Positive and negative intergroup contact predict Black and White Americans' judgments about police violence against Black Americans

We examined whether past positive and negative interracial contact predict people's views of interracial police violence. White (N = 207) and Black (N = 116) Americans reported on their past intergroup experiences before viewing information about one of two true events involving the death of a Black man at the hands of a White police officer. For White Americans, negative contact predicted a reluctance to blame the officer and a willingness to believe that people's responses to the events involved “playing the race card.” For Black Americans, positive contact predicted marginally less officer blame and lower beliefs that the victim was racially profiled. This suggests the potential for a vicious cycle, whereby past contact experiences color perceptions of intergroup conflict in the present.     

Structural Predictors of Brazilian Police Violence

This article explores the nature of police violence in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area in contemporary Brazil during the last two decades of the twentieth century. First, the article reviews theories and empirical research within general sociology and by Brazilianist/Brazilian scholars on the nature of violence, and policing. Next, the article reviews three structural theories of police violence developed as part of Western sociology but applied to Brazil—the reaction-to-crime, the reaction-to-violence, and the threat models. Lastly, using occurrence data on reports of police excessive use of force (n = 4018) from the University of São Paulo Núcleo de Estudos de Violéncia (Center for the Study of Violence) database on Gross Human Rights Violations, these three theories are tested with time series regression techniques through the regression of municipality rates of police violence on crime rates, concentrations of Afro-Brazilians and rural state migrants, and poverty indicators. The findings offer no support for threat explanations. The findings do support a partial reaction-to-crime explanation for police violence with rates of assault and robbery having a positive relationship to rates of police violence. Rates of homicide were found to have a negative relationship, indicating that homicide may be addressed by official policing practices whereas police may react to robbery and assault with “unofficial” violence.     

Creating Suspects in Police Interviews1

In 3 studies, the idea was tested that an increase in a police officer's movements in an interview will lead to an increase in movements made by the suspect. This increase in movements may then be interpreted by the police officer as suspicious behavior. In Study 1, interviewees were interviewed by 1 male police officer who either made some movements or no movements at all. The movements made by the suspects were investigated. In Studies 2 and 3, police officers were asked to judge the credibility of interviewees who were interviewed by a lively or a nonlively interviewer. The results supported the process described.     

Police officers’ judgements of blame in family violence: The impact of gender and alcohol

This study investigated police officers‘ judgements of blame to both victims and assailants of family violence. Furthermore, the impact of these judgements on the reported likelihood of charging the assailants with assault was examined. The sample was selected from operational police officers of the Queensland Police Service. The sample included 51 male officers and 46 female officers. Ethnicity was not examined. However; 1.3% of police oficers identify as Indigenous and 5.8% of officers come from non-English speaking backgrounds. The subjects were presented with one of eight case vignettes of assault. In these vignettes two factors were varied, the victim gender (male and female), and alcohol consumption of the victim and assailant (both the assailant and the victim were drunk, neither were drunk, the assailant was sober and the victim drunk, and the assailant was drunk and the victim sober). A third independent variable was included, gender of the police officer Male and female police officers showed no differences in judgement of blame and reported likelihood of charging. However; the level of blame attributed to both the assailant and the victim vaned with the victim gender and the alcohol consumption of the disputants. Male victims were more likely to be blamed than female victims. Drunk victims were blamed more than sober victims. Furthermore,a relationship was found between the level of blame allocated to the victim and the reported likelihood of charging the assailant. These results indicate that police officers hold gender stereotypes that influence the way they respond to family violence.     

The Catalytic Situation in the Violence Equation1

This paper discusses views of violence that point to situational impingements on the aggressor as precipitants of his or her aggression. The view (situational determinism) is illustrated through excerpts from a trial that was concerned with police responsibility for incidents of police-citizen violence. The excerpts high-light the exonerating and antipsychological corollaries of the situational view and its emphasis on victim-related variables. This deterministic scenario (violence situation) is contrasted with an interpersonal emphasis (violence transaction) and an offender-centered perspective (violence opportunity). In contrast to the latter's emphasis on aggressor motivation, situational determinism implies the generic motivation (“normalcy”) of aggression. As a corollary, the view rejects the possibility of introducing deescalating options into evolving violence transactions.     

