Police Interventions as a Context-aware System. A Case of a Contextual Data Modelling

Smart systems which operate in Intelligent Environments (IE) are complex. They analyse the large volumes of various contextual data on-line and often in real time to obtain, autonomously and reliably, the required pro-activeness of a system which operates pervasively. We proposed both a development framework for context-aware systems and a context-based decision making scheme for the system of managing police interventions, focusing on providing support for police patrols in life threatening situations. This system, owing to the symultaneous collection of rich contextual information from many police officers, which constitute the mobile network, as well as the complex processes of contextual reasoning, takes automatic decisions on supporting officers in emergency. We implemented the initial, yet not trivial, simulations of the system behaviour within the whole city. The results obtained prove the feasibility of the framework

Joyce Foundation - 2006 Annual Report: What's the Big Idea?

Contains president's message, program information, project summaries, grantee profiles, grants list, financial statements, and list of board members and staff

Police Innovation: Enhancing Research and Analysis Capacity through Smart Policing

abstract: There has been a tremendous amount of innovation in policing over the last 40 years, from community and problem-oriented policing to hot spots and intelligence-led policing. Many of these innovations have been subjected to empirical testing, with mixed results on effectiveness. The latest innovation in policing is the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Smart Policing Initiative (2009). Created in 2009, the SPI provides funding to law enforcement agencies to develop and test evidence-based practices to address crime and disorder. Researchers have not yet tested the impact of the SPI on the funded agencies, particularly with regard to core principles of the Initiative. The most notable of these is the collaboration between law enforcement agencies and their research partners. The current study surveyed SPI agencies and their research partners on key aspects of their Initiative. The current study uses mean score comparisons and qualitative responses to evaluate this partnership to determine the extent of its value and effect. It also seeks to determine the areas of police agency crime analysis and research units that are most in need of enhancement. Findings indicate that the research partners are actively involved in a range of aspects involved in problem solving under the Smart Policing Initiative, and that they have positively influenced police agencies' research and crime analysis functions, and to a lesser extent, have positively impacted police agencies' tactical operations. Additionally, personnel, technology, and training were found to be the main areas of the crime analysis and research units that still need to be enhanced. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for police policy and practice.Dissertation/ThesisM.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 201

Is the responsibilization of the cyber security risk reasonable and judicious?

Cyber criminals appear to be plying their trade without much hindrance. Home computer users are particularly vulnerable to attack by an increasingly sophisticated and globally dispersed hacker group. The smartphone era has exacerbated the situation, offering hackers even more attack surfaces to exploit. It might not be entirely coincidental that cyber crime has mushroomed in parallel with governments pursuing a neoliberalist agenda. This agenda has a strong drive towards individualizing risk i.e. advising citizens how to take care of themselves, and then leaving them to face the consequences if they choose not to follow the advice. In effect, citizens are “responsibilized .” Whereas responsibilization is effective for some risks, the responsibilization of cyber security is, we believe, contributing to the global success of cyber attacks. There is, consequently, a case to be made for governments taking a more active role than the mere provision of advice, which is the case in many countries. We conclude with a concrete proposal for a risk regulation regime that would more effectively mitigate and ameliorate cyber risk

