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- Creators: Arizona State University
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
On-officer video camera (OVC) technology in the field of policing is developing at a rapid pace. Large agencies are beginning to adopt the technology on a limited basis, and a number of cities across the United States have required their police departments to adopt the technology for all first responders. Researchers have just begun to examine its effects on citizen complaints, officers' attitudes, and street-level behavior. To date, however, there is no research examining how departmental policy and assignment of officers to a camera program affect officer behavior and opinions of the cameras. Policy and assignment have the potential to impact how officers react to the technology and can affect their interactions with citizens on a daily basis. This study measures camera activations by line officers in the Mesa Police Department during police-citizen encounters over a ten-month period. Data from 1,675 police-citizen contacts involving camera officers were subject to analysis. Net of controls (i.e., the nature of the crime incident, how it was initiated, officer shift, assignment, presence of bystanders and backup, and other situational factors), the bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine how departmental policy (mandatory versus discretionary activation policy) and officer assignment (voluntary versus mandatory assignment) affected willingness to activate the cameras, as well as officer and citizen behavior during field contacts.
ContributorsRoy, Allyson (Author) / Ready, Justin (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Fox, Kate (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The occupation of policing has long been associated with masculinity. Resistance
to the integration of women into the law enforcement profession stemmed from widely
held beliefs that women were incapable of performing the police function. Although
much has changed in policing, female officers are bombarded with masculine symbols
depicting mostly the agentic characteristics associated with the law enforcement
profession. Or, they are offered socially and culturally constructed definitions of who
they are supposed to be as women as well as what is lacking in them as officers. This
study explores the disparity between how female police officers are viewed, what they
experience, and how they are represented. The perspective of the female officer was
captured, and presented through visual images obtained by participants. Descriptive
coding and thematic analysis converted photographs and written narratives into
participant generated themes and stories. Female officers in this study resisted stereotypic
portraits of women in policing and sought expanded boundaries of inclusion within their
profession. Participants produced some understanding of how women construct their
personal and professional identities relative to gender, as well as the larger roles of
women in society.
to the integration of women into the law enforcement profession stemmed from widely
held beliefs that women were incapable of performing the police function. Although
much has changed in policing, female officers are bombarded with masculine symbols
depicting mostly the agentic characteristics associated with the law enforcement
profession. Or, they are offered socially and culturally constructed definitions of who
they are supposed to be as women as well as what is lacking in them as officers. This
study explores the disparity between how female police officers are viewed, what they
experience, and how they are represented. The perspective of the female officer was
captured, and presented through visual images obtained by participants. Descriptive
coding and thematic analysis converted photographs and written narratives into
participant generated themes and stories. Female officers in this study resisted stereotypic
portraits of women in policing and sought expanded boundaries of inclusion within their
profession. Participants produced some understanding of how women construct their
personal and professional identities relative to gender, as well as the larger roles of
women in society.
ContributorsVeach, Paula (Author) / Puckett, Kathleen (Thesis advisor) / Kleinsasser, Robert (Committee member) / Rabe-Hemp, Cara (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
ABSTRACT Following the tragic events of 9-11, top Federal policy makers moved to establish the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This massive realignment of federal public safety agencies also loosely centralized all U.S. civilian security organizations under a single umbrella. Designed to respond rapidly to critical security threats, the DHS was vested with superseding authority and broad powers of enforcement. Serving as a cabinet member, the new agency was administered by a secretary who answered directly to the President of the United States or the national chief executive. At its creation, many touted this agency as a new security structure. This thesis argues that the formation of DHS was not innovative in nature. Rather, its formation was simply the next logical step in the tiered development of an increasingly centralized approach to policing in the United States. This development took place during the early settlement period of Texas and began with the formation of the Texas Rangers. As the nation's first border patrol, this organization greatly influenced the development of centralized policing and law enforcement culture in the United States. As such, subsequent agencies following this model frequently shared a startling number of parallel developments and experienced many of the same successes and failures. The history of this development is a contested narrative, one that connects directly to a number of current, critical social issues regarding race and police accountability. This thesis raises questions regarding the American homeland. Whose homeland was truly being protected? It also traces the origins of the power to justify the use of gratuitous violence and the casting of particular members of society as the symbolic enemy or outsiders. Lastly, this exploration hopes to bring about a better understanding of the traditional directionality of the use of coercive force towards particular members of society, while at the same time, justifying this use for the protection of the rights and safety of others. It is hoped that the culmination of this work will assist American society in learning to address the task of redressing past wrongs while building more effective and democratic public security structures. This is of the utmost importance as the United States continues to weigh the benefits of centralized security mechanisms and expanding police authority against the erosion of the tradition of states' rights and the personal civil liberties of its citizens. Because police power must continually be monitored and held in check, concerns regarding the increasing militarization of civilian policing may benefit from an objective evaluation of the rise of centralized policing as experienced through the development of the Texas Rangers and rural range policing.
