Changing Patterns of Domestic Homicide During Lockdown: Interrupted Time-Series Analysis in England and Wales

This study aimed to examine the effect of lockdown restrictions on domestic homicide incidents in England and Wales. We analyzed data on 1,104 domestic homicides recorded by the Home Office Homicide Index between January 2014 and March 2021 using interrupted time-series analysis. Findings showed an immediate drop in ex-partner homicides following the first lockdown and higher than expected levels of parent and child homicides at different points during the first, second and third lockdowns. Our results suggest a change in the composition of domestic homicide during lockdown and contribute to a more detailed understanding of the short-, mid- and long-term effects of lockdown measures on domestic homicide

The relative impact of in-class closed-book versus take-home open-book examination type on academic performance, student knowledge retention and wellbeing

This study investigates the relationship between take-home (open-book) examinations (THE) and in-class (closed-book) examinations (ICE) on academic performance and student wellbeing. Two social science courses (one bachelor and one master) were included in the study. In the first cohort (2019), students from both courses performed an ICE, whereas students in the second cohort (2020) performed a THE. Four to six months following course completion, students were approached to fill out a survey pertaining to their academic performance and wellbeing during the course, and to complete a test measuring knowledge retention on the course materials. No significant differences were found between the ICE and THE cohorts in academic performance and knowledge retention for either the bachelor or the master students. Bachelor students who completed a THE in 2020 reported significantly lower wellbeing in comparison to their peers completing the ICE a year earlier. The implications of the results in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic are discussed

Protest policing and public perceptions of police. Evidence from a natural experiment in Germany

Understanding when, to what extent, and in which contexts high-profile police actions influence trust in and legitimacy of the police is important because police perceptions are associated with cooperation, compliance and, eventually, trust in the state itself. The current study uses a quasi-experimental design to assess changes in public attitudes toward the police after the violent police dispersal of a protest movement against a new railway station project in Stuttgart on 30 September 2010. We found little to no change in several dimensions of perceptions of police and legitimacy, specifically measures of trust in police, moral alignment, procedural fairness, and obligation to obey the police. However, respondents interviewed after the event saw the police as more unduly influenced by political pressure. The results suggest that the impact of high-profile incidents of police violence may depend on institutional context, media response, and post-incident reconciliation strategies

The Rodney King incident and verdict revisited: Examining opinion-mobilizing effects using data from Southern California in 1991 and 1992

Purpose: We revisit the Rodney King incident and verdict to study their effect on confidence in local police using a design-based causal inference approach. Methods: We apply rigorous state-of-the-art quasi-experimental methods to analyze survey data from Southern California and Los Angeles in 1991 and 1992 overlapping with the two focal events. Results: While we find a substantial decrease in confidence in the local police both after the incident as well as the verdict, contrary to previous research using non-quasi-experimental designs, our results demonstrate that the loss of confidence caused by the incident varied only modestly by ethnicity and not at all by political orientation. The negative effect of the verdict only varied to a limited extent by political orientation but not ethnicity. Additionally, although there is robust evidence that the incident in 1991 did indeed have a causal negative effect, this evidence is substantially weaker for the effect of the verdict. Given the pre-existing negative time trend prior to the acquittal in April 1992, it is doubtful that the verdict itself played a causal role in mobilizing public opinion. Conclusions: Our results shed new light on these two pivotal events and their consequences, which are discussed alongside contemporary research on police-citizen relations

Evaluating the shared and unique predictors of legal cynicism and police legitimacy from adolescence into early adulthood

In different theoretical traditions, negative social conditions, attachments, and interactions shape the way individuals view the law and its agents. Although most researchers acknowledge the conceptual distinction between different legal attitudes such as legal cynicism and police legitimacy, it remains unclear to what extent these attitudes stem from the same social sources. In the current study, therefore, we evaluate the social and individual factors that influence trajectories of legal cynicism and police legitimacy using a diverse community sample of youths in Zurich, Switzerland. Latent growth curve models were employed to examine patterns of change in legal cynicism and police legitimacy between 13 and 20 years of age. The findings show that legal cynicism and police legitimacy both decline into early adulthood and exhibit high rank‐stability over time. Furthermore, we find that legal cynicism is closely related to individual characteristics that reflect one's inability to recognize or abide by their internal rules. By contrast, police legitimacy is shaped by socialization influences, particularly teacher bonds and police contacts. These results indicate a need to assess the measurement and interpretation of legal cynicism critically in relation to broader legitimacy beliefs and to investigate the shared and distinct sources of these different constructs

