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We advance discussion of structural inequality by operationalizing “concentrated” disadvantage in terms of highly disadvantaged communities located at the spatial core of contiguous areas of high disadvantage, and by testing the extent to which such location achieves an independent effect on violence. Using exploratory spatial data analysis and count modeling, we show that highly disadvantaged communities located at the center of a contiguous ghetto have significantly higher rates of violence than other highly disadvantaged communities, but that this relationship is moderated by structural disadvantage. In addition to finding a significant interaction between these “deserts” of disadvantage and structural disadvantage, as they relate to violent crime, we also observe that in desert communities, disadvantage has a diminishing effect on violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary This study reports findings from a randomized controlled trial that examined the effects of the TASER® (a conducted energy weapon sold by TASER International, Scottsdale, Arizona) on several dimensions of cognitive functioning. The research demonstrated that in a sample of healthy human volunteer participants, TASER exposure led to significant and substantial reductions in (a) short-term auditory recall and (b) abilities to assimilate new information through auditory processes. The effects lasted up to 1 hour for most subjects, almost all of whom returned to baseline 60 minutes postexposure. Policy Implications The study applies the findings of reduced cognitive functioning among healthy participants in a laboratory setting to criminal suspects in field settings and questions the abilities of 'average' suspects to waive their Miranda rights knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily within 60 minutes of a TASER exposure. The study poses the question: What would it cost police to wait 60 minutes after a TASER deployment before engaging suspects in custodial interrogations? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who experience electrical injury suffer significant, sometimes long-term deficits in neuropsychological functioning. The TASER, an electrical device used by thousands of police departments, generates a high-voltage (up to 50 000 V), low-amperage (2.1 mA) current of electricity that is designed to disable a resistive criminal suspect. Questions have emerged regarding the potential for TASER exposure to cause impairment in cognitive functioning. In the current study, healthy human volunteers were randomly assigned to four groups, two of which received a TASER exposure. Participants completed a battery of cognitive tests before and after receiving their assigned treatment. Participants who received a TASER exposure experienced statistically meaningful declines in measures of verbal learning and memory, although deficits lasted less than 1 hour. After TASER exposure, participants also self-reported significant difficulties with concentration, anxiety, and feeling overwhelmed. Other dimensions of cognitive functioning were not affected. Our findings show that the effects of TASER exposure on brain functioning are not well understood. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the minority group-threat hypothesis across a metropolitan setting to test whether (1) increases in black and Latino representation in communities were associated with increased misdemeanor arrests and (2) if increases in minority groups in historically white communities were associated with increased police arrests. The study argued that threat trigger variables should be measured in terms of difference scores and weighted by initial dominant group representation. The latter argument is informed by the defended neighborhood perspective and assesses the threat hypotheses in historically white communities. Using negative binomial regression modeling that adjusted for spatial autocorrelation, the study found that net of theoretical controls, increases in percent black population were associated with increased black misdemeanor arrests, but only in historically white census tracts. Increases in Latino representation were associated with increased minority misdemeanor arrests both across all tracts generally, as well as in historically majority white tracts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prior research has not sufficiently explained the various pathways that lead to career-ending misconduct among police officers, most notably the timing of misconduct in officers’ careers, whether certain factors are related to that timing, and whether the types of misdeeds vary over time. The current study seeks to address these questions through an examination of all officers separated from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for career-ending misconduct (n = 1,542) from 1975 to 1996 as well as a comparison sample of officers who served honorably during that same time (n = 1,543). The authors adopt a survival perspective using both Cox regression survival analysis and multinomial logistic regression. Results indicate that time to termination is a complex, long-term process with distinct patterns that emerge over police officers’ careers. A number of variables were significantly associated with time to termination across officer careers, such as officer race and prior criminal history, while others were significant only at certain career stages. For example, promotion only protected against termination early in an officer’s career, while military service was a predictor of misconduct only after 10 years of service. The article highlights the importance of selection screening “out and in” processes, as officers with red flags early in their careers were at greatest risk for dismissal. The results also suggest that police departments themselves play an important role in shaping the patterns and timing of officer misconduct. Moreover, the survival framework provides a foundation for a long-overdue dialogue on good policing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the relationships between order maintenance arrests and violent crime across and within communities in a major metropolitan setting. Integrating the macro-deterrence and systemic model perspectives, the