Look there! The effect of perspective,attention, and instructions on how people understand recorded police encounters

Now more than ever, body cameras, surveillance footage, dash‐cam footage, and bystanders with phones enable people to see for themselves officer and civilian behavior and determine the justifiability of officers' actions. This paper examines whether the camera perspective from which people watch police encounters influences the conclusions that people draw. Consistent with recent findings showing that body camera footage leads people to perceive officers' actions as less intentional (Turner, Caruso, Dilich, & Roese, 2019), our first study demonstrates that participants who watched body‐camera footage, compared with people who watched surveillance footage of the same encounter, perceived the officer's behavior as being more justified and made more lenient punishment decisions. In our second study, only one of the four police encounters that participants watched led participants to perceive the officer more favorably when they watched body‐camera footage compared with bystander footage. Our results demonstrate that some body‐camera footage—specifically videos that capture an officer using his or her body to apprehend a civilian—can lead to biased perceptions of police encounters that benefit the officer. Our findings suggest that this occurs because: (i) in body‐camera footage, the civilian is the more easily visible figure, thus making less salient the officer's role in the encounter; and (ii) the body camera—attached to an officer's uniform—is unable to adequately capture certain use of force movements that are important in determining an officer's intent.     

Compassion as a matter of fact: The argument from no‐self to selflessness in Sāntideva's Siksāsamuccaya

Due to the extended time frame over which they occur, human-induced environmental changes are out of sync with human lives lived in an age characterized by nano-second attention spans. As a result, the violence exacted by such changes poses representational and motivational challenges to human abilities to address them. I tackle the question, as a scholar from outside the discipline of religious studies, how might Buddhist thought provide valuable tools for people interested in working progressively at the intersection of violence and human-induced environmental degradation? Like other non-specialist Westerners, I have cobbled together an eclectic Buddhist perspective. I aim to explore affinities between certain Buddhist themes and my own professional orientation and expertise in earth science. To that end, I describe concepts of time derived from geological science and Asian mythical traditions; probe ideas about violence in relation to global environmental degradation; and, consider implications of the Noble Eightfold Path, the way to deliverance from suffering taught by the Buddha, for adjusting systemically to environmental change over time. By expanding, scientifically and spiritually, what the present moment can be, an instant of infinite duration, I hope to connect my journey towards taking a long view of a moment with the long view of change that human beings require to awaken to violence that is at once potentially catastrophic and so slow, that it's difficult to discern and therefore counter.     

Analysis of advanced driver assistance systems in police vehicles: A survey study

Few studies have examined the impact of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) on police officers to improve driver safety and prevent crashes. This is in spite of police officers having higher driving-related mortality rates than average civilians. To fill this gap, a survey study was conducted on 73 police officers to assess their opinions on various ADAS features as well as their recommendations for improvement. Results of the correlation analyses indicated that officer behavior and opinion on ADAS features were influenced by the trust officers had in the available ADAS systems among other key factors such as ADAS training and perceived usefulness. On this basis, guidelines for future research and development of ADAS were provided to improve officer driving safety in police operations. The guidelines need to be further validated in future driving simulation or naturalistic studies.     

Studies on antiviolent and “normal” communities

Limited preliminary studies have provided identification of several communities in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, that successfully control major interpersonal violence without formal police and judicial apparatus of the sort customary in industrial societies, even though these antiviolent towns are surrounded by others showing a “normal” level of violence. Because the antiviolent places share biological inheritance, culture, language (Zapotec and Spanish), climate, ecology, poverty, boundary disputes, and abundant use of alcohol with their neighbors, such factors may be discarded as determining either violence or antiviolence. The antiviolent communities do differ from their neighbors, however, in showing a near absence of “machismo,” contrasting practices in child rearing, very few close friendships linking adults of the same sex, and a much stronger social role for women. First results from trials of psychological tests are highly congruent with ethnographic observations.     

