Community Policing and Intelligence-Led Policing: An Examination of Convergent or Discriminant Validity

Purpose Despite increased scholarly inquiry regarding intelligence-led policing (ILP) and popularity among law enforcement agencies around the globe, ambiguity remains regarding the conceptual foundation and appropriate measurement of ILP. Although most scholars agree that ILP is indeed a unique policing philosophy, there is less consensus regarding the relationship between ILP and the ever-present model of community-oriented policing (COP). Consequently, there is a clear need to study the empirical distinctions and overlaps in these policing philosophies as implemented by US law enforcement agencies. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Data were gleaned from the 2007 LEMAS and 2009 NIJ Intelligence surveys. A total of 227 unique police agencies in the USA are included. A series of bivariate, exploratory factor analyses and structural models are used to determine discriminatory or convergent validity across COP and ILP constructs. Findings The goal was to answer the question: are these two policing philosophies are being implemented as separate and distinct strategies? Results of our exploratory and structural models indicate that COP and ILP loaded on unique latent constructs. This affirms the results of the bivariate correlations, and indicates that COP and ILP have discriminant measurement validity. In other words, COP and ILP are conceptually distinct, even when implemented in police departments across the USA. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. Originality/value This is the first study to empirically test the discriminant or convergent validity of COP and ILP

Does GPS supervision of intimate partner violence defendants reduce pretrial misconduct? Evidence from a quasi-experimental study

Objectives This research examines the effect global positioning system (GPS) technology supervision has on pretrial misconduct for defendants facing intimate partner violence charges. Methods Drawing on data from one pretrial services division, a retrospective quasi-experimental design was constructed to examine failure to appear to court, failure to appear to meetings with pretrial services, and rearrest outcomes between defendants ordered to pretrial GPS supervision and a comparison group of defendants ordered to pretrial supervision without the use of monitoring technology. Cox regression models were used to assess differences between quasi-experimental conditions. To enhance internal validity and mitigate model dependence, we utilized and compared results across four counterfactual comparison groups (propensity score matching, Mahalanobis distance matching, inverse probability of treatment weighting, and marginal mean weighting through stratification). Results Pretrial GPS supervision was no more or less effective than traditional, non-technology based pretrial supervision in reducing the risk of failure to appear to court or the risk of rearrest. GPS supervision did reduce the risk of failing to appear to meetings with pretrial services staff. Conclusions The results suggest that GPS supervision may hold untapped case management benefits for pretrial probation officers, a pragmatic focus that may be overshadowed by efforts to mitigate the risk of pretrial misconduct. Further, the results contribute to ongoing discussions on bail reform, pretrial practice, and the movement to reduce local jail populations. Although the cost savings are not entirely clear, relatively higher risk defendants can be managed in the community and produce outcomes that are comparable to other defendants. The results also call into question the ability of matching procedures to construct appropriate counterfactuals in an era where risk assessment informs criminal justice decision-making. Weighting techniques outperformed matching strategies

Spatial Concentration of Opioid Overdose Deaths in Indianapolis: An Application of the Law of Crime Concentration at Place to a Public Health Epidemic

The law of crime concentration at place has become a criminological axiom and the foundation for one of the strongest evidence-based policing strategies to date. Using longitudinal data from three sources, emergency medical service calls, death toxicology reports from the Marion County (Indiana) Coroner’s Office, and police crime data, we provide four unique contributions to this literature. First, this study provides the first spatial concentration estimation of opioid-related deaths. Second, our findings support the spatial concentration of opioid deaths and the feasibility of this approach for public health incidents often outside the purview of traditional policing. Third, we find that opioid overdose death hot spots spatially overlap with areas of concentrated violence. Finally, we apply a recent method, corrected Gini coefficient, to best specify low-N incident concentrations and propose a novel method for improving upon a shortcoming of this approach. Implications for research and interventions are discussed

Inter-Organizational Relationships and Law Enforcement Information Sharing Post-September 11, 2001

The lack of information sharing among law enforcement agencies leading up to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks has been well documented. An emphasis on interaction among law enforcement agencies with other government and private sector organizations has been reinforced in contemporary counter-terrorism efforts. Despite this emphasis, very little is known with respect to which law enforcement agencies are collaborating with which public works and private sector organizations to fulfill this critical mission gap. The present research utilizes two federally funded national surveys to explore the collaborative relationships between law enforcement, other government organizations, and private sector organizations. Findings suggest collaboration across sectors exists; however, it appears significant room for improvement remains

