scholarly journals Do Female Officers Improve Law Enforcement Quality? Effects on Crime Reporting and Domestic Violence Escalation

Author(s):  
Amalia R. Miller ◽  
Carmit Segal
Author(s):  
Shannon Harper ◽  
Angela Gover ◽  
Samara McPhedran ◽  
Paul Mazerolle

PurposeComparative research provides a mechanism to understand how justice systems throughout the world operate. McPhedran et al. (2017) conducted a comparative examination of police officer attitudes about domestic violence (DV) in the USA and Australia and reported fairly high levels of agreement among male and female officers within each country. The current study builds on these findings by examining officer attitudes toward DV among male and female officers cross-nationally. This was accomplished by examining whether American and Australian male and female officers agree with one another on a number of DV issues.Design/methodology/approachTwo-way ANOVA was used to examine the effect of two factors (gender and country) on law enforcement officer attitudes about DV.FindingsThe results suggest that male and female officers from the USA and Australia significantly differ on 14 of 24 attitudes about DV with the greatest number of attitudinal differences found between American and Australian male officers.Research limitations/implicationsScholars who conduct future research examining police officer attitudes about DV should use the instrument from this study as a springboard to develop an updated survey in terms of content and one that would be applicable to cross-national analyses. Methodological study limitations are described in depth in McPhedran et al. (2017).Originality/valueWhile gender differences in attitudes have received scholarly attention, questions remain regarding the degree to which attitudes align among male and female officers across different countries. The current study seeks to fill these gaps in knowledge by examining attitudes about DV between American and Australian law enforcement officers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 2220-2247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalia R Miller ◽  
Carmit Segal

Abstract We study the impact of the integration of women in U.S. policing between the late 1970s and early 1990s on violent crime reporting and domestic violence (DV). Along these two key dimensions, we find that female officers improved police quality. Crime victimization data reveal that as female representation increases among officers in an area, violent crimes against women in that area, and especially DV, are reported to the police at significantly higher rates. There are no such effects for violent crimes against men or from increases in the female share of civilian police employees. Furthermore, increases in female officer shares are followed by significant declines in rates of intimate partner homicide and non-fatal domestic abuse. These effects are all consistent between fixed effects models with controls for economic and policy variables and models that focus exclusively on increases in female police employment driven by externally imposed affirmative action plans following litigation for employment discrimination.


2021 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-185
Author(s):  
Ricardo D. Martínez-Schuldt ◽  
Daniel E. Martínez

Sanctuary jurisdictions have existed in the United States since the 1980s. They have recently reentered U.S. politics and engendered contentious debates regarding their legality and influence on public safety. Critics argue that sanctuary jurisdictions create conditions that threaten local communities by impeding federal immigration enforcement efforts. Proponents maintain that the policies improve public safety by fostering institutional trust among immigrant communities and by increasing the willingness of immigrant community members to notify the police after they are victimized. In this study, we situate expectations from the immigrant sanctuary literature within a multilevel, contextualized help-seeking framework to assess how crime-reporting behavior varies across immigrant sanctuary contexts. We find that Latinos are more likely to report violent crime victimization to law enforcement after sanctuary policies have been adopted within their metropolitan areas of residence. We argue that social policy contexts can shift the nature of help-seeking experiences and eliminate barriers that undermine crime victims’ willingness to mobilize the law. Overall, this study highlights the unique role social policy contexts can serve in structuring victims’ help-seeking decisions.


2020 ◽  
pp. 107780122095426
Author(s):  
Ijeoma Nwabuzor Ogbonnaya ◽  
Olufunmilayo Ibitola Fawole ◽  
Cynthia Fraga Rizo

We investigated 13 domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault agency directors’ perspectives regarding Nigerian immigrants’ experiences of violence, DV-related service needs, and best strategies for providing those needs. Directors across five U.S. states were surveyed. Descriptive analyses showed the most common DV types were controlling behavior and cultural/traditional. The most important DV support needs were informational, informal, and legal. Formal support from DV agencies, support groups, and law enforcement was rated the most helpful strategies. Participants wanted to learn more about Nigerian immigrants’ DV experiences. Findings highlight implications for the development of Nigerian-specific DV services.


Author(s):  
Patricia A. Melton

Sexual assault is a violent crime that traumatizes individual victims and endangers entire communities. Every victim of sexual assault deserves an opportunity for justice and access to the resources they need to recover from this trauma. In addition, many perpetrators of sexual assaults are serial offenders who also commit other violent crimes, including armed robberies, aggravated assaults, burglary, domestic violence, and homicides, against strangers and acquaintances. Criminal justice agencies have the power to create a strategic, sustainable plan for an improved response to sexual assault that aligns with current best practices and national recommendations. In this document, we define an “improved response” as an approach that supports effective investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases, holds perpetrators accountable, and promotes healing and recovery for victims of sexual assault. This guide will help prosecutor and law enforcement agencies create a process with milestones, goals, and suggested actions, all designed to support a successful and sustainable approach for addressing sexual assault cases. Improving the criminal justice system’s response to sexual assault ultimately improves public safety and promotes trust between criminal justice agencies and the communities they serve.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Odey ◽  
O. Odee Ojong ◽  
A. M. Ogaboh Agba ◽  
F. Eja Ojong ◽  
Josephat O. Emeka ◽  
...  

The complexity involved in combating crime in different regions of the world makes information sharing fundamental in crime management. Unfortunately, crime victims, who should be in the frontline of providing this information to law enforcement agents are often lethargic and lackadaisical in doing so, owing to no fault of theirs. Thus, this paper explored the convergence between socio-demographic variables and crime reporting in Nigeria. Empirically, the study examined the relationship between the attitude of law enforcement agents, location of the crime, nature of the crime, and attitude to crime reporting. Mixed methods, including a cross-sectional survey and in-depth interview, was used to collect data from 1112 respondents through a multi-stage sampling technique. The quantitative data were analysed using simple linear regression; while, the qualitative data collected were analysed in themes as a complement to the quantitative data. Findings revealed that attitudes of law enforcement agents, crime location and nature of crime significantly affect attitude to crime reporting in the study area. The study concludes that there is a connection between selected socio-demographic variables such as attitudes of law enforcement agents, crime location, nature of crime and attitude to crime reporting. It was, therefore, recommended that law enforcement officers who fail to abide by the ethics of their profession and the standard procedure governing their interaction with both complainants and suspects should be severely sanctioned. Besides, law enforcement officers should be trained and re-trained in such areas as public relations and professional ethics guiding their operations


Temida ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
Katie Zoglin

In this paper author presents three instruments that have been proven helpful in domestic violence prosecutions in the United States, particularly in California: (1) laws, (2) inter-agency protocols, and (3) victim support services. Prosecutors have found that certain laws have been helpful in domestic violence prosecutions. These include restraining orders, criminal penalties for violations of restraining orders, and evidence code provisions permitting certain kinds of testimony. Second, many jurisdictions in California have drafted inter-agency protocols. The purpose of these protocols is to help law enforcement, health care workers, and social workers in gathering evidence relating to domestic violence cases. Finally, most victims are not familiar with the criminal justice system many are nervous about going to court for domestic violence cases, for a variety of reasons. As a result, many jurisdictions have established victim support services.


2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent B. Van Hasselt ◽  
Abigail S. Malcolm

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