Social Disorganization and Urban Homicide Rates: A Spatial-Temporal Analysis in São Paulo, Brazil 2000 to 2015

This study aims to contribute to understanding urban spatial and temporal patterns of social disorganization and homicide rates in São Paulo, Brazil (2000–2015). Using exploratory spatial data analysis and spatial panel regression techniques, we describe spatial-temporal patterns of homicide rates and assess to what extent social disorganization can explain between-district variation in homicide trajectories. The results showed some variation in the pattern of homicide decline across districts, and less disorganized communities experienced earlier, more linear declines. However, we found no evidence to suggest that changes in social disorganization are associated with differences in the decline in homicide rates

Examining the effects of the killing of George Floyd by police in the United States on attitudes of Black Londoners: a replication

High-profile incidents of police misconduct can have serious consequences for public trust in the police. A recent study in the British Journal of Political Science found that Eric Garner’s death in NYC lead to more negative attitudes towards the police in London among Black residents compared to White and Asian residents. The current study aimed to replicate this transnational effect by assessing the impact of George Floyd’s death on Londoners’ perceptions of police. Using the same data and methodological approach, we did not replicate the immediate effect on Black Londoners’ attitudes. We did find that attitudes across ethnic groups became more negative when using a wider temporal bandwidth. However, we discovered violations to the excludability assumption, meaning we cannot be certain that the effect is solely due to the murder of George Floyd, or at least partly due to different dynamics, like the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying policies. This means that while it is possible that police killings in other contexts play a role in shaping attitudes towards local police, these effects are difficult to disentangle from other global and local factors

Determinants of satisfaction with police in a developing country: a randomised vignette study

This study examines the effects of three theoretical factors representing both process-based and outcome-based dimensions of police actions on attitudes towards police using an experimental vignette design. We constructed two vignettes depicting citizens’ plausible encounters with police in an urban setting in a developing country (i.e. Accra, Ghana) and varied the level of police procedural justice, measured by quality of treatment, lawfulness, measured by whether or not a bribe is present, and effectiveness, measured by whether or not the offender was caught. In line with previous research, we find that dimensions of police procedural justice, lawfulness, and effectiveness all increase citizens’ satisfaction. However, we find that in certain situations, unlawfulness and ineffectiveness can undermine any positive influence of procedural justice policing on satisfaction. These findings have implications for criminal justice institutions seeking to improve relations with citizens and boost satisfaction and ultimately legitimacy

Fair Teachers, Fair Police? Assessing the Pathways between Perceptions of Teacher and Police Authority in Childhood and Adolescence.

Existing research has shown that the quality of the relationship between teacher and child is associated with more positive perceptions of school authorities. There has been relatively less attention to the processes that connect attitudes towards different sources of authority, such as between teachers and police. The current study uses a counterfactual approach to estimate the direct and indirect effects of teacher-child relationships on children's later perceptions of police legitimacy. Using data from a longitudinal study of youth in Zurich, Switzerland, this study applies non-bipartite propensity score matching to identify matched pairs (n = 232 pairs, 55% male) of children with better versus worse relationships with their teacher at age 11 following a teacher change. Matched pairs were then compared on potential mediators (moral norms about deviant behavior and low self-control) at age 13 and perceptions of police legitimacy at age 15. The results demonstrate the importance of the quality of the relationships between students and teachers in shaping young people's interpersonal characteristics as well as perceptions of the world around them. Namely, if young people feel that they are being treated fairly by their teachers, they are more likely to distinguish behaviors that are right or wrong (moral norms) and control their actions (self-control). Moreover, as a result they are also more likely to perceive authorities such as police as legitimate agents that facilitate societal order