The Structure and Function of Public-Private Partnerships for Homeland Security

In an effort to most effectively protect the United States from “all threats and all hazards”, an enormous amount of initiatives and attention have been directed at the development of public-private partnerships between law enforcement, the Intelligence Community and the private sector. However, little attention has been given to how these partnerships should be structured and how they will function – both formally and informally. Success of these partnerships depends upon the members’ abilities to recognize the context and intended outcomes of the partnerships. Identifying issues involved with effective public-private partnerships provides insight for practitioners and researchers alike. The demand, structure and functionality for these partnerships for development and sustainment will be discussed

Intelligence Analysis within U.S. Law Enforcement Agencies: Empirical Insights from a National Sample

Author's manuscript.There is currently a lack of empirical insights which explore the activities related to state and local law enforcement’s analytic function. This research is intended to remedy this shortcoming. Drawing on a national sample of 345 state and local law enforcement agencies, this research provides an empirical description of the types of analytic activities, sources of information, and analyst performance evaluation within police agencies in the United States. Results indicate that agencies are primarily engaged in crime analysis activities, access more information via databases than is received from outside agencies, and that few responding agencies have identified factors critical to the evaluation of intelligence analysts. Context for these findings and implications for practice are discussed.National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice: 2008-IJ-CX-000

Institutional Pressures and Isomorphism: The Impact on Intelligence-led Policing Adoption

Previous research employing an institutional theoretical framework posits environmental factors play an integral role in the adoption of police practices. The present study applies this framework to examine the adoption of intelligence-led policing (ILP). Data from a purposive sample of national intelligence personnel from 254 agencies are used to employ both a measurement and structural model to explain ILP adoption. Weighted least squares estimation is employed through an asymptotic distribution free function to estimate the measurement and structural equation models. Models exhibit good fit indices, while institutional pressures, among others, had a significant and positive effect on ILP adoption. Findings support the role of institutional pressures in the diffusion of police practice. Implications for future research and policy are discussed

Leveraging Wireless Broadband to Improve Police Land Mobile Radio Programming: Estimating the Resource Impact

Despite rapid growth in criminological studies of police technology, examinations of police land mobile radios are absent in the literature. This is troubling given the central role mobile radios serve in police operations and their significant management costs. The present study seeks to fill this gap by introducing the functionality of wireless broadband radio programming. Current practice requires a police officer to physically drive to a radio programming location to manage their mobile radio. Wireless programming remedies this burdensome reality, thereby saving officer time and cost. Geospatial analyses are used to estimate distance saved associated with wireless programming. We then conduct a number of calculations to determine time and cost savings related to the observed differences between existing and wireless radio programming within the context of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Results suggest wireless radio programming can save significant personnel and financial resources. Implications are discussed

The Intelligence Fusion Process for State, Local and Tribal Law Enforcement

Intelligence fusion centers have grown rapidly in the last few years as state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies have attempted to find the best way to share information about threats to their communities. The Department of Homeland Security and the Information Sharing Environment of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence embraced fusion centers as being an important mechanism to aid them in their missions to share terrorism information among law enforcement, the private sector, and the intelligence community. The development and management of fusion centers have received significant guidance from the Justice Department, via the Global Intelligence Working Group, by developing standards for structure and processes. Critics, however, are concerned that the centers have inadequate protections for privacy and civil rights. This article examines issues in the development of fusion centers and provides an examination of the support for and criticisms of such agencies

Intelligence Led Policing: Conceptual and Functional Considerations for Public Policy

Policing in the post-9/11 era is experiencing a philosophical change that is expanding community- and problem-oriented policing to include the broader philosophy of intelligence-led policing (ILP). Building on the British experience, the application of ILP to American policing has been complicated by a number of challenges. Although stimulated by 9/11, the movement toward ILP is being furthered by a number of federal public policy initiatives. As a result of these diverse demands, law enforcement must revisit operational policies and creatively adjust their organizations to reflect this new paradigm. This article provides insight on the conceptual background of ILP, public policy standards, and the integration of ILP with community policing