Racial Equity Framework for Gun Violence Prevention

This report urges us to think carefully about the relationship between gun violence prevention and racial equity. Racial equity impact assessments (REIAs), such as the assessment proposed in this report, guide advocates, policy makers, and researchers through a thorough examination of policies with an equity lens to anticipate the potential outcomes and mitigate foreseeable risks. It requires one to ask fundamental questions about when to justify involvement with the criminal legal system, identify the costs and benefits of engagement, and think about alternatives to minimize harm. This framework acknowledges that solutions to gun violence, however well intentioned they may be, can exacerbate or compound upon the harms suffered by impacted communities if they are made without careful analysis and the input of those directly affected by it.Gun violence affects everyone. It inflicts an enormous burden upon our country, particularly within under-resourced Black and Latino/Hispanic communities. The politics of guns and race have long been intertwined, but racial equity only recently became a focal point of discussions among gun violence prevention groups, catalyzed by the advocacy of community-based and BIPOC-led organizations.In partnership with many stakeholders across the gun violence prevention movement, this racial equity framework is a resource that can be used by policymakers, researchers, and organizations working in gun violence prevention. Representatives from the six authoring organizations comprised a small working group to plan development of the report and convened a series of conversations to share proposals and review feedback from expert contributors. In addition to advancing racial equity, the core values of inclusion, collaboration, and consensus-building guided the project from early stages through completion.Building upon existing racial equity work and guidance, this report is informed by the public health model of social determinants of health and has been tailored to the specific needs of gun violence prevention. The tools and recommendations proposed in this report are derived from relevant academic literature, racial equity impact assessments, and frameworks for building more equitable social movements.The racial equity framework for gun violence prevention is divided into three main sections: The first section introduces the most relevant considerations about gun policy and race. It helps contextualize the issue of racial disparities in gun violence and the role of the criminal legal system. The second section is the racial equity impact assessment tool (REIA) for gun violence prevention policy. It includes the analysis of the foundational assessments that were considered to develop the tool and a practical explanation of each of the questions that comprise the REIA. The third section provides resources to build a more equitable gun violence prevention movement. It describes the need to center and invest in BIPOC-led organizations and presents a set of recommendations for developing and sustaining a more equitable gun violence prevention movement.

Towards a New Age for Community Safety: A Framework for Violence Prevention & Gun Reform

Through the work of the National Urban League's Office of the President and EquitableJustice and Strategic Initiatives division, the following report is intended to usher usToward a New Age of Community Safety, where a framework for violence preventionand gun reform is timely, useful, and necessary for our Affiliate network, our movementpartners, and the general public. When we released the 21 Pillars for RedefiningPublic Safety and Restoring Community Trust in 2021, we highlighted the importanceof engaging with communities directly, investing in them, and developing strategiesfor alternative responses to crisis. This New Age framework provides greater context,offering regional comparisons of various community-led movements, programs, andprojects to serve as inspiration for collaboration and partnership no matter where in thecountry you are.Within our report, you will find regional community projects for state and local violenceprevention implementation from the Northeast to Southeast, to Midwest, and West/Southwest. Our lists are intended to be instructive and demonstrative of the growingmovement toward innovative, community-led prevention systems, but is not anexhaustive list of the thousands of efforts borne everyday by leaders in every community.This report also provides legislative and policy context for gun safety and reform on thefederal, state, and local level, and statistical resources that we have found helpful to ourmovement's work in this space

VCU Media Lab

We propose the establishment of a VCU Media Lab – a professional creative media technology unit whose mission is to support the development, design, production and delivery of innovative media, multimedia, computer-based instruction, publications and tools in support of VCU education, research and marketing initiatives. This centrally administered, budgeted and resourced facility will acknowledge, refine, focus and expand media services that are currently being provided at VCU in a decentralized manner

Gun Violence Against Sexual and Gender Minorities in the United States: A Review of Research Findings and Needs

June is the month when we annually celebrate LGBT pride and commemorate the Stonewall riots, which were an important turning point in the movement for the rights and well-being of sexual and gender minorities in the United States and elsewhere. On June 12, 2016, a gunman opened fire in the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Pulse was a gay club, and June 12 was Latin night. People of different backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, and ethnicities were there as patrons, performers, and employees, and most were young and Latinx. The gunman brutally murdered 49 people and wounded 53. Mass shootings and hate crimes targeting LGBT people are especially potent forms of violence. They terrorize not only those immediately and physically impacted, but the entire community. They powerfully reinforce the sense that LGBT people must practice constant vigilance to protect themselves from stigma and violence. They shatter an already fragile sense of security and teach LGBT people that places they thought were safe may not be. Gay bars and clubs have historically been safe venues for LGBT people and their friends to gather, be themselves, have fun, meet others, and build community—a haven when families, schools, workplaces, and religious communities are unwelcoming or worse. While mass shootings like the one at Pulse, or at houses of worship, schools, and elsewhere, receive and deserve extensive media and public attention, they are an uncommon form of firearm violence in our country relative to other types of violence. As this report details, among firearm deaths each year in the general U.S. population, about 60% are suicides and about 37% are homicides, many of which happen between current or former intimate partners. Thus, when we think about gun violence and how to prevent it, our view must be broad and multi-faceted. As we discuss in this report, many questions about gun violence against sexual and gender minorities in this country are unanswered or unexplored. For example, research shows elevated prevalence of suicide attempts among LGBT people, and that guns are usually lethal when used in an attempted suicide. But, we have almost no research on suicide deaths of LGBT people (or all sexual and gender minorities) and the role of firearms in them. Without such research, it is challenging to design prevention strategies. By mapping existing research and research needs on a variety of gun violence topics, we hope that this report will inform understanding, spark better data collection and insightful studies, and ultimately help create effective interventions

