Matching Items (27)
Description
A void exists in public administration, criminology, and criminal justice research as it relates to the study of power in American policing agencies. This has significant ramifications for academia and practitioners in terms of how they view, address, study, and interpret behaviors/actions in American policing agencies and organizations in general. In brief, mainstream research on power in organizations does not take into account relationships of power that do not act directly, and immediately, on others. By placing its emphasis on an agency centric perspective of power, the mainstream approach to the study of power fails to recognize indirect power relationships that influence discourse, pedagogy, mechanisms of communication, knowledge, and individual behavior/actions. In support of a more holistic inquiry, this study incorporates a Foucauldian perspective of power along with an ethnographical methodology and methods to build a greater understanding of power in policing organizations. This ethnography of an American policing organization illuminates the relationship between the exercise of power and the objectification of the subject through the interplay of relationships of communication, goal oriented activities, and relationships of power. Specifically, the findings demonstrate that sworn officers and civilian employees are objectified distinctly and dissimilarly. In summary, this study argues that the exercise of power in this American policing organization objectifies the civilian employee as a second class citizen.
ContributorsBentley, Paul C (Author) / Catlaw, Thomas (Thesis advisor) / Musheno, Michael (Committee member) / Lucio, Joanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Of all the signals and cues that orchestrate the activities of a social insect colony, the reproductives' fertility pheromones are perhaps the most fundamental. These pheromones regulate reproductive division of labor, a defining characteristic of eusociality. Despite their critical role, reproductive fertility pheromones are not evenly expressed across the development of a social insect colony and may even be absent in the earliest colony stages. In the ant Camponotus floridanus, queens of incipient colonies do not produce the cuticular hydrocarbons that serve as fertility and egg-marking signals in this species. My dissertation investigates the consequences of the dramatic change in the quantity of these pheromones that occurs as the colony grows. C. floridanus workers from large, established colonies use egg surface hydrocarbons to discriminate among eggs. Eggs with surface hydrocarbons typical of eggs laid by established queens are nurtured, whereas eggs lacking these signals (i.e., eggs laid by workers and incipient queens) are destroyed. I characterized how workers from incipient colonies responded to eggs lacking queen fertility hydrocarbons. I found that established-queen-laid eggs, incipient-queen-laid eggs, and worker-laid eggs were not destroyed by workers at this colony stage. Destruction of worker-laid eggs is a form of policing, and theoretical models predict that policing should be strongest in incipient colonies. Since there was no evidence of policing by egg-eating in incipient C. floridanus colonies, I searched for evidence of another policing mechanism at this colony stage. Finding none, I discuss reasons why policing behavior may not be expressed in incipient colonies. I then considered the mechanism that accounts for the change in workers' response to eggs. By manipulating ants' egg experience and testing their egg-policing decisions, I found that ants use a combination of learned and innate criteria to discriminate between targets of care and destruction. Finally, I investigated how the increasing strength of queen-fertility hydrocarbons affects nestmate recognition, which also relies on cuticular hydrocarbons. I found that queens with strong fertility hydrocarbons can be transferred between established colonies without aggression, but they cannot be introduced into incipient colonies. Queens from incipient colonies cannot be transferred into incipient or established colonies.
ContributorsMoore, Dani (Author) / Liebig, Juergen (Thesis advisor) / Gadau, Juergen (Committee member) / Pratt, Stephen (Committee member) / Smith, Brian (Committee member) / Rutowski, Ronald (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The controversy over law enforcement use of TASER devices and the potential for the devices to cause death has proliferated in recent years. In 2005 the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) published national-level policy guidelines for the use of TASER devices, with one of the goals being to reduce the occurrence of deaths proximal to their use. What remains unknown in regard to these guidelines is whether or not departments that adhere to these guidelines are experiencing fewer TASER-proximate arrest related deaths (ARDs) than departments who are not. This study seeks to determine preliminary answers to this question by conducting a comparison of the policies of departments with three or more TASER-proximate ARDs to a matched sample of police departments that deploy the TASER, but have no (or one to two) TASER-proximate ARDs. The departments were matched on the number of full time sworn officers, geography (region, division, or state), and department type. Once matched, all department policies were coded based on how closely they adhered to the following areas of PERF and IACP guidelines: use of force against vulnerable/at risk populations, policies governing the TASER device deployment, training, reporting, and post-exposure requirements. Study departments, when compared to matched departments, had a greater number of policy areas with higher failure to comply rates. The same was true when looking at the category totals, as well as the overall totals, with the difference in failure to comply rates being larger for PERF than IACP. These findings show an association between departments with three or more TASER-proximate ARDs and higher failure to comply rates with national model policies. Additionally, it appears that many departments are failing to heed research findings or advice from outside their department. Based on this, future research may want to address the ways in which greater compliance with national policies can be obtained nationwide.
