Why Do the Police Reject Counseling? An Examination of Necessary Changes to Police Subculture.

Abstract This paper reviews the concept of police subculture and examines its role in the management and acceptance of treatment for stress-related injury. In particular, we examine the impact of stigma that attaches to treatment within this subculture. The persistence of the dominant police subculture remains a significant obstacle to officers seeking treatment for stress-related illnesses. The subculture has historically resisted acknowledging the need for treatment in response to the occupational and/or organizational stress-related injury that results from frequent exposure to work-related trauma. Many police administrators are still embedded within and resist changes to the subculture, which results in an atmosphere that is unwelcoming to officers seeking or accepting treatment. This study draws on both qualitative and quantitative studies and modifies labeling theory to determine the sources of stigma involved in the police subculture. The paper reviews the reasons why officers refuse treatment, discusses the issue of stigmatization and labeling, and argues for the need to change police subculture, at least in part by ensuring that administrators support treatment and good health for officers. It is revealed that the stigmatization of officers who seek and receive treatment directly results in others’ refusal/rejection of it. The study recommends that departments address the subcultural processes of labeling and stigmatization associated with stress counseling at the individual, management, and organizational levels to bring about a shift in police subculture and improve the level of occupational health and safety for officers on the force

Student Evaluations of Teaching Are Mostly Awfully Wrong

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) have been used, researched, and debated for many decades. It is a common practice in higher education institutions, with the supposed purpose of improving course quality and effectiveness, but with unintended consequences of encouraging and motivating poor teaching and causing grade inflation. There is strong evidence that SET “effectiveness” does not measure teaching effectiveness. This paper reviews empirical research examining common concerns about the usefulness (positive and negative) and accuracy of SETs. The findings reveal that student satisfaction relates to their anticipated/expected grades in their courses; hence, they want to get good grades and their instructors want to get a good rating of SET, and this results in grade inflation. The key points are that SETs (1) allow students to speak their “mind”, (2) have no compelling correlation between quality of teaching and learning effectiveness, (3) reward easy, less demanding, and lazy teachers with a positive rating, (4) are biased against gender, attractiveness, ethnicity, race, etc., (5) are weaponized against “some” faculty members, and (6) are like asking convicts awaiting sentencing to evaluate the judge or jurors who convicted them

Why Do the Police Reject Counseling? An Examination of Necessary Changes to Police Subculture. Necessary Changes to Police Subculture.

This paper reviews the concept of police subculture and examines its role in the management and acceptance of treatment for stress-related injury. In particular, we examine the impact of stigma that attaches to treatment within this subculture. The persistence of the dominant police subculture remains a significant obstacle to officers seeking treatment for stress-related illnesses. The subculture has historically resisted acknowledging the need for treatment in response to the occupational and/or organizational stress-related injury that results from frequent exposure to work-related trauma. Many police administrators are still embedded within and resist changes to the subculture, which results in an atmosphere that is unwelcoming to officers seeking or accepting treatment. This study draws on both qualitative and quantitative studies and modifies labeling theory to determine the sources of stigma involved in the police subculture. The paper reviews the reasons why officers refuse treatment, discusses the issue of stigmatization and labeling, and argues for the need to change police subculture, at least in part by ensuring that administrators support treatment and good health for officers. It is revealed that the stigmatization of officers who seek and receive treatment directly results in others’ refusal/rejection of it. The study recommends that departments address the subcultural processes of labeling and stigmatization associated with stress counseling at the individual, management, and organizational levels to bring about a shift in police subculture and improve the level of occupational health and safety for officers on the force

Ethnicity and Crime: Criminal Behavior Redefined

Studies dealing with the definition of crime have primarily been concerned with developing hypotheses and theories of universal crime commission and definition. These theories of human behavior may appear plausible on paper but do not work well with people. All the theories of human behavior contain some truth. However, variables do not function one at a time nor can one theory explain all human behavior. These reasons justify studying human behavior from a social context perspective. This paper examines why one ethnic group can be heard praising a behavior while another ethnic group is doing the opposite. Factually, ethnic definition of behavior is the consequence of “Ethnic Differential Opportunity Definition” (EDOD) which states that (behavior) crime is what your ethnic group says it is. The U.S. Supreme Court is slowly accepting the EDOD. In Small v. United States (2005) the highest court narrowed a federal law that prohibits anyone “convicted in any court” of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year from possessing firearms, 18.U.S.C.$922(g)(1). The court ruled that the law does not apply to those who were convicted in (outside their ethnic group) foreign countries. Frankly speaking, it means that felony conviction (crime) does not count and could not be used as the basis for anything if it occurs outside your ethnic group (country)