research tested the direct effects of vigorous disorder arrests on robbery and assault with a deadly weapon (i.e., violent street crime), as well as the interactive effects of Disorder Arrests × Residential Integration (mobility and owner-occupied dwelling) on violent crime. The research found no direct relationship between disorder arrests and violent crime, but it found that disorder arrests in conjunction with decreased residential integration was associated with violent crime reductions. The results suggest that police disorder arrests may produce the strongest violence reduction results in areas of decreased residential attachment; however, as residential integration increases, the effects of order maintenance arrests on violent crime diminish. The study discusses the implications for shared social control agency in communities, as well as future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxyapatite (HA)-reinforced polymer biocomposites offer a robust system to engineer synthetic bone substitutes with tailored mechanical, biological, and surgical functions. The basic design rationale has been to reinforce a tough, biocompatible polymer matrix with a bioactive HA filler. A large number of studies have investigated modifications to the biocomposite structure and composition, aimed at improving the mechanical properties, often through modified or novel processing methods. In this article, the effects of the polymer composition and molecular orientation; the HA/polymer interface; and the HA-reinforcement content, morphology, preferred orientation, and size are reviewed with respect to mechanical properties, drawing frequent comparisons between various HA-reinforced polymer composites and bone tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the lack of information from U.S. police departments concerning coercive processes used by police and the outcomes. The author argues that police departments should adopt a group standard concerning the practices of collecting data on all coercive activities, including disciplinary actions, and make the data available with minimal filtering and justification to members of the police departments. The author also recounts his experience in trying to gather research information from the New York City Police Department. He was surprised that such a large police department had incomplete personnel and other records.

This study examined whether indicators of compromised police legitimacy explained variations in violent crime within New York City police precincts from 1975 to 1996. Integrating models of urban cultural attenuation and procedural justice, the study hypothesized that variations in patterns of police misconduct and over/under policing (the indicators of police legitimacy) would predict variations in violent crime rates of communities characterized by concentrated structural disadvantage. Using a panel design and controlling for the relevant ecology of crime factors and spatial autocorrelation, the study found that in communities characterized by high disadvantage, incidents of police misconduct predicted variations in violent crime; in communities characterized by extreme disadvantage, both indicators of compromised police legitimacy (misconduct and over policing) predicted variations in violent crime. The study found no significant relationships between the indicators of police legitimacy and violent crime in communities of low disadvantage. Findings support emerging arguments that emphasize the importance of formal institutions of social control in the most structurally disadvantaged communities (that is, those often subjected to cultural attention) and suggest implications for the ecology of crime model and police accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that investigated the relationship of the changes in minority representation within a single city over time at the community level to the changes in the allocation of police resources in New York City. Relation between Latino populations and police deployment; Limitations of previous research; Analysis of the patterns of police deployment in the New York City Police Department.

The present study examined whether variations in social ecological conditions in New York City police precincts and divisions have predicted patterns of police misconduct from 1975 to 1996. The study included misconduct cases involving bribery, extortion, excessive force, and other abuses of police authority, as well as certain administrative rule violations. Using a longitudinal framework, the analyses found that dimensions of structural disadvantage and population mobility-drawn from the social disorganization literature—as well as changes in Latino population—drawn from the racial conflict perspective—explained changes in police misconduct over time. Further, most of the variations occurred within, as opposed to between, precincts and divisions over time, strengthening the case for a longitudinal examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present analysis examines the extent to which police officers arrest domestic violence offenders who violate restraining orders. The study develops a theoretical framework, referred to as the custody-threshold thesis, that considers the decision to arrest to be a function of the officers' goals to satisfy one of several purposes of custody. Findings from logistic regression modeling show that restraining-order violations in domestic violence incidents have the greatest impact on arrest probability when risk of injury to the victim is low, but that as risk increases, the predictive strength of restraining-order violations diminishes. Findings support the custody-threshold thesis, suggesting important policy implications, which are identified and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a bibliography of the various articles and dissertations relating to different aspects of American literature that are at present appearing in various U.S. scholarly periodicals, published in the issue dated November 1, 1942 of the journal 'American Literature.' Articles relating to various aspects of American literature in the period from 1607 to 1800; Articles relating to American literature during the period 1800 to 1870; Articles covering subject matters relating to the period from 1870 to 1900.