RISK MANAGEMENT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES: TWO CASE STUDIES

Law enforcement agencies lack clear guidance on best practices for managing agency-wide risk. Conventional risk management focuses on reducing the risk of legal liability for police misconduct. This legal liability paradigm, which targets the narrow range of risks that lead to municipal financial liability, persists despite significant limitations. This thesis uses the case study method to examine the risk management practices of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and the Oakland Police Department (OPD), two agencies whose approach to managing risk, having been shaped by federal court oversight and community activism, embraces a more capacious understanding of the harms caused by police activities. This thesis analyzes two established risk management strategies, early intervention systems and incident review boards, and two promising strategies, Compstat-style risk management meetings and sentinel event reviews. The study finds that early intervention systems may gain utility from advances in machine learning, that incident review boards play an essential role in ensuring an agency’s continual risk-oriented self-scrutiny, and that sentinel event reviews can align agency practices with community values. Finally, the thesis finds that OPD’s risk management meetings, which it uses to provide strategic oversight of agency-wide risk, are effective, and recommends agencies consider implementing a similarly iterative and holistic process.Civilian, Oakland Police DepartmentApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Fused Density Estimation: Theory and Methods

In this paper we introduce a method for nonparametric density estimation on geometric networks. We define fused density estimators as solutions to a total variation regularized maximum-likelihood density estimation problem. We provide theoretical support for fused density estimation by proving that the squared Hellinger rate of convergence for the estimator achieves the minimax bound over univariate densities of log-bounded variation. We reduce the original variational formulation in order to transform it into a tractable, finite-dimensional quadratic program. Because random variables on geometric networks are simple generalizations of the univariate case, this method also provides a useful tool for univariate density estimation. Lastly, we apply this method and assess its performance on examples in the univariate and geometric network setting. We compare the performance of different optimization techniques to solve the problem, and use these results to inform recommendations for the computation of fused density estimators

Towards the Future of Supernova Cosmology

For future surveys, spectroscopic follow-up for all supernovae will be extremely difficult. However, one can use light curve fitters, to obtain the probability that an object is a Type Ia. One may consider applying a probability cut to the data, but we show that the resulting non-Ia contamination can lead to biases in the estimation of cosmological parameters. A different method, which allows the use of the full dataset and results in unbiased cosmological parameter estimation, is Bayesian Estimation Applied to Multiple Species (BEAMS). BEAMS is a Bayesian approach to the problem which includes the uncertainty in the types in the evaluation of the posterior. Here we outline the theory of BEAMS and demonstrate its effectiveness using both simulated datasets and SDSS-II data. We also show that it is possible to use BEAMS if the data are correlated, by introducing a numerical marginalisation over the types of the objects. This is largely a pedagogical introduction to BEAMS with references to the main BEAMS papers.Comment: Replaced under married name Lochner (formally Knights). 3 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of 13th Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG13), Stockholm, Sweden, 1-7 July 201

