Policing - Science topic

Morning Banuka,

I ran a successful community cohesion programme ('The Grey Space Group'), while faced with being in command of what was reported in the media as the most violent police sub Division in Europe. Ultimately, we reduced serious violence by 40%.

I can provide links to relevant articles if of interest?

Kind Regards,

Martin

Police stations with digital capacities maintain e-record of daily reports. For instance city I live, city department used to post on it's website the daily record of the interactions including report numbers with the citizens.To my knowledge, police departments If they do not have digital capacity, they maintain a "register" (hard copy) ( FIR reports) of the daily interactions with the citizen. Any interaction that police officers do not include in the daily report means police officer interacted outside legal authority. Thanks and Regards, Prit Kaur

Normally, in many countries - in Spain of course - both the Police and all those who have to carry and handle weapons are psychologically recognized and screened before entering their respective Academies and, then, they have to undergo periodic psychophysical examinations; In this sense, although the system is not infallible, it is sufficiently valid and operational; Similarly, if due to a special circumstance (suffering an important and destabilizing life event, suffering a depressive situation, etc.) the subject is perceived to be unstable, the weapon is also withdrawn, even temporarily; the same happens if they have acted in an especially authoritarian, prejudiced or similar manner, a hint of torture or non-respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ... thus, Spain is one of the countries in the world with the least police violence and where its Armed Forces and Security Forces are better valued, as guarantors of Constitutional Order, Human Rights and Peace (having demonstrated this with hundreds of fallen in International Peace and Humanitarian Aid Missions)

Brazil is a tipical example of a federal-state with policing system decentralised. There are 26 states plus the Federal District (like Washington, D.C.) each one with its civil police (as judiciary police that makes the investigations and sends the findings to the state attorney that will offer (or not) the case to the state jurisdiction). But Brazil also has an Federal Policy wich makes the investigations about subjects affected to the Union (federal level) as international trafficking in drugs, arms and people, but also is the migration agency, the border police and some other roles (unfortunely the federal police site -- https://www.gov.br/pf/ --- is under reconstruction and there's no page in English available).

Recently (the last 10 years) Brazil had experienced some effort to integrate the criminal databases of the state polices (including the federal police).

On the other hand, each of the 26 states (plus the Federal District) of Brazil has a militarized police entrusted to law enforcement (known as the military of the state governors during the military dictatorship period (1964-1985)). Please note that Brazil has Criminal, Civil and Processual (crime and civil) Codes established as federal laws -- national abrangency. This give some uniformity between the courts of 1st and 2nd level of the states (and there are also the federal courts of 1st and 2nd level), whose cases could be appealed to a federal superior court (https://international.stj.jus.br/en ; that differs from the Constitutional Court).

With this brief note my intention is to empathize the implications to the police organisation: (i) the alignment between the cultural and legal tradition (Civil or Common law); (ii) the degree of law uniformity between the federal units; (iii) the fonts of revenue and degree of liberty in the budget destination (a subject not mentioned above that renders another brick).

"The necessity of community engagement within neighbourhood policing”

Neighbourhood policing with an emphasis on citizen and community engagement is a philosophy widely based on Sir Robert Peels nine, “Peelian Principles” (College of Policing, 2014) that date back to 1829 (Gov.UK, 2012). These fundamental principles do and will continue to underpin the core values of current policing models and according to Higgins, (2018, pp. 5-6) the future of neighbourhood policing will be integrated and publicly connected. College of policing, (2013) defines “engagement as a process that enables citizens and communities to participate in policing at their chosen level”. This literature review will try to address the necessity for community engagement and will attempt to explore the potential benefits.

The relevant information needed to conduct this review came from several resources, including online websites, organisational reports, and journal articles within the UK (United Kingdom), although it must be noted that robust, large-scale evaluations on community engagement are limited within the UK, and earlier literature on the benefits of community engagement is based on beliefs rather than actual benefits.

Much has been written about what constitutes neighbourhood policing with an emphasis on the benefits of engagement with communities, however the most useful understanding of community engagement is provided by the College of policing (2013), who suggest, by empowering the people within the community, and being inclusive on local issues and implantations, offers more of a pro-active approach to tackling local issues, (College of policing, 2013). These principles are backed in law under section 34 of the, Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, (2011), stating that chief officers of police should be inclusive of community opinion, supply information on policing activities and hold regular community meetings to find and address local issues, (Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, 2011).

The police foundations review of the literature, (2009), “Citizen Focus and Community Engagement”, highlights that even though community policing is difficult to define, they argue that the effectiveness of neighbourhood policing depends on the interaction

between the police and the community, utilising a customer-focused approach, (Police foundation, 2009), however it only suggests the potential benefits, not the physical benefits of engagement. Methods used fit the purpose of the review, but as it relies on earlier research it could be argued that it is biased.