The Constable's New Clothes: Effects of Uniforms on Perceptions and Problems of Police Officers1

Popular beliefs concerning the effect of clothing styles on behavior have had important policy ramifications. For instance, in the interest of developing better police-community relations, numerous police departments have considered changing from a traditional police uniform to a more “civilian” style of dress. Effects of such an alteration were examined in the laboratory and in the field. No positive effects of the uniform change were found. Compared to officers wearing a blazer-style uniform, officers wearing traditional uniforms were perceived as more honest, more active, more helpful, more competent, more “good”, more valuable, faster, and as possessing better judgment. Data on arrests for resisting arrest and assaults on a police officer were obtained from a police department which adopted, then 8 years later abandoned, a civilian style blazer uniform. No effect of the uniform change on the number of assaults on police officers and arrests for resisting arrest was found, contrary to previous reports.     

Understanding and Responding to Victims of Interpersonal Sexual Violence and Sexual Assault within Committed Relationships

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to increase therapeutic discussion surrounding intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) by increasing understanding in how victims of IPSV perceive and respond to the assault. Although IPSV has received little research attention, sexual violence within relationships occurs at an alarmingly high rate. Theories of sexual assault, such as sex-role socialization, are discussed to aid clinicians in better identifying assaultive behaviors and common physical and emotional responses of victims. Additionally, the authors provide a framework for the assessment of IPSV and suggestions on “best practices” for creating conversations that promote hope and healing.     

Perceptions of Police Use of Deadly Force

Recent police shootings of unarmed suspects have brought to bear harsh criticism of law enforcement use of deadly force. Two studies sought to investigate perceptions of police misuse of deadly force. Study 1 showed that as number of officers decreased and number of shots increased, perceptions of misuse of force were augmented. Number of shots per officer significantly predicted perceptions of misuse of force. Study 2 investigated the effects of social dominance orientation, blind patriotism, and right-wing authoritarianism. Results showed a significant interaction between number of officers, number of shots fired, and social dominance orientation. This personality variable was an especially strong predictor of misuse of force in situations involving the largest number of shots fired per officer.     

A model for police officer burnout

This article presents an empirically derived model of police officer burnout based on 199 male police officers. A brief review of research on police officer stress is also provided.This chapter is a summary of research conducted by Dr. Alan M. Goodman for his doctoral dissertation entitledA Model for Police Officer Burnout, June 1983, California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego.Alan M. Goodman, Ph.D. obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego, California. In addition, Dr. Goodman is a School Psychologist and is a consultant to several school districts in Southern California. Dr. Goodman has been employed in both inpatient and outpatient mental health settings. Most recently, Dr. Goodman has been a Registered Psychologist at Catholic Community Services in San Diego where he conducted individual, conjoint and family therapy sessions for a varied socioeconomic population, including city service personnel.Dr. Goodman has conducted extensive observations of police officers on the job through the Ride-A-Long program in which non-police personnel may accompany police officers on a particular shift of duty. In addition, he has consulted with numerous police chiefs regarding the various high-risk factors for those police officers who may be experiencing burnout and stress. In addition, intervention strategies in order to alleviate these feelings were discussed with these officials.     

Campus Responses to Dating Violence and Sexual Assault: Information from University Representatives

Universities have an obligation to provide student victims with services that are easily accessible. This study focused on the provision of sexual assault and dating violence services of large, public 4-year institutions, as reported by university representatives. The sample included security officers from 45 universities who completed phone interviews between February and May 2013. Phone interviews consisted of 15 open-ended questions. The findings point to highly variable practices and services offered across campuses. The services most frequently reported by university representatives include counseling and police services. The findings also suggest that public 4-year institutions not only offer varied levels of services, but such services might not be readily available to student victims. Although many representatives identified underserved groups and suggestions for improvement, a sizable portion did not acknowledge any. Further, university representatives did not distinguish between services provided for dating violence and sexual assault.     

Black and white differences in the perception of justice.

This study examined how African Americans and Whites view the justice system in the United States. Three hundred and eighteen research participants were recruited from the campus of a local community college. The research participants viewed one of four different videotaped scenarios depicting an interaction between a police officer and a motorist. The scenes were identical except that the race of the motorist and the officer were varied. After viewing the videotaped scenario, the research participants were asked to rate the interaction. The results indicated that African Americans and Whites view the delivery of justice very differently. African Americans judged the police officers to be less impartial and more prejudiced than Whites. It will be useful to further explore these issues to better understand the potential impact of these negative feelings on important justice matters.     