Keeneland\u27s Ted Bassett: My Life

In the December 30, 1967, edition of the weekly Thoroughbred trade publication, the Blood-Horse, was an announcement that took up one inch of space—James E. “Ted” Bassett III had been named assistant to the president of the Keeneland Association. It was sandwiched between equally short news items about a handicapping seminar at an East Coast racetrack and a California vacation trip by a horse-owning couple. Bassett’s new job, in his own words, “was not earthshaking news.” More than four decades later, Ted Bassett is one of the most respected figures within the global Thoroughbred industry. He has served as Keeneland’s president, chairman of the board, and trustee, playing a critical role in its ascendency as a premier Thoroughbred track and auction house. Bassett was also president of Breeders’ Cup Limited during its greatest period of growth and has been a key architect in the development of the Sport of Kings as we know it today. Written in collaboration with two-time Eclipse Award–winning journalist Bill Mooney, Keeneland’s Ted Bassett: My Life recounts Bassett’s extraordinary journey, including his days at Kent School and Yale University, through his U.S. Marine Corps service in the Pacific theater during World War II, and as director of the Kentucky State Police during the turbulent 1960s. He helped found the College of Justice & Safety at Eastern Kentucky University, and his continuing service to the Marine Corps has gained him the highest honors accorded to a civilian. During his forty-plus years with Keeneland, Bassett has hobnobbed with hot walkers in the track kitchen, hosted the first visit by Queen Elizabeth II to a United States track, and participated in many of the most important events in the modern history of horse racing. With self-effacing humor, characteristic charm, and candor, Bassett describes his association with historic figures such as J. Edgar Hoover and Kentucky governors Albert B. “Happy” Chandler, Edward T. “Ned” Breathitt, and John Y. Brown; and his friendships with racing personalities D. Wayne Lukas, Nick Zito, Ron McAnally, Pat Day, and Joe Hirsch. Bassett shares details about difficult corporate decisions and great racing events that only he can supply, and about the formation of Equibase, the premier data collection agency within the Thoroughbred industry. He tells about his role as an international ambassador for racing, which has made him a highly influential figure on six continents. Bassett often describes his life as a fascinating blur. That “blur” and all its unique components are brought into sharp focus in a book that is as wide-ranging as it is personal, filled with a gold mine of firsthand stories and historical details. In addition to highlighting Keeneland’s reputation as the jewel of the Thoroughbred industry, Bassett chronicles the business of racing and accomplishments of many prominent people in the horse world, and elsewhere, during the twentieth century. James E. “Ted” Bassett III continues to serve as Keeneland’s trustee emeritus, and in this capacity he chairs fund-raising drives throughout the Bluegrass region. Bill Mooney has covered racing for the New York Times, Thoroughbred Record and Blood-Horse, and is currently a contributing editor for Thoroughbred Times. Winner of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, presented by Castleton Lyons farm and Thoroughbred Times Perhaps only in Kentucky can one move effortlessly from serving as Commissioner of State Police to managing one of the world’s most unique race tracks and dine with the Queen of England. —Terry Birdwhistell, Associate Dean of Special Collections and Digital Programs, University of Kentucky Libraries “Bassett has been our ambassador for Thoroughbred racing around the world, and has placed his stamp on every aspect of the sport, accomplishing this with the grip of a Marine and the air of a gentleman.” --William S. Farish, former U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain and master of Lane\u27s A valuable portrait of the Sport of Kings for racing aficionados and historians. Documenting the private details that shaped Bassett’s public achievements, the autobiography offers a unique insight into the world of horse racing and the shaping of both Keeneland and an entire industry. —University of Kentucky News [The autobiography] richly details Bassett’s career in the Thoroughbred industry, at Keeneland, as president of Breeders’ Cup Ltd. and through his journeys as an ambassador for racing on six continents. —Blood Horse This is autobiography at its finest – superbly written, entertaining and engaging. —Business Lexington Because of its unique presentation, this book is a gold mine of first-hand stories and historic information not only about the racing industry, but about life in Kentucky. —Paintsville Herald There is something here for everyone who has any affinity at all for horse racing....The book is well recommended. —Bowling Green Daily News A delightful ride with a host full of humor and charm. —Yale Alumni Magazine A book that is as wide-ranging as it is personal, filled with a gold mine of firsthand stories and historical details. —ebook30.com One of those rare racing autobiographies that transcends the sport in which it is largely based. Beautifully written, with humor and endearing self-deprecation, it captured me right out of the gate and kept me riveted around the turn, down the stretch, and across the finish line. With wit, grace, and personal insight, the winning book chronicles [Bassett’s] life from school boy, Yale University graduate, and U.S. Marine, to a stint as a director of the Kentucky State Police, and finally, through his years as one of Thoroughbred racing’s best-known and respected ambassadors. —Thoroughbred Times The book chronicles [Bassett’s] life from school boy, Yale University graduate, and U.S. Marine, to a stint as director of the Kentucky State Police, and finally, through his years as one of Thoroughbred racing’s best-known and respected ambassadors. —Barbara Livingston, Lancaster Farminghttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_business/1007/thumbnail.jp