In support of this, the “National Policing Improvement Agency” (2012), ‘Community engagement in policing’, also argue a strong theoretical case for communities engaging with the local police to help resolve local issues however, they argue that the system of community consultation falls short of its intended aims, Myhill. A, (2012, pp. 34-42). Results are mixed on actual physical benefits of engagement and again methods used were comprehensive so could be argued the results are biased. Based on US (united States) research rather than UK based and in collaboration with the “National Reassurance Policing Programme” however, (Rogers et al., 2015) suggests the main benefit of engagement is police legitimacy, he also suggests that police and community interaction is vital in reducing crime in contrast, the NPIA, (2013) results conclude a large effect size on disorder and anti-social behaviour and also feelings of safety but a small effect size on reduction of crime overall, , Myhill. A, (2012, pp. 34-42).

Most of the literature, wholly or in part centres around actively seeking community engagement, (College of Policing, 2013) and ways in which to achieve this, also the potential benefits that could arise from such interactions however, all are based on theory and as mentioned on page, (1) potential benefits are only perceived benefits not actual benefits. Literature based on actual benefits is limited and have some disparities making it impossible to prove a definitive conclusion around the aspect of necessity of community engagement within the context of neighbourhood policing. None of the literature could fully conclude a consensus on the actual benefits these interactions have on reducing crime only perceived levels of crime, the only piece of literature conducted on a larger scale and within the remits of the question came from a report from the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Sarah Boycott who conducted an unprecedented in policing rigorous test, ‘Operation Wholestone,’ which focuses on neighbourhood engagement and what works. Exploring ways in which to actively engage the community into neighbourhood policing,

it concluded that even though engagement interventions, especially door-to-door sign ups increased overall however, the effect size was marginal on respondents propensities to actively engage with police, Boycott. S, (2018, pp. 7-9) Methods used are effective as wholly based on face-to-face interactions covering a large complex area, supplying rich up to date data.

Since neighbourhood policing is a new concept in the history of policing, only introduced in the 1970’s, the police foundation, (2015, pp. 3-19) meant that resources on this aspect was limited.

To conclude, the evidence suggests that engagement of communities will continue to underpin policing at all levels, (College of Policing, 2013) but, only in part did the evidence suggest a ‘necessity’ to engage with the local communities. Opinions are conflicting on potential benefits of engaging with communities as, evidence suggests that these benefits are perceived benefits rather than physical benefits, (the police foundation, 2009) The support for the engagement of communities within the context of neighbourhood policing comes from reliable sources however, due to disparity of evidence in support of the physical benefits of engagement and small effect size of UK research, further research would be needed to resolve this issue.

Cambridge Dictionary (2020) Meaning of necessity in English. Available at: NECESSITY | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary (Accessed: 12 December 2020)

College of Policing (2014) Code of Ethics. Available at: Code_of_Ethics.pdf (college.police.uk) (Accessed: 09 December 2014).

College of Policing (2013) Engagement and communication. Available at: Engagement (college.police.uk) (Accessed: 09 December 2020).

Boycott, S. (2018) Engagement. Available at: ITEM-05-Local-Policing-and-public-engagement-WMPCP-14-JAN-2019.pdf (westmidlandspcp.co.uk)(Accessed: 13 December 2020).

Gov.UK (2012) Definition of policing by consent. Available at: Definition of policing by consent - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (Accessed: 10 December 2020).

Higgins, A (2018) The future of neighbourhood policing. London: Available at: TPFJ6112-Neighbourhood-Policing-Report-WEB_2.pdf (police-foundation.org.uk) (Accessed: 10 December 2020).

Myhill. A (2012) Community engagement in policing. National Policing Improvement Agency: Available at: Microsoft Word - 121115_Community engagement, Reprinted report v1.0_AM.doc (college.police.UK) (Accessed: 13 December 2020).

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, c.5. England and Wales Available at Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (legislation.gov.uk) (Accessed: 12 December 2020).

Rogers, C. et al. (2015) 'The expert citizen: The key to future police legitimacy?', SAGE journals, 88(2), pp. 95-105

The Crime Prevention website (no date) The Peelian principles. Available at: The Peelian Principles | The Crime Prevention Website (Accessed: 10 December 2020).

The police foundation (2009) Citizen Focus and Community Engagement. Available at: citizen_focus.pdf (police-foundation.org.uk) (Accessed: 13 December 2020)

The police foundation (2015) Neighbourhood policing: Past, present and future. Thames Valley: Available at Police Foundation Neighbourhood Policing Report.qxd (police-foundation.org.uk) (Accessed: 14 December 2020).

