Male police officers’ law enforcement preferences in cases of intimate partner violence versus non-intimate interpersonal violence Do sexist attitudes and empathy matter?

Abstract:

This article explores male police officers’ law enforcement preferences across different scenarios of interpersonal violence, involving intimate (partner violence against women) and non-intimate relationships (between- and within-gender). The influence of police officers’ sexist attitudes and empathy on their law enforcement preferences was also analyzed within and across these scenarios. The sample consisted of 308 male police officers. Results showed that police officers prefer a stronger and unconditional law enforcement approach in cases of violence against women, both in intimate and non-intimate relationships. Benevolent sexism was linked to a preference for a more conditional law enforcement across interpersonal violence scenarios. The type of interpersonal violence scenario also conditioned the influence of hostile sexism and empathy on police preferences. Implications for training and selection of police officers are discussed.

Source:  Criminal Justice and Behavior

Download full pdf publication | Read abstract online

Social Media and Police Leadership: Lessons From Boston

Description:

The use of social media during the crisis by the BPD, a longtime adopter of community policing, is an example for police departments everywhere. The success of the communication strategy can be attributed, in large part, to BPD’s previous trust-building in the community — including a longstanding, if not a more mundane, use of social media.

In Social Media and Police Leadership: Lessons From Boston the authors reflect on the opportunities and challenges social media present to law enforcement as they build on the traditional concepts of community policing, bringing its theory and practice into the digital age.

Source: National Institute of Justice

Download pdf of Social Media and Police Leadership: Lessons From Boston

Public Health Approaches to Violence Prevention

From the introduction:

Most people may not think of jogging and biking as crime reduction strategies, but in neighborhoods in East Palo Alto, Calif., with the highest levels of shootings, law enforcement officers and residents are coming together and engaging in these types of outdoor activities to combat crime.

The East Palo Alto Police Department's Fitness Improvement Training (FIT) Zones are part of an innovative initiative aimed at testing whether improvements in community health can help increase community safety in the city's most dangerous neighborhoods. The FIT Zones implement health-related programs in public spaces that have been underused by residents and overtaken by gang members. The idea is that as residents increase outdoor physical activities like power walking, yoga and Zumba dancing, they will increase their presence in public spaces, improve their health, and regain control and ownership of their neighborhoods.

Source: National Institute of Justice (United States)

Read online: Healthy Communities May Make Safe Communities: Public Health Approaches to Violence Prevention 

Study finds Black Boys Viewed as Older, Less Innocent Than Whites

From the news release:

Researchers tested 176 police officers, mostly white males, average age 37, in large urban areas, to determine their levels of two distinct types of bias -- prejudice and unconscious dehumanization of black people by comparing them to apes. To test for prejudice, researchers had officers complete a widely used psychological questionnaire with statements such as “It is likely that blacks will bring violence to neighborhoods when they move in.” To determine officers’ dehumanization of blacks, the researchers gave them a psychological task in which they paired blacks and whites with large cats, such as lions, or with apes. 

 Source:  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, [via newswise]

Download pdf of “The Essence of Innocence: Consequences of Dehumanizing Black Children,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,

Statewide Law Enforcement/Mental Health Efforts: Strategies to Support and Sustain Local Initiatives

Abstract:

This report examines how states have developed structures and standards to make police encounters with people with mental illnesses safer for all involved and to produce better mental health and criminal justice system outcomes. The report offers a starting point for policymakers, practitioners, and others interested in planning or enhancing a statewide initiative that will support such local-level specialized policing responses as crisis intervention and law enforcement/mental health co-response teams.

Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance, United States Department of Justice

Download full pdf publication