103,536 research outputs found

    Self-Policing: Dissemination and Adoption of Police Eyewitness Policies in Virginia

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    Professional policing organizations emphasize the importance of the adoption of sound police policies and procedures, but traditionally doing so has been left to individual agencies. State and local government typically does not closely regulate police, and neither federal constitutional rulings nor state law typically sets out in any detail the practices that police should follow. Thus, law enforcement agencies must themselves draft and disseminate policy. This paper presents the results of studies used to assess the adoption of eyewitness identification policies by law enforcement agencies in Virginia. Policymakers were focused on this problem because Virginia experienced a series of DNA exonerations in cases involving eyewitness misidentifications. In 2005, lawmakers enacted a law that required agencies to have some written policy in place. However, there was little guidance on what that policy should be. To remedy this problem, the state law enforcement policy agency, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) promulgated, in 2011, a detailed model policy on eyewitness procedure. Nevertheless, as reported in a 2013 study, those model practices were only haltingly adopted. In particular, many agencies did not use blind or blinded lineups, in which the administrator does not know which photo is that of a suspect or cannot view which photo the eyewitness is examining. In Fall 2018, all of the over-three hundred law enforcement agencies in Virginia had their policies on this subject requested, using the state freedom of information law. The results show that there has now been widespread adoption of the DCJS model policy. Improved eyewitness identification practices have been adopted by the vast majority of agencies, including large and small agencies. This Article concludes by asking what contributed to the extensive dissemination of a model police policy, and what its implications are for improving police policy and practice without the use of regulation

    Self-Policing: Dissemination and Adoption of Police Eyewitness Policies in Virginia

    Get PDF
    Professional policing organizations emphasize the importance of the adoption of sound police policies and procedures, but traditionally doing so has been left to individual agencies. State and local government typically does not closely regulate police, and neither federal constitutional rulings nor state law typically sets out in any detail the practices that police should follow. Thus, law enforcement agencies must themselves draft and disseminate policy. This paper presents the results of studies used to assess the adoption of eyewitness identification policies by law enforcement agencies in Virginia. Policymakers were focused on this problem because Virginia experienced a series of DNA exonerations in cases involving eyewitness misidentifications. In 2005, lawmakers enacted a law that required agencies to have some written policy in place. However, there was little guidance on what that policy should be. To remedy this problem, the state law enforcement policy agency, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) promulgated, in 2011, a detailed model policy on eyewitness procedure. Nevertheless, as reported in a 2013 study, those model practices were only haltingly adopted. In particular, many agencies did not use blind or blinded lineups, in which the administrator does not know which photo is that of a suspect or cannot view which photo the eyewitness is examining. In Fall 2018, all of the over-three hundred law enforcement agencies in Virginia had their policies on this subject requested, using the state freedom of information law. The results show that there has now been widespread adoption of the DCJS model policy. Improved eyewitness identification practices have been adopted by the vast majority of agencies, including large and small agencies. This Article concludes by asking what contributed to the extensive dissemination of a model police policy, and what its implications are for improving police policy and practice without the use of regulation

    Strategies for Change: Research Initiatives and Recommendations to Improve Police-Community Relations in Oakland, CA

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    New Stanford research on thousands of police interactions found significant racial differences in Oakland, Calif., police conduct toward African Americans in traffic and pedestrian stops, while offering a big data approach to improving police-community relationships there and elsewhere.The report makes 50 specific recommendations for police agencies to consider, such as more expansive data collection and more focused efforts to change the nature of mindsets, policies and systems in law enforcement that contribute to racial disparities.Among the findings, African American men were four times more likely to be searched than whites during a traffic stop. African Americans were also more likely to be handcuffed, even if they ultimately were not arrested.Across the United States, the report noted, police agencies are guided by the commitment to serve communities with fairness, respect and honor. Yet tensions between police and communities of color are documented to be at an all-time high

    Researching trust in the police and trust in justice: a UK perspective

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    This paper describes the immediate and more distant origins of a programme of comparative research that is examining cross-national variations in public trust in justice and in the police. The programme is built around a module of the fifth European Social Survey, and evolved from a study funded by the European Commission. The paper describes the conceptual framework within which we are operating – developed in large measure from theories of procedural justice. It reviews some of the methodological issues raised by the use of sample surveys to research issues of public trust in the police, public perceptions of institutional legitimacy and compliance with the law. Finally it gives a flavour of some of the early findings emerging from the programme

    Black Police Associations and the police occupational culture

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    In recent years, Black Police Associations (BPAs) have become key forces of change within the police service, involved in minority ethnic recruitment and retention initiatives, working closely with senior management, and also serving as mechanisms of support minority ethnic constabulary members and recruits. Most police services in England and Wales now have an officially recognised BPA, making it essential to consider the effect these groups have on the police occupational culture. Using data from our recent research project on BPAs, we explore issues such as the decreasing importance of rank and grading in the police culture; whether a parallel, ‘black’ occupational culture is emerging alongside the traditional ‘white’ one; the indirect influence BPAs have had as part of a wider process of change and the interplay between changing individuals and changing the institution as a whole

    Researching the use of force: The background to the international project

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    This article provides the background to an international project on use of force by the police that was carried out in eight countries. Force is often considered to be the defining characteristic of policing and much research has been conducted on the determinants, prevalence and control of the use of force, particularly in the United States. However, little work has looked at police officers’ own views on the use of force, in particular the way in which they justify it. Using a hypothetical encounter developed for this project, researchers in each country conducted focus groups with police officers in which they were encouraged to talk about the use of force. The results show interesting similarities and differences across countries and demonstrate the value of using this kind of research focus and methodology

    From the Margins to the Mainstream: Human Rights and the Good Friday Agreement

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    This Essay examines the process by which the language of human rights moved to center stage in the political process. It looks to peace processes elsewhere to determine whether the Agreement is deserving of the High Commissioner\u27s special praise and analyzes, from a human rights perspective, the content of the Agreement and the extent to which the promises made therein have been fulfilled to date
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