Thank you

Dear Ourania,

I guess I have a bit more nuanced view on this. In case of a non-review article, I encourage my co-authors always to add 'to the best of our knowledge', as there is an enormous amount of material out there and it is almost impossible nowadays to have a complete overview of all publications that appeared in a particular field. It is also a bit rethoric I guess, as you want to show the added value of your work.

In case of a systematic literature review it might be different. Normally a methods section is included in which the choices of keys and databases is explained and legitimized. For instance, if the authors argue to do a systematic literature review based on web of science from 2010-2020, it might explain why other reports and articles are not adopted/considered. On the one hand, one can argue that especially in established fields of research it is good to limit the review to the database with the highest quality journals only (this is different in case of emerging fields of course, as many material may be published as grey literature and in non-ranked journals as well). On the other hand, if the articles you refer to are in fact meeting the selection criteria but are not adopted in the review article, this provides indications that the review is very weak . But even in that case I am not completely sure whether an erratum is necessary, as we as scientists always build on each others work and always show weaknesses in previous research in order to legitimize our additional research. So maybe you have to see this article as a (weak) stepping stone that should encourage you to do a better job.

hope this helps, vincent Blok

Please have a look at the following RG links.

There are many studies, qualitative and quantitative published in the US. Qualitative methodology can be very important. Happy hunting.

Follow

Hi Jose,

Here is the information:

Surveillance, Order and Social Control

End of Award Report to the Economic and Social Research Council

in respect of grant L210252023

Clive Norris

1997

Department of Social Policy, University of Hull

Hull HU6 7RX UK

Have a great day!

--Adrian

This is a BAD Scenario. It will never be realized.

Leonid

Thanks. I was just getting ready to congratulate you on writing such a terrific book (The Budda of Suburbia) but you have given me something much more valuable. I still presume that you are not the other Qureshi. Thanks again.

I do not the literature on the subject, but I would consider playing with data on the www.gapminder.org website. E.g. by combining # of morders/capita with investments or similar. The data are solid and the site is pretty straightforward to use in case you don't know it. I don't think there are any data on tourism on the site though.

Hello Richard Matthews,

please check the given resources.

Unfortunately not.

There is a short, but interesting text titled "Police and the people: the birth of Mr. Peel's 'Blue Locusts'" from Michael Ignatieff originally published in Policing: Key Readings.

Best

I do research on safety and security for human rights activists and I have found the same problem. But, for your case, perhaps you could have a look at the Adult Hope Scale? (http://www.positivepsychology.org/resources/questionnaires-researchers/adult-hope-scale) And more generally there is stuff about the "sense of hope" wich might be relevant for you?

And similarly about risk and uncertainty in everyday life, like:

DOI   10.1080/13698570802380891

Shayna,  I think your 20/80 approach needs to be used with caution. We have found that calls for service by known victims that turn out not to be crimes (the incident being reported does not qualify as a crime ) can in fact be a sign of escalation to violence and needs to be taken more seriously in terms of a police response than the incident would suggest.

Fifteen years ago I spent a year in Kaliningrad, Russia, and became interested in the movement of stolen cars from the EU (Western Europe in general).  I did a little field work that resulted in a publication:

Gerber, Jurg, and Martin Killias.  2003.   “The Transnationalization of Historically Local Crime:  Auto Theft in Western  Europe and Russian Markets.”  European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 11(2):215-226.

There was little on this topic at that time.

Let me know if you want to pursue this work.

Jurg Gerber

Have you looked at the microsociological pathway laid out by Goffmann et al which when taken in conjunction with the phenomenology of Schultz and analysing how people construct their identity of themselves, who they are and how their control frames their sense of daisen through Marlaeu Ponty? Such a topic would also demand a study of space and people interacting with each other at interpretative and phenomenological realms through the work of Garston Bachelard.

The response by governmental agencies to this issue will vary across jurisdictions. Some states, counties, or cities have more sophisticated mental health services. In California, AB109 passed by the legislature, essentially released thousands of state prisoners to the counties. This resulted in immense pressure on county agencies to develop and implement programs to reduce recidivism as they have inadequate jail space and other program slots. Reducing recidivism is now a high priority. The San Bernardino County Probation Department has implemented day reporting centers for probationers, Interestingly, the County Behavioral Health Department has service providers in these centers. There is no research on the effectiveness of these mental health services nor the number of people using center services. This is an area that is in need of research.

My colleagues and I have recently finished some research in seven Caribbean nations (with 11,000+ survey respondents) that touches on this issue to some extent. We found in all seven nations that when police are perceived as behaving in a more procedurally just manner and are perceived as more legitimate (worthy of support), citizens are more willing to participate in informal social control activities. The effects of procedural justice and legitimacy were significantly stronger than the effects of perceived effectiveness of the police. The implication is that if we want people to contribute as co-producers of public safety in their own communities, police need to treat them fairly and not behave in a manner that undermines their own legitimacy.