ContributorsTurner, D. L., 1957- (Author) / Simpson, Brooks D. (Thesis advisor) / Decker, Scott H. (Committee member) / Gomez, Alan E. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program was mandated legislatively, as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. This study replicated earlier research that investigated pilots’ opinions of the current state of the FFDO program based on interviews. A Likert survey was created to allow simpler quantitative collection and analysis of opinions from large groups of pilots. A total of 43 airline pilots participated in this study. Responses to the Likert questions were compared with demographics, searching for significance through a Pearson chi-square test and frequencies were compared to earlier research findings. Significant chi-square results showed that those familiar with the program were more likely to agree the program should continue, it was effective, the screening and selection process of program applicants was adequate and the Federal Air Marshal Service’s management of the FFDO program was effective. Those with Military experience were more likely to disagree it was reasonable that FFDOs were required to pay for their own room and board during training or train on their own time. All those who shared an opinion agreed there should be a suggestion medium between FFDOs and their management. Unlike the prior study, all those familiar with the program agreed the weapons transportation and carriage procedures were adequate. Furthermore, all those who shared an opinion found the holster locking mechanism adequate, which was another reversal of opinion from the prior study. Similar to the prior study, pilots unanimously agree FFDOs were well trained and agreed that the program was effective and should continue.
ContributorsFerrara, Marc, M.S (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Nullmeyer, Robert (Committee member) / Branaghan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Training for law enforcement on effective ways of intervening in mental health crises is limited. What is available tends to be costly for implementation, labor-intensive, and requires officers to opt-in. DEFUSE, an interactive online training program, was specifically developed to train law enforcement on mental illness and de-escalation skills. Derived from a stress inoculation framework, the curriculum provides education, skills training, and rehearsal; it is brief, cost-effective, and scalable to officers across the country. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental or delayed treatment control conditions. A multivariate analysis of variance yielded a significant treatment-by-repeated-measures interaction and univariate analyses confirmed improvement on all of the measures (e.g., empathy, stigma, self-efficacy, behavioral outcomes, knowledge). Replication dependent t-test analyses conducted on the control condition following completion of DEFUSE confirmed significant improvement on four of the measures and marginal significance on the fifth. Participant responses to BPAD video vignettes revealed significant differences in objective behavioral proficiency for those participants who completed the online course. DEFUSE is a powerful tool for training law enforcement on mental illness and effective strategies for intervening in mental health crises. Considerations for future study are discussed.
ContributorsHacker, Robyn Lea (Author) / Horan, John J (Thesis advisor) / Homer, Judith (Committee member) / Atkinson, Robert K (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This thesis addresses two research questions: how are police officer activities in high crime areas influenced by training on procedural justice?, and how do differences in the activities among trained and untrained officers help explain changes in the perceptions of residents about police procedural justice and police legitimacy? Written activity logs used by police officers during a hot spots policing project in Tucson, AZ were transferred to a database and coded for the types of activities officers were taking part in. Surveys administered to residents before and after the project were used to create scales for procedural justice and police legitimacy. These data revealed that police officers trained in procedural justice emphasize different principles in their activities than untrained officers. Procedural justice trained officers did not speak to as many citizens as officers who did not receive additional training, nor did they engage with the community as much, but they did perform more foot and high-visibility patrols. The findings also reveal that resident perceptions are minimally affected by such training and their perceptions of procedural justice and police legitimacy are not significantly hurt. Based off these findings, recommendations for moving forward with procedural justice training include emphasizing how the department would like to see their officers behave and making clearer objectives part of the training. Future research should focus more on better understanding how resident perceptions can be influenced by officer activities.