School Wellness Policy Quality and Factors Affecting Implementation in Rural Oklahoma Elementary School

School districts have been required to develop a school wellness policy (SWP) since the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 was passed by Congress. School wellness polices consist of objectives for addressing nutrition, physical activity/education, policy implementation, and wellness promotion within the school. Little is known about the factors that influence SWP implementation. The purpose of this study was to investigate correlations between school wellness policy quality (measured by the WellSAT 2.0) and policy implementation (measured by the WellSAT-I). The WellSAT 2.0 is an assessment tool used to grade SWPs based on components that should be included in policies. The WellSAT-I is a pilot implementation assessment tool which consists of interviews and observations of the school site. Both tools result in scores ranging from 0 to 100%. To assess the effect of academic and administrative factors on SWP implementation, principals prioritized nine academic and administrative responsibilities. Variables included two policy quality scores (comprehensiveness and strength), two policy implementation scores (scope and mastery) and principals� prioritized responsibilities. Study sites included 15 rural Oklahoma elementary schools who volunteered for participation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate correlation analysis, specifically Spearman�s rank order correlation. Mean SWP quality scores were 53.3% � 15.87 for comprehensiveness and 27.3% � 11.20 for strength. Mean implementation scores were 79.5% � 8.67 for scope and 60.7% � 9.82 for mastery. The highest prioritized responsibility was school safety and violence (x?=7.87 � 1.13). There was a significant association between SWP strength and implementation mastery scores (r=0.645, p=0.009), and a significant association between implementation mastery score and school safety and violence (r=0.548, p=0.034). School principals that prioritize safe school environments led schools with more extensive implementation of SWP provisions. SWP quality is an indicator of higher implementation scores indicating that school districts should focus on improving their policies. Implementation scores being higher than policy scores suggest that policies require updating in order to reflect actual implementation. Providing schools with high quality policy models along with implementation training and resources may be effective in improving school health environments in rural elementary schools.Nutritional Scienc

Exponential Family Trend Filtering on Lattices

Trend filtering is a modern approach to nonparametric regression that is more adaptive to local smoothness than splines or similar basis procedures. Existing analyses of trend filtering focus on estimating a function corrupted by homoskedastic Gaussian noise, but our work extends this technique to general exponential family distributions. This extension is motivated by the need to study massive, gridded climate data derived from polar-orbiting satellites. We present algorithms tailored to large problems, theoretical results for general exponential family likelihoods, and principled methods for tuning parameter selection without excess computation.Comment: 53 pages; 6 figures; 3 table

The efficacy of medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction combined with tibial tuberosity transfer in the treatment of patellofemoral instability

A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction combined with tibial tuberosity transfer (TTT) in the treatment of patellofemoral instability. Using PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, a systematic search was carried out to identify and review the published literature pertinent to MFPL reconstruction combined with TTT. Relevant studies were critically appraised with narrative data synthesis. Studies that met the eligibility criteria were suitable for appraisal and consisted of case series and therapeutic series (levels IV & III). All studies had inherent variations in outcomes reporting and limited follow-up. Combined treatment offers restoration of normal anatomy, thus adding clinical value to the currently recommended anatomic approach to MPFL reconstruction. Nevertheless, the current body of evidence does not determine the threshold at which patellofemoral axis requires the need for adjunctive distal realignment as opposed to MPFL reconstruction alone. This review highlighted numerous recurring limitations in the conduct and presentation of the studies, which inadvertently mitigated the interpretation of their results. Future priority should be awarded to larger randomised controlled trials utilising validated patient reported outcome measures

Assessing the affective Simon paradigm as a measure of individual differences in implicit social cognition about death

The authors describe the use of the affective Simon paradigm as a measure of individual differences in implicit social cognition about death. Participants made verbal responses of "good" or "bad" to death and neutral stimuli based on whether the word was a person or a thing. Participants also completed the Revised Death Attitude Profile, a Stroop task, and a version of the Implicit Association Test using death-related words. Although the affective Simon paradigm has some theoretical advantages over the IAT and Stroop procedures, we found no evidence for its validity in the present study