Procedural injustice,police legitimacy,and officer gender: A vignette‐based test of the invariance thesis

Role congruity theory suggests that gender‐based stereotypes can result in female police officers paying a higher price (i.e., viewed as less legitimate) relative to male officers for mistreating people. The invariance thesis posits that the effect of (un)fair treatment by legal authorities on legal attitudes and beliefs is stable across situations, time, and space. This study tested the invariance thesis by assessing whether the effect of procedural injustice on police legitimacy differed across officer gender. A factorial vignette survey that consisted of two types of citizen‐initiated police encounters was administered to a university‐based sample (N = 525). The results showed that the effect of procedural injustice had a powerful and significant influence on participants' legitimacy perceptions. These effects were consistent regardless of whether the treatment was doled out by a male or a female police officer. The findings provide support for the invariance thesis.     

The Role of Police Perceptions and Practices in the Development of “Public Disorder”1,2

Recent studies suggest that crowd conflict needs to be understood as an interaction between the crowd and out‐groups such as the police. This paper describes a questionnaire survey in which 80 police officers from 2 United Kingdom forces were asked about their perceptions of crowds, appropriate “public order” policing methods, and attributions of responsibility for crowd conflict. As predicted, police officers saw the composition of crowds as mixed; yet they also constructed a dichotomy between a powerful minority, capable of exerting influence in the service of disorder, and a majority, who are unable to resist this influence. Police officers did not clearly endorse the view that crowds pose a homogeneous threat. They recommended control and quick intervention to prevent the escalation of crowd violence but denied that such methods might themselves contribute to conflict. Path analysis provides suggestive evidence that these perceptions of the crowd are related as part of a coherent ideology. Overall, these results offer support for the elaborated social identity model of crowd behavior as a dynamic intergroup process.     

applying social learning theory to police misconduct

Although numerous studies have attempted to understand the causes of various forms of police misconduct, there is still no clear theoretical explanation of police misbehavior. Akers’ social learning theory posits that peer associations, attitudes, reinforcement, and modeling are predictors of delinquency and crime in general. With this article, we seek to determine if the theory can account for police deviance. Data from a random sample of Philadelphia police officers are used to examine how officer attitudes and perceptions of peer behavior are related to citizen complaints of police misconduct. Findings suggest that social learning theory provides a useful explanation of police misconduct.     

CIT in small municipalities: Officer‐level outcomes

Research on the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) as a method to deal with mental illness in policing encounters has primarily focused on officers from large urban areas. The current study examined officer‐level outcomes in a non‐urban geographical setting using a pre/post‐CIT training design. The sample included 46 police officers from seven departments that would be considered rural and 13 that would be classified as suburban. Officers completed scales to gauge change in mental illness attitudes at the beginning and end of their one‐week CIT training. CIT training resulted in reductions in stigmatic attitudes with seven large effect sizes (ranging from η² = .24 to .59) across the two measures. The findings from this research are a direct response to the call for greater diversity in the size of police settings in the CIT literature and serve to expand the empirical base for CIT in relation to officer‐level outcomes.     

Deadly Force and Deadly Outcome: Examining the Officer,Suspect, and Situational Characteristics of Officer-Involved Shootings

ABSTRACT

Police use-of-force in general, and police use of deadly force in particular, has been at the forefront of national media attention in recent years. Despite this visibility, scholarly attention to the complexities and nuances of the dynamics at play that lead to fatal and non-fatal outcomes for suspects involved in these encounters has been limited. As such, the current study draws from data collected from 2015 to 2018 in the state of Texas to examine the officer-, suspect-, and situational-level correlates and predictors of suspect death resulting from being involved in an officer-involved shooting. Bivariate results suggest that officer race, suspect race, the suspect being armed with a deadly weapon, and the officer responding to a suspicious activity call are significantly associated with suspect death versus being injured in an officer-involved shooting. More rigorous multivariate results reveal that the situational context (i.e., the suspect being armed with a deadly weapon and the incident resulting from a suspicious activity call) is particularly relevant for predicting the lethality of an officer-involved shooting for the suspect. Study limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.