Matching Items (25)
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Description
The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of the type of crime (namely, its perceived immorality) a juvenile is suspected of on how juvenile suspects are perceived (in terms of moral character, immaturity, and suggestibility) and, in turn, interrogated. I expected act-person dissociation to influence that effect.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of the type of crime (namely, its perceived immorality) a juvenile is suspected of on how juvenile suspects are perceived (in terms of moral character, immaturity, and suggestibility) and, in turn, interrogated. I expected act-person dissociation to influence that effect. To that end, perceptions of crime (i.e., immorality, seriousness) were also investigated. The study was first conducted with law enforcement officers (n = 55), then replicated with laypeople (n = 171). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three crime conditions: robbery, sexual assault, and murder. In each condition, participants read a probable cause statement involving a 15-year-old suspect. There were several key findings: (1) Murder was the most serious crime, whereas robbery and sexual assault were more immoral. (2) Act-person dissociation did not occur. (3) Participants were more likely to endorse the use of psychologically coercive tactics on the juvenile suspected of sexual assault than the juvenile suspected of murder. (4) The more favorably participants perceived a juvenile’s moral character, the less likely they were to endorse the use of psychologically coercive interrogation tactics. (4) Participants who more strongly agreed that juveniles are more immature and suggestible than adults were less likely to endorse the use of psychologically coercive tactics, more likely to endorse the use of tactics that encourage compliance with interrogators, and more likely to adhere to the PEACE model of juvenile interrogations. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, along with potential directions for future research.
ContributorsFaison, Lakia (Author) / Mickelson, Kristin (Thesis advisor) / Smalarz, Laura (Committee member) / Salerno, Jessica (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
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Description
Emotion-related processes are a pivotal piece in establishing a holistic evaluation of interpersonal and intrapersonal outcomes due to stress. These processes are especially relevant for law enforcement officers (LEOs) who are required to regulate their emotions in the context of their personal lives and their job. The emotion suppression tendencies

Emotion-related processes are a pivotal piece in establishing a holistic evaluation of interpersonal and intrapersonal outcomes due to stress. These processes are especially relevant for law enforcement officers (LEOs) who are required to regulate their emotions in the context of their personal lives and their job. The emotion suppression tendencies fostered by LEO culture may be exhibited in marital interactions, especially if LEOs perceive that their spouse does not understand their job (described here as spousal job misunderstanding [SJM]). The associations between LEOs believing their spouse misunderstands their job and their reported marital satisfaction and burnout levels may be explained through emotion suppression tendencies when with their spouse. This study examined whether the extent LEOs felt their spouse misunderstood their job was associated with marital satisfaction and burnout; whether those associations were mediated by the extent LEOs hid their feelings from their spouse; and, for burnout, whether effects were conditionally mediated at different levels of social support. Study analyses were conducted in separate groups according to gender, using survey data from 76 male and 26 female LEOs. In line with hypotheses, significant relationships between SJM and LEOs hiding their feelings were found. Mediation analyses revealed significant associations between SJM and marital satisfaction in both males and females, and this association was mediated by the extent LEOs hid their feelings from their spouse in male LEOs only. In a conditional mediation model, SJM was not associated with LEO burnout, but conditional indirect effects were found for male LEOs. Unexpectedly, indirect effects of LEOs hiding their feelings from their spouse were significant at mean and high levels of social support, but not at low levels. These results indicate the relevance of emotion regulation in the context of burnout, marital satisfaction, and social support, and how the opportunity for solving issues in policing and LEO-specific emotional difficulties may be found in novel interventions focused on these constructs.
ContributorsBurnett, Aaron (Author) / Roberts, Nicole A (Thesis advisor) / Burleson, Mary H (Committee member) / Hall, Deborah L (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
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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

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
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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

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
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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

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