A scoping review of police civilian oversight literature 1992–2022Keyes, Vance D.; Keyes, Latocia
2023 Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management
doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-02-2023-0027
This study's aim was to systematically review available literature related to the establishment, purpose, operation, and effectiveness of civilian police oversight entities in the United States and to gain a deeper understanding of support, opposition, academic, public, and police expectations concerning their utility.Design/methodology/approach A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was used to analyze police civilian oversight literature published between 1992 and 2022.FindingsThe authors find racially biased policing, political investment, police resistance, oversight structure, scope, and authority are key components that determine how oversight is perceived.Research limitations/implications Based on the methodology, the results may not be generalizable. Future researchers should consider expanding public oversight research beyond the parameters, which constrained this paper.Practical implications This article contains implications that should be considered by jurisdictions seeking to develop, restructure, or eliminate public oversight entities and for recognizing the concerns of advocates and opponents of public oversight.Social implications Civilian oversight has long been considered a potential method for public inclusion if not a means for greater public control of police. Over the past few decades, a resurgence of interest in civilian oversight has emerged.Originality/value This article synthesizes literature that spans 30 years of research on public oversight.
The more perceived training effectiveness, the greater the risk of voluntary separation: testing a turnover intent model among police officers in TaiwanLin, Wen-Yu; Lai, Yung-Lien; Luo, Fei; Kuo, Shih-ya; Chang, Kwang-Ming
2023 Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management
doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-02-2023-0021
Building on Lambert’s (2001) work on turnover intent in law enforcement, this study examines how organizational characteristics and job attitudes along with job satisfaction, and organizational commitment affect turnover intent among Taiwanese police officers.Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from the New Taipei City Police Department (NTCPD) in the summer of 2012 via stratified random sampling (N = 1,035). Structural equation modeling was employed to examine factors affecting turnover intent.Findings Job satisfaction and organizational commitment reduced the risk of turnover, while job stressors and training effectiveness directly increased the risk. Worthy of note, officers with a Central Police University degree and who were married had a lower risk of turnover.Originality/value This study applies Lambert’s (2001) turnover intent model in law enforcement agencies developed in the West to a non-western policing setting. The use of SEM assures the robustness of the findings. Some noteworthy contrasts in findings from Western and non-Western settings are presented.
Does Black Lives Matter support moderate the effect of procedural justice on legitimacy? Testing the procedural justice invariance thesisSolomon, Starr J.; Ehlinger, Brandon
2023 Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management
doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-02-2023-0022
Procedurally just policing positively affects legitimacy regardless of differences in some demographic and neighborhood characteristics. Yet, less is known about how critical citizen views of police influence the effect of procedural justice on legitimacy. Citizen Black Lives Matter (BLM) support is an indicator of views toward police and provides a useful measure to test the procedural justice invariance thesis. The purpose of this study is to examine if BLM support moderates the effect of procedural justice on legitimacy.Design/methodology/approachData from a survey experiment of Americans (n = 363) are used to explore whether BLM support moderates the effect of procedural justice on legitimacy.FindingsResults suggest BLM support is negatively associated with encounter-specific perceptions of police legitimacy and provides tentative evidence suggesting BLM support moderates the effect of the decision-making element of procedural justice on legitimacy. Specifically, the interaction suggests that at higher levels of BLM support, procedurally unjust decision-making reduces legitimacy. However, there was little erosion of legitimacy among BLM supporters during procedurally just encounters.Originality/valueThis study tests the procedural justice invariance thesis in a BLM context. Results support an association between BLM support and encounter-specific perceptions of police legitimacy and provide preliminary evidence that the effect of procedural justice on legitimacy may vary by levels of BLM support.
High-speed mobile networks and police repression during the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of NigeriaKim, Hye-Sung; Marier, Christopher J.
2023 Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management
doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-01-2023-0017
Government repression against civilians while enforcing COVID-19 related lockdowns was widely reported in Africa. At the same time, many have claimed that high-speed (4G) mobile network proliferation provide an accountability mechanism that may constrain police abuses. This study focused on Nigeria to examine (1) the effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on police repression and (2) whether widespread high-speed mobile data networks constrain police repression.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Database (ACLED) and the Mobile Coverage Database, this study used difference-in-differences (DID) and triple difference (DDD) estimation on a sample of 423,925 observations (local government area-days) between January 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020 to estimate the causal effects of COVID-19 lockdowns and high-speed (4G) mobile data on police repression.FindingsLockdowns increased certain forms of police repression in areas with substantial high-speed (4G) mobile networks. Separate from the lockdowns, widespread 4G network increased police repression even without lockdowns.Research limitations/implicationsProliferation of high-speed mobile networks in Nigeria appears to facilitate, rather than constrain, police repression. It is possible that high-speed mobile data networks allow police to detect and repress citizen behaviors, rather than permitting citizens to correct repressive police behaviors.Originality/valueAlthough many studies have explored the COVID-19 pandemic and police behavior in Western countries, only a few have examined its effects in states with even more troubled policing institutions, including those in sub-Saharan Africa, using DID and DDD estimation.
Examining the link between social artifacts, solvability factors and case outcomesRodriguez, Libnah Yvette; Drake, Gregory; Altheimer, Irshad; Klofas, John
2023 Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management
doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-02-2023-0031
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing body of research literature on case clearance levels. Through a social artifact framework, the authors seek to understand the role that documentation of key solvability factors in investigative reports plays in shaping case clearance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachFor this study, 166 non-fatal shooting investigative case files were obtained from a local mid-sized urban police department and coded to assess whether investigators identified key solvability characteristics for non-fatal shooting incidents. Using a logistic regression, the authors assessed the extent that investigative characteristics mentioned in case files were associated with the odds that the case was cleared by arrest.FindingsThe findings from this study indicate that investigative case files as a data source are exceedingly unreliable. Investigators do not consistently document investigative practices and intelligence. And those that are consistently documented are a part of institutionalized practices that are unique to their corresponding police department.Originality/valueThis study is original in that it uses a social artifact framework to sharpen the focus on the role that the effective documentation of critical evidence plays in leading to arrests in gun violence cases.
Police burnout and organizational stress: job and rank associationsBaker, Lucas D.; Richardson, Elizabeth; Fuessel-herrmann, Dianna; Ponder, Warren; Smith, Andrew
2023 Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management
doi: 10.1108/pijpsm-01-2023-0004
Burnout is an issue affecting not only individual officers, but also the agencies they work for and the communities they serve. Despite its prevalence, there is limited evidence for effective interventions that address officer burnout. This study aims to advance this area of study by identifying organizational factors associated with police burnout. By identifying these factors, stakeholders interested in officer wellness will have more clearly defined targets for intervention.Design/methodology/approachSelf-report data were gathered from US police officers partitioned into command staff (n = 125), detective (n = 41), and patrol officer (n = 191) samples. Bootstrapped correlations were calculated between 20 organizational stressors and officer burnout.FindingsFindings revealed several shared organizational stressors associated with burnout regardless of role (command staff, detective, patrol officer), as well as several role-specific organizational stressors strongly associated with burnout. Together, these findings suggest utility in considering broad-based organizational interventions and role-specific interventions to affect burnout amidst varying job duties.Research limitations/implicationsPrimary limitations to consider when interpreting these results include sample homogeneity, unequal subsample sizes, cross-sectional data limitations, and the need for implementation of interventions to test the experimental effects of reducing identified organizational stressors.Practical implicationsThis study may provide command staff and consulting parties with targets to improve departmental conditions and officer burnout.Originality/valueThis represents the first study to evaluate organizational stressors by their strength of association with burnout across a stratified police sample.