ContributorsRiggs, Courtney (Author) / White, Michael D. (Thesis advisor) / Ready, Justin (Committee member) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
It is hypothesized that procedural justice influences citizens' satisfaction with the police. An alternative argument holds that police performance measures, such as perceptions of crime and safety, are more salient. This study empirically investigates the predictive validity of both theoretical arguments. Using mail survey data from 563 adult residents from Monroe County, Michigan, a series of linear regression equations were estimated. The results suggest that procedural justice is a robust predictor of satisfaction with police. In contrast, several police performance measures failed to predict satisfaction with police. Overall, these findings support Tyler and Huo's (2002) contention that judgments regarding whether police exercise their authority in a procedurally-just fashion influence citizens' satisfaction with police more than fear of crime, perceptions of disorder, and the like.
ContributorsSmith, Stacey (Author) / Reisig, Michael D (Thesis advisor) / Ready, Justin (Committee member) / Holtfreter, Kristy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This study examined the effects of procedural injustice during hypothetical police-citizen encounters. Specifically, the main effects of procedural injustice on emotional responses to police treatment, components of police legitimacy, and willingness to cooperate with the police were assessed. Importantly, this study also tested whether the effect of procedural injustice was invariant across officer gender. A factorial vignette survey that consisted of two different police encounter scenarios (i.e., potential stalking incident and traffic accident) was administered to a university-based sample (N = 525). Results showed that the effect of procedural injustice during such encounters had a powerful and significant influence on participants’ emotional responses (e.g., anger), legitimacy perceptions, and the willingness to cooperate. These effects appeared to be consistent regardless of whether the treatment was doled out by a male or female police officer. Implications of the findings in terms of theory and future research are discussed.
ContributorsBrown, Katharine Leigh (Author) / Reisig, Michael D (Thesis advisor) / Holtfreter Reisig, Kristy L (Committee member) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Sexual assault victimization is a pervasive issue affecting one in four college women. This staggering statistic causes concern for universities across the country to protect students and encourage victimization reporting. Yet little known about college women’s reporting behaviors and what influences the decision to report. Previous research has established possible reasons influencing reporting behaviors such as fear of retaliation, shame, guilt, and not viewing the incident as a crime. However, few studies have explored the role of prior perceptions of police and the impact of procedural justice on victimization reporting. Using a factorial vignette design, this study tests the influence of prior perceptions of police, procedural unjust treatment, and the sex of the responding officer on the likelihood to report sexual assault. Self-report survey data were collected from 586 female participants attending a public university. Consistent with expectations, results indicate that positive prior perceptions of police significantly increased students’ likelihood to report sexual victimization. Being treated in a procedurally unjust manner by the police had the largest impact on victim decision making, even when controlling for prior perceptions of police; decreasing the likelihood that a student would report their victimization. Contrary to expectations, the sex of the responding officer had no effect on students’ decision to report their victimization. This study has important implications for current policing methods and policies aimed at police-victim interactions among the population at highest risk of sexual victimization.
ContributorsStanek, Kayleigh (Author) / Talbot, Kathleen A (Thesis advisor) / Reisig, Kristy Holtfreter (Committee member) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Police use of force and race often garners a good deal of attention, however it is also important to understand the influence of gender when dealing with male-dominate populations, like police officers. The current study aims to add to the current body of literature by using data from seven cities to examine the relationship between officer gender and police use of force, as well as officer gender and citizen resistance. In relation to use of force, the results show that male officers used significantly less force than female officers. In terms of citizen resistance, the results indicate that officer gender had no effect. Additionally, a number of control variables were significantly related to police use of force and citizen resistance. The implications of these findings are discussed.