Student Evaluations of Teaching Are Mostly Awfully Wrong

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) have been used, researched, and debated for many decades. It is a common practice in higher education institutions, with the supposed purpose of improving course quality and effectiveness, but with unintended consequences of encouraging and motivating poor teaching and causing grade inflation. There is strong evidence that SET “effectiveness” does not measure teaching effectiveness. This paper reviews empirical research examining common concerns about the usefulness (positive and negative) and accuracy of SETs. The findings reveal that student satisfaction relates to their anticipated/expected grades in their courses; hence, they want to get good grades and their instructors want to get a good rating of SET, and this results in grade inflation. The key points are that SETs (1) allow students to speak their “mind”, (2) have no compelling correlation between quality of teaching and learning effectiveness, (3) reward easy, less demanding, and lazy teachers with a positive rating, (4) are biased against gender, attractiveness, ethnicity, race, etc., (5) are weaponized against “some” faculty members, and (6) are like asking convicts awaiting sentencing to evaluate the judge or jurors who convicted them

Police Body Cameras and Liability Insurance: The Deterrent to Police Misconduct?

The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 propose mandatory body cameras for all uniformed federal officers in the United State. Advocates of this policy insist the practice will enhance police accountability and has the potential to also reduce police misconduct. In the same vein, advocates of mandatory liability insurance for police officers argue the policy will likely deter police officers from engaging in misconduct. How effective these policies are in enhancing police accountability and reducing police misconduct remains debatable. T his paper examined the arguments for whether or not police body cameras have positively influenced police officers’ behavior based on an extensive literature analysis of the issue and some informal interviews with police officers. We make a case in this paper however, that body cameras alone will not deter police officers from engaging in misconduct. In line with the Rational Choice theories, police officers are more likely to restrain their actions if they know they will be held personally liable for their actions, and that is why we concur with the advocates of mandatory police liability insurance. Other provided arguments for the increase in police misconduct and that need to be addressed, include lapses in screening out psychologically unstable police applicants must be undertaken. Further contributing to police misconduct according to some critics is the unintended consequences of recent court pronouncements that seem to have watered down the exclusionary rule

Decoding Nonverbal Communication in Law Enforcement

This analytical study examined the importance of nonverbal communication in law enforcement work. In many encounters between police and citizens, the primary focus is always on suspects’/citizens’ verbal statements, rather than on how and what their body is conveying while telling the story. This study argues for an integrated approach in which the police officers need to realise that they, too, are communicating nonverbally with suspects. This study reveals that nonverbal communication, also known as body language, proxemic, and kinesics behavior, in many cases tends to constitute a much larger fraction of the police communication model than verbal communication, which should help officers to establish authority and dominance and ensure their safety. Nonverbal communication is not something added onto criminal justice, but rather it is the essence of criminal justice. This results suggest that nonverbal communication is the foundation of a successful relationship/encounter between criminal justice personnel and suspects or criminals, as well as being a powerful method that cannot be feigned

Stand Your Ground Laws in the United States

On February 26, 2012 George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin and in July 2013 he was found not guilty. Also, on July 19, 2018, Michael Drejke killed Markeis McGlockton and it was not until August 13, 2018 that he was arrested. These cases sparked a nationwide debate around castle doctrine, self-defence and stand your ground laws. Texas, Florida and many other states have these laws, which generally allow an individual to stand his or her ground, and meet force with force, even deadly, at any place he/she has a legal right to be. This study examines what these laws do and do not do. The results of the cost and benefit analysis of this study make it clear that self-defence law is enough protection for individuals in the face of attack. The “Stand Your Ground” law promotes unpredictable and uneven use of violence. The argument by proponents that the law deters crime is unfounded. This study makes several recommendations, among which are: repeal the existing law and remove statutory immunity to allow victims to seek compensation and justice

POLICE BODY CAMERAS: SEEING MAY BE BELIEVING

While the concept of body-mounted cameras (BMC) worn by police officers is a controversial issue, it is not new. Since in the early-2000s, police departments across the United States, England, Brazil, and Australia have been implementing wearable cameras. Like all devices used in policing, body-mounted cameras can create a sense of increased power, but also additional responsibilities for both the agencies and individual officers. This paper examines the public debate regarding body-mounted cameras. The conclusions drawn show that while these devices can provide information about incidents relating to police–citizen encounters, and can deter citizen and police misbehavior, these devices can also violate a citizen’s privacy rights. This paper outlines several ramifications for practice as well as implications for policy