present study, using survey responses from 852 public high school students in a large metropolitan area, compares the attitudes of black and white teenagers. We find that the overall attitudes of black and white juveniles toward police performance are significantly different from one another, while their evaluations of officer performance during personal encounters are more similar.
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