ContributorsWeiser, Marah Brooke (Author) / William, Terrill (Thesis director) / Trinkner, Rick (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
Problem-oriented policing (POP) dynamically addresses unique community issues in a way that allows police departments to be cost-effective and efficient. POP draws upon routine activities and rational choice theories, at times incorporating elements of crime prevention through environmental design. A recent systematic review found POP to be hugely popular, but not rigorously assessed or implemented. In 2009, the Glendale, Arizona Police Department and researchers from Arizona State University received funding through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) to target crime at convenience stores through a problem-oriented policing approach. The Glendale SPI team devised an approach that mirrored the ideals put forth by Goldstein (1990), and provided a thorough undertaking of the SARA model. A comprehensive response plan was developed with several proposed responses, including: intervention with Circle K leadership, suppression, and prevention at the six highest-activity stores. Despite a thorough POP implementation, the initial descriptive evaluation of the Glendale SPI reported positive effects on crime, but left questions about the intervention’s long-term impact on convenience store crime in Glendale, Arizona. The policy and theoretical influence of the initiative warrants a more rigorous evaluation. Supplanting the original assessment, a difference in difference model, negative binomial regression, and relative effect size are calculated to ascertain the SPI’s long-term effects on target and comparison stores. Phi and weighted displacement quotient are calculated to determine the existence of displacement of crime or diffusion of benefits. Overall, results indicate support for the project’s effectiveness on crime reduction. Further, none of the six intervention stores experienced crime displacement. Five of the six stores, however, experienced a diffusion of benefits in the surrounding 500-yard area; that is, a crime reduction was observed at the intervention stores and in the surrounding areas of five of these stores. Disorder and property crimes at the targeted stores were most affected by the intervention. One of the intervention stores did experience an increase in violent crime, however. Future studies should strengthen the methodological design when evaluating POP projects and seek to flesh out more precisely the crime control effects of unique problem-oriented strategies.
ContributorsDario, Lisa M (Author) / White, Michael D. (Thesis advisor) / Spohn, Cassia C. (Committee member) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The relationship between stress and policing has long been established in literature. What is less clear, however, is what departments are doing to help officers deal with the stress that comes with the job. Looking at a small Southwestern police agency and using a modified version of Speilberger’s (1981) Police Stress Survey, the present study sought to examine stressors inherent to policing, as well as to identify departmental services that may be in place to help officers alleviate those stressors and whether or not police officers would choose to take part in the services that may be offered. The findings suggest that a shift in stress in policing is occurring with operational stressors being reported at higher levels than organizational stressors, contrary to previous research.
ContributorsPadilla, Kathleen (Author) / White, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
There is demand for police reform in the United States to reduce use of force and bias, and to improve police-citizen relationships. Many believe de-escalation should be a more central feature of police training and practice. It is suggested that improving officers’ communication and conflict resolution skills will temper police-citizen interactions and reduce police use of force, and that such a change will improve citizen trust in the police. To date, however, de-escalation training has not spread widely across agencies, and de-escalation as a strategy has not been studied. Without an evidence-based understanding of these concepts, de-escalation training will proceed blindly, if at all. Accordingly, this dissertation represents one of the first empirical studies of de-escalation in police work. The author completed this study as an embedded researcher in the Spokane (WA) Police Department, and it proceeds in two parts. Part 1 was exploratory and qualitative, consisting of in-depth interviews (N=8) and a focus group (N=1) with eight highly skilled police de-escalators. These officers were nominated by peers as the best among them at de-escalating difficult encounters with citizens. The results in Part 1 explore officers’ perceptions of de-escalation and offer a definition of de-escalation as well as a description of de-escalation tactics. In Part 2, the author systematically observed the concepts developed in part 1 during 35 ride-alongs with 29 police officers, including the peer nominated officers (N=131 police-citizen encounters). This phase of the research investigated whether characteristics of officers, citizens, and situations are associated with de-escalation use, and de-escalation effectiveness. Implications from these findings are drawn for police practice, theory, and research methods. This dissertation is a launching point for empirical research on de-escalation in police work.
ContributorsTodak, Natalie Erin (Author) / White, Michael D. (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott H. (Committee member) / Terrill, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017