A Broad View on Robot Self-Defense: Rapid Scoping Review and Cultural Comparison

With power comes responsibility: as robots become more advanced and prevalent, the role they will play in human society becomes increasingly important. Given that violence is an important problem, the question emerges if robots could defend people, even if doing so might cause harm to someone. The current study explores the broad context of how people perceive the acceptability of such robot self-defense (RSD) in terms of (1) theory, via a rapid scoping review, and (2) public opinion in two countries. As a result, we summarize and discuss: increasing usage of robots capable of wielding force by law enforcement and military, negativity toward robots, ethics and legal questions (including differences to the well-known trolley problem), control in the presence of potential failures, and practical capabilities that such robots might require. Furthermore, a survey was conducted, indicating that participants accepted the idea of RSD, with some cultural differences. We believe that, while substantial obstacles will need to be overcome to realize RSD, society stands to gain from exploring its possibilities over the longer term, toward supporting human well-being in difficult times

Reducing Gun Violence in America

Outstanding Academic Title, Choice MagazineThe staggering toll of gun violence—which claims 31,000 U.S. lives each year—is an urgent public health issue that demands an effective evidence-based policy response.The Johns Hopkins University convened more than 20 of the world's leading experts on gun violence and policy to summarize relevant research and recommend policies that are both constitutional and have broad public support. Collected for the first time in one volume, this reliable, empirical research and legal analysis will help lawmakers, opinion leaders, and concerned citizens identify policy changes to address mass shootings, along with the less-publicized gun violence that takes an average of 80 lives every day.Selected recommendations include:• Background checks: Establish a universal background check system for all persons purchasing a firearm from any seller. • High-risk individuals: Expand the set of conditions that disqualify an individual from legally purchasing a firearm. • Mental health: Focus federal restrictions on gun purchases by persons with serious mental illness on the dangerousness of the individual.• Trafficking and dealer licensing: Appoint a permanent director to ATF and provide the agency with the authority to develop a range of sanctions for gun dealers who violate gun sales or other laws. • Personalized guns: Provide financial incentives to states to mandate childproof or personalized guns. • Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines: Ban the future sale of assault weapons and the future sale and possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines.• Research funds: Provide adequate federal funds to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and National Institute of Justice for research into the causes and solutions of gun violence.The book includes an analysis of the constitutionality of many recommended policies and data from a national public opinion poll that reflects support among the majority of Americans—including gun owners—for stronger gun policies. Amid a growing consensus that the staggering toll of gun violence in the United States is an urgent public health issue, the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health has convened experts on gun policy and violence from the United States and selected other countries to summarize relevant research and its implications for policymakers and concerned citizens. Legal scholars weigh in on the constitutionality of recommended policies, and researchers present new data on public support for a wide array of policies designed to reduce gun violence. Collected for the first time in one volume, this reliable, empirical research and legal analysis will inform the policy debate by helping lawmakers and opinion leaders identify the policy changes that are most likely to reduce gun violence in the United States.Researchers draw on new and existing studies on U.S. gun policies to demonstrate both the weaknesses of current federal gun policies and the efficacy of various state laws designed to reduce firearm availability to high-risk groups. By analyzing scientific and legal data, the contributors provide evidence in support of enhanced regulation and oversight of licensed gun dealers, background checks for private sales, and purchaser licensing. Lessons from bans of assault weapons and of large-capacity magazines for guns are considered, as is the promise of “smart guns,” which could be fired only by authorized users. Compelling case studies from Australia, Scotland, and Brazil demonstrate effective policy responses to gun violence that have led to significant reductions in gun-related deaths. The book concludes with data on public support for strengthening gun laws and Second Amendment considerations