ContributorsHernandez-Garcia, Abiud (Author) / Telep, Cody W (Thesis advisor) / Reisig, Michael D (Committee member) / Maguire, Edward (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
As recent government administrations prioritized the criminalization and deportation of immigrants, Latinx are in danger of being targeted by police. Thus, it is important to investigate and assess Latinx views of the police in the US in order to create safe communities and reduce crime. To date, no instrument has captured Latinx perceptions of police beyond the frequency of past experience and global perception of the treatment of the general public. Therefore, creating a psychometrically supported measure that captures the unique perceptions of police among the Latinx population is necessary. The current study aims to psychometrically validate the Latinx Perceptions of Police Scale (LPOPS) (e.g., evidence of validity and reliability via confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, convergent and concurrent validity, mean differences among groups, and measurement invariance testing). The study’s final analytic sample included 248 individuals self-identified as Latinx using an online survey. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the three-factor model of the LPOPS with a Cronbach’s alpha above 0.85. The LPOPS contains 19 items and three subscales: Police Views of Latinx, Anxiety of Interacting with Police Officers, and Fear of Police Abuse. Results from the Pearson bivariate analysis provided evidence of convergent validity as there were associations between the LPOPS subscales, past measures of view of police (e.g., Perception of Police Scale, Police and Law Enforcement Scale), and other psychological constructs (e.g., anxiety, depression, stress, discrimination). Further, results of the multi-group confirmatory analysis indicated that the LPOPS could be used among (race; skin-tone). Lastly, participants who reported darker skin tones reported higher mean scores on the Anxiety of Interacting with Police Officers and Fear of Police Abuse subscales. By further validating a scale that captures perceptions of police among Latinx in a quantitative way, researchers can begin exploring its association with various mental health outcomes.
ContributorsAltamirano, Elizabeth (Author) / Dillon, Frank (Thesis advisor) / Capielo, Cristalis (Committee member) / Vargas, Edward D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Although nearly invisible to the public, millions of hobbyists around the world have for decades played an important role in local journalism. Whether it is a bank robbery, train derailment, car accident, or the rescue of a cat stuck in a tree, chances are police scanner listeners will hear it and some will tip off journalists. These “if it bleeds it leads” stories are, for better or worse, an important part of local television newscasts and other forms of local news.
Long before internet content creators and social media sites, scanner hobbyists formed groups that created information feeds to share with each other and the public. In the 1990s, for example, a group of listeners in Colorado started a Twitter-like news sharing service for its 500 members, sending out updates over a network of alphanumeric pagers. Mountain News Net continues its work today using modern technology.
What is perhaps least known about scanner hobbyists is that Mountain News Net and certain other listener groups relied on journalistic-style principles and news values in the material they shared. Mountain News Net’s small team of “dispatchers” rely on well-understood guidelines for their feed, gatekeeping what is sent to their members. Local News providers in Colorado also work with the group to get access to news tips.
Indeed, there is much to be heard on a police scanner, usually small dramas that unfold in real-time, providing a record of events from the first responder perspective. Listening to these stories can be so compelling some listeners won’t go anywhere without their radios. Jack Dorsey was a scanner listener as a child, and he said the experience inspired him to help create Twitter.
This dissertation brings to light this unexplored world of public safety radio and its close connections to journalism and user-generated content. The nearly century-old hobby is examined in a historical context, and through semi-structured interviews with Members of the Mountain News Net and other key informants provides a deep explanation of how these pre-internet citizen journalists came to be and the role they play today.
ContributorsRackham, Brian James (Author) / Thornton, Leslie Jean (Thesis advisor) / Barrett, Marianne (Committee member) / Casavantes, Mike (Committee member) / Johnson, Rich (Committee member) / Liseblad, Madeleine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Police excessive force, unlawful stops and searches, false arrests, and other forms of misconduct remain significant issues in American law enforcement. Abuses of power by even a few police officers erode public trust, reduce the legitimacy of law enforcement, and expose individual officers and law enforcement agencies to criminal and civil liability. When misconduct occurs, inadequate police leadership and supervision are often cited as contributing causes. First-line supervisors have direct, positional authority to influence the behavior of officers they lead, yet little is known about what actions first-line supervisors are expected to take to prevent misconduct. Federal consent decrees have been a promising area of police reform knowledge for researchers and practitioners. While these documents enumerate dozens of police reform measures in multiple subject areas, the role of the first-line supervisor remains disparate and unclear, ultimately hampering the effectiveness of first-line supervisors in operationalizing the reforms prescribed by these documents. The aim of this study was to develop a conceptual model that enhances understanding of actions police first-line supervisors are expected to take to prevent officer misconduct. A qualitative content analysis of federal consent decrees led to the development of six themes and a conceptual model that describe expected first-line supervisor behavior. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge about police leadership in the context of misconduct prevention and consent decree reform. It proposes a conceptual model helpful to police practitioners seeking to better define the role of first-line supervisors in an unpredictable, complex work environment that leaves little room for error.
ContributorsSmith, Benjamin (Author) / Veach, Paula (Thesis advisor) / Kirsch, Robert (Committee member) / Wallace, Lillian M (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022