Browsing by Subject "Police"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    How Police Officers Can Save Rural EMS
    (Journal of Emergency Medical Services, 2020-01-14) Shekhar, Aditya C
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    Iraq and the centrality of policing to state formation
    (2012-11) Wozniak, Jesse Scott
    In the past twenty to thirty years, social scientists and philosophers have begun to move away from traditional conceptions of power and the state, focusing increasingly on the ways knowledge creation and discourse combine to enmesh everyone in webs of power that produce consent and legitimacy. Yet at the same time, all functioning states continue to employ armed forces to both maintain social order and fulfill and increasingly coercive function should that order be threatened. While many scholars have turned their attention toward mass incarceration and punishment, few have focused their studies on the front-end of the criminal justice system where countless important decisions are made. As such, this dissertation begins to fill this gap in the literature by examining the decisions and priorities of the police who are ultimately responsible for whether one ends up within the labyrinth of criminal justice in the first place. The aim of this dissertation is two-fold: I argue both that despite recent trends of globalization and deterritorialization, the state remains an important locus of power in the twenty-first century. Furthermore, the police, as both symbolic and cultural agents of the state, are integral to the formation and maintenance of state power, as well as the imperial expansion of dominant states. Utilizing a case study of the reconstruction of the Iraqi police force, this dissertation begins to address this policing gap in the literature by examining a handful of basic questions regarding the functions of police training in a post-conflict society; namely, how does an emerging police force define itself and those it polices? Who chooses to join an emerging police force, and why? How does the presence of an international hegemon affect the training and implementation process? And ultimately, why does the training of Iraqi police take on a heavily militaristic and highly symbolic nature? To answer these questions, I employ a wide variety of data collected in the spring of 2011 during an extensive field study of an Iraqi police training facility. Utilizing a combination of ethnography, intensive interviews, survey questionnaires, and textual discourse analysis, I examine training processes, attitudes of students and trainers, the public performance of police, and attempts by the police to establish legitimacy for themselves and the nascent democratic state of Iraq. This study is unique in that it is one of, if not the, first studies of police reconstruction to be based on data collected during the reconstruction process itself. Furthermore, it is one of few sources regarding the Iraqi police and state to privilege the voices of Iraqi themselves. Results indicate that within a context of budgetary shortfalls, an unstable central government, and rising crime rates, the Iraqi police have opted for a highly militarized symbolic form of policing as an attempt to project a legitimacy neither they nor the larger state have yet earned. This study reveals policing to be a central factor in the establishment of state legitimacy and capacity, as well as playing an important role in imperial expansion. I address the significance of these findings for research and practice and how policing is both reflective and constitutive of the many problems and possibilities inherent in the state (and empire) building project. This study demonstrates that while conceptions of decentralized power are indeed fruitful, there continues to be a force of people empowered with the ability to use lethal force should one stray too far outside the dictates of the state, and that social scientists and philosophers ignore this fact at their peril.
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    Pressing the Police and Policing the Press: The History and Law of the Relationship Between the News Media and Law Enforcement in the United States
    (2020-07) Memmel, Scott
    Amidst urbanization, immigration, industrialization, and rising crime in the United States in the 1830s-1840s, the modern conceptions of both the press and police were born. From early historical antecedents in the American colonies through the present, the news media and law enforcement have been, and continue to be, fundamental institutions in the United States. However, both parties face significant political, economic, social, and technological tension, pressure, and scrutiny, signifying the need for further research. Although past literature has covered some aspects of the press-police relationship, its history and law remain understudied. Through a new and original theoretical framework, in-depth literature review, three-part content analysis, and two-part legal analysis, this dissertation provides the most complete and comprehensive study of the history and law of the press-police relationship to date. It also aims to understand, analyze, and address how the history and law of the interactions between both parties inform the present and future of their relationship, including key implications on the press, police, and American public, as well as how the press-police relationship can be improved. This study therefore provides a series of important, tangible recommendations for the press and police to improve their relationship and better serve the public moving forward.
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    Underrepresented: The Experiences of Black People Who Pursued Careers in Minnesota Law Enforcement
    (2018-12) Woodson, William
    While African Americans are overrepresented in Minnesota police shootings and officer-involved fatalities, they are underrepresented in Minnesota law enforcement. The reasons are complex, interconnected, grounded in historical racial barriers and racist practices, and reinforced by current obstacles such as career awareness, concerns about the legitimacy of the law-enforcement function, and academic credentialing. Scholarly literature and law-enforcement leadership agree that a comprehensive effort to bolster public confidence and police legitimacy must include an increase in racial and ethnic diversity in order to better match the populations being served. ROTC and STEM are two examples of partnerships and proactive collaborations between higher education and future employers in response to the society’s continuing need for well-qualified, appropriately prepared talent. This investigation used an ethnographic case study framework to explore the lived experiences of 13 people of color who pursued careers as Minnesota police officers. A review of the literature surfaced seven salient career choice factors, role models and mentorship, social capital, perceptions, interests and skills, financial access, postsecondary credentials, and capacity for self-authorship. These served as a starting point for the development of a semistructured interview framework. A participatory research lens was used to sharpen the insights and enhance the legitimacy of these findings. This study identified specific barriers to black participation in representative numbers—most prominently a culture intolerant of difference. Of the seven career-choice elements, the capacity for self-authorship emerged as the most significant enabler of career access and success for black police officers. Initiatives to improve representation that offer the greatest promise include active promotion, by leadership, of the importance of a more diverse and inclusive work environment to rank-and-file officers; recruitment initiatives tailored to build career awareness among underrepresented identities; and investment in pathway programs like Law Enforcement Training Opportunities (LETO) and Law Enforcement Career Path Academy (LECPA), as well as paid developmental opportunities such as community service officer and cadet positions. These tactics will have the greatest impact if deployed in concert.
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    When is the officer not seen as safe? Assessing civilian biases regarding police officers with IATs
    (2022) Sridhar, Naushil A; Gunnar, Megan R
    Policing in America has become increasingly politicized and divisive in recent years, and there have been many different opinions about how policing should function. The purpose of this study was to analyze racial biases between POCs (participants of color) and White participants when appraising police officers based on the officer’s race and status as a police officer (as opposed to a civilian). POCs and White participants were asked to take four Internal Association Tests (IATs) to see if there were biases towards or against officers. The conditions for the IATs were White officers versus White civilians, White officers versus Black officers, Black officers versus Black civilians, and White civilians versus Black civilians. The mean scores in the IATs did not significantly differ between races, but they did differ among races; both racial groups appraised police and races similarly, but there were significant biases among each race about what conditions affect appraisal. White participants were significantly biased against White police officers compared to White civilians, POCs were not biased between White police officers and White civilians, both POCs and White participants were biased towards White police officers and White civilians over Black police officers and Black civilians respectively, and both POCs and White participants were not significantly biased between Black police officers and Black civilians. These findings indicate that race does play a difference when appraising officers, but the difference is not significant between races.