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The purpose of the current study is two‐fold. First, using data obtained from a sample of crime victims (n = 122), this study empirically assesses the effect that police officer race has on evaluations of the police. Second, this study provides a greater specification of the effect that expectations regarding police performance have on evaluations of the police. ANOVA and Ordered Probit analyses indicate that police officer race does not influence victim evaluations of police performance. However, expectations do significantly influence evaluations of the police and furthermore, expectations of police performance differ across racial lines. Possible explanations for these findings and directions for future research are offered.

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between employee age and intimidation in the workplace. Dysfunctional employee behaviors such as harassment and aggression are harmful to the organizational work environment. Such destructive behaviors have long been viewed as negatively impacting organizational success. Additionally, the age dynamics in organizations are rapidly changing as the “graying of America” progresses, older workers remain in the workforce and younger workers delay employment.

The study utilizes data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which is a national database containing information on crime in the US.NIBRS was used to measure the occurrence of workplace violence overall, and workplace intimidation specifically, in the restaurant industry, as well as the ages of both victims and perpetrators of work-related violence.

Results revealed that younger workers are more likely to perpetrate workplace intimidation than their senior counterparts. As victim age increases, employees are more likely to report intimidation than more serious crimes.

Workplace intimidation prevention programs do not typically include age as a factor. This study may be helpful to managers and HR managers charged with developing workplace training programs.

The results of this study contribute to the shared understanding of dysfunctional workplace dynamics. As the workforce collectively ages, organizations should acknowledge the potential impact age may have on violence in the workplace.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the relationship among police legitimacy/trust and experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV), including victims’ decisions to report IPV to police and police responses to IPV.

Data were drawn from the 2017 Survey of Police–Public Encounters II – a cross-sectional, general population survey of adults from New York City and Baltimore (n=1,000). Regression analyses were used to examine associations among police legitimacy/trust, IPV exposure, police reporting of IPV, and perceived police responses to IPV and interaction effects.

Higher levels of IPV exposure were significantly associated with lower levels of police legitimacy/trust; however, this relationship was stronger among African–American participants than non-African–American participants. Higher levels of police legitimacy/trust were significantly associated with more positive police responses to IPV and this relationship was stronger among heterosexual participants than sexual minority participants.

Future research should examine prospective relationships to understand causal mechanisms linking individual perceptions of police legitimacy/trust, experiences with IPV and victims’ interactions with police.

Low levels of legitimacy/trust between police and citizens may result, in part, if police are engaged in negative or inadequate responses to reports of IPV. Police–social work partnerships can enhance effective police responses to IPV, particularly to racial/ethnic and sexual minority individuals.

This study provides empirical evidence linking police legitimacy/trust to the experiences of IPV and perceived police responses to reports of IPV, including important group differences among victims based on race/ethnicity and sexual orientation.

To examine gender and racial differences in known wrongful conviction cases.

Cases were identified for inclusion in this study through the use of established databases available electronically. Supplemental information was gathered through newspapers, magazines, and direct correspondence with individuals associated with the cases.

Of special significance was the role of witness error in wrongful convictions. Although more prominent in cases involving African American men, witness error was also problematic in murder and manslaughter cases involving African American women. Whereas white women were more likely to be included in wrongful convictions for murder and child abuse, African American women were more likely to be found in wrongful convictions for drugs and property and other offenses. Wrongfully convicted white women were 2.7 times more likely than their African American counterparts to be sentenced to life. Victim race appeared to play a role in a number of the wrongful convictions for both African American men and women.

This study expands our knowledge of known wrongful convictions among African Americans, a group that is disproportionately found in the criminal justice data.

The purpose of this paper is to examine domestic violence calls for service data in one Florida county for a two-year period from July 2004 through July 2006.

Data for this study include information gathered on domestic violence calls for service during a two-year period (n=3,200). This secondary data were analyzed by logistic regression to determine statistically significant predictor variables.

This study found that severity of crime, presence of children, presence of an injunction, and victim injury increased the likelihood of an arrest. Victim race, location of call, victim alcohol use, and length of relationship did not affect likelihood of arrest.

Use of secondary data precluded examination of additional relevant variable information.

The research shows clear law violations and seriousness of the acts correlate to an increased likelihood of an arrest. Arrest research should inform police training and policy.

The research is consistent with other research that shows that law enforcement officers continue to play a significant role in responding to domestic violence crime and suggest that researchers should continue to study arrest practices. In this study, arrest was more likely when factors existed that may have indicated a more serious crime.

There is an ongoing need to examine agency-level response to domestic violence. This paper adds to the literature on the law enforcement response to domestic violence. The paper suggests areas for future research.

Purpose: This study examines representations of criminal victims and offenders on television’s Law and Order, which ran for 20 years. Law and Order was praised by viewers as a realistic and lifelike representation of the criminal justice system. Given its popularity and perceived realism, Law and Order was likely a major source of information about the criminal justice system, victims of crime, and criminals. Methodology/approach: Utilizing an ethnographic content analysis of 50 episodes of Law and Order, the data include demographic and contextual information on over 1,500 characters. The analyses in this study focus on the sociodemographic characteristics of victims and offenders in total and across time. Findings: Results find that Whites, women, and those from middle- and upper-classes were disproportionately presented as victims. Offenders were disproportionately White, male, older, and from the middle- or upper-classes. People of color were underrepresented in all roles, and Latinx characters were more likely to be portrayed in a negative light. Research limitations: The study lacks qualitative data, which would have contributed to a deeper understanding of victim and offender representations. Originality/value: The study represents the most robust content analysis of one of the most popular crime series of all time. Given the popularity and long running success of the show, it is likely that Law and Order is at least partially accountable for misconceptions and reinforcement of viewer’s misperceptions of what it means to be a “victim” and an “offender.”

This chapter draws on feminist theorizing on rape culture and victim blaming, and proposes a concept, racialized victim blaming, as a useful tool for understanding discourse on state violence.

The concept of racialized victim blaming is applied to historically analyze the genesis of the carceral state, and deconstruct public debates on police shootings and immigration crises.

This chapter argues that racialized victim blaming is used as a discursive tool to legitimize and mystify state violence projects. Officials and the media use racialized logics and narratives to blame the victims of state violence for their own suffering, justifying continued or increased state violence.

The concept of victim blaming is most often associated with violence against women. Here I demonstrate that victim blaming is also a useful tool for understanding state violence, particularly when attention is given to the place of racializing narratives.

In England and Wales, legislation pertaining to hate crime recognizes hostility based on racial identity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity. Discussions abound as to whether this legislation should also recognize hostility based on gender or misogyny. Taking a socio-legal analysis, the chapter examines hate crime, gender-based victimization and misogyny alongside the impact of victim identity construction, access to justice and the international nature of gendered harm. The chapter provides a comprehensive investigation of gender-based victimization in relation to targeted hostility to assess the potential for its inclusion in hate crime legislation in England and Wales.