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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare two conflicting theoretical frameworks that predict or explain police decision making. Klinger's ecological theory proposes that an increased level of serious crimes in an area decreases the likelihood an officer will deal with order-maintenance issues, while Fagan and Davies suggest an increase in low-level disorder will increase order maintenance behavior of police officers. Design/methodology/approach – Using a vignette research design, the authors examines factors that may contribute to police officers' decision to make a traffic stop in four jurisdictions with varying levels of serious crime. Ordered logistic regression with robust standard errors was used in the analysis. Findings – Analysis of the findings demonstrates that officers who work in higher crime areas are less likely to stop a vehicle, as described in the vignettes. Additional predictors of police decision to stop include vehicles driven by teenaged drivers and drivers who were speeding in a vehicle. Research limitations/implications – The current research is limited to an adequate but fairly small sample size (n=204), and research design that examines hypothetical scenarios of police decision making. Further data collection across different agencies with more officers and more variation in crime levels is necessary to extend the current findings. Originality/value – This paper adds to the literature in two primary ways. First, it compares two competing theoretical claims to examine a highly discretionary form of police behavior and second, it uniquely uses a vignette research design to tap into an area of police behavior that is difficult to study (e.g. the decision not to stop). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - To provide readers with some basic information about the use of impact munitions in modern American police work. Design/methodology/approach - The paper identifies various sorts of impact munitions and places key findings from previous studies of these devices in a broader historical context of police force options. Findings - Impact munitions are an increasingly popular feature of contemporary American policing that rarely lead to serious injury, but can, under certain circumstances, cause fatal injuries. Originality/value - The paper provides interested academics and professional with information about an increasingly popular police force option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose ? The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions of police departments and instructors regarding academy-based pre-service firearm and deadly force training. Design/methodology/approach ? Surveys of department-based instructors (n=175) and state and local police departments (n=116) in Washington State provided ratings and other data on pre-service academy training and included department-based training provided before and/or after attending the academy. Findings ? The paper found academy graduates' skills generally were rated as adequate. Ratings for tactics and decision making were lower, and many departments noted that these areas needed more attention. Some departments also provided extensive post-academy training before allowing their new officers to work armed. Nevertheless, many departments used BLEA's handgun qualification course-of-fire for in-service requalification and, in some cases, training. Research limitations ? The research setting was one state and the study focused on firearm and deadly force training. Practical limitations/implications ? The paper shows pre-service firearm and deadly force training is crucial for officer and public safety at the outset of officers' employment. It also lays the foundation for department in-service training. Because departments exercise considerable latitude over the content, techniques and instructional methods of their own programs, the nature and extent of academy training has implications for officers' skills and abilities in the long term, too. Originality/value ? This paper shows prior research has concentrated on the perceptions of academy graduates and the full spectrum job tasks associated with policing and/or taking their certification examinations. It provides detailed insights into a specific training job-task area, as well as from important stakeholders such as departments and their instructors, not previously available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present findings on the efficacy of documents that US police are required to provide to domestic violence survivors, specifically intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors. Triangulating data from survivors, shelter staff, and law enforcement officers across four stages of IPV experiences, this national study identifies priorities among essential information needs and proposes information guidelines for law enforcement. Design/methodology/approach - A nationally distributed, 13-item, e-mail questionnaire was submitted to a stratified sample (ten largest, median, and smallest) of law enforcement agencies in all 50 states. Domestic violence shelters in each of the 1,500 cities were similarly recruited; survivors were recruited indirectly via shelter staff. The questions were clustered in terms of four common situations. Responses from 839 individuals were obtained, self-identified as police officers (481), shelter staff (263), and IPV survivors (95). Findings - Documents should be formatted for safety (i.e. small), developed for specific situations, and written simply. They should also offer information about non-law enforcement services. All three of the populations queried agreed that the immediate needs of survivors are stronger than their long-term needs. Research limitations/implications - The primary limitations are that the survey could include no means of determining the degree to which the respondents match the sample, and the response rate was insufficient to support inferential statistical analysis. Originality/value - This national study, the first of its kind, explicates the nuances of information elements in the personally situated experiences of survivors, and it presents the first set of suggested law-enforcement document design guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long a tradition in the USA, surveys of citizen perceptions of the police are beginning to gain prominence in emerging democracies. Recently, citizen surveys using common items were conducted in New York and St Petersburg, Russia. This paper reports on a cross-national analysis of data on citizen perceptions of the police using data from these two surveys. The analyses include comparisons of voluntary and involuntary contacts with the police, perceptions of police effectiveness, and perceptions of police misconduct. Results suggest that residents of St Petersburg are more likely to be stopped by the police, while residents of New York are more likely to contact the police for assistance with crime and other neighborhood problems. Police in New York were generally seen as more effective than their counterparts in St Petersburg. In both cities, roughly half of those surveyed believed that the police engaged in misconduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]