SAGE Journal Articles

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Bishopp, S. A., Klinger, D. A., & Morris, R. G. (2015). An examination of the effect of a policy change on police use of TASERs. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 26(7), 727–746.

Abstract: The role that department policy plays in shaping how police officers exercise their discretionary powers to use physical force against citizens is a critical issue in the American justice system. Research has established that department policies regarding officers’ use of deadly force effected firearm use and led to reductions in incidents of officers discharging their weapon. There is a noticeable lack of similar evidence on the effects of policy changes regarding the use of non-lethal force. This study describes the results of an assessment of the effect that a change in policy governing a specific type of non-lethal force—TASERs—in one major police department had on officers’ use of the device. The results show that a move to a more restrictive TASER policy led to a reduction in TASER use. The study also reports on the role that factors besides policy play in officers’ TASER usage.

Questions to Consider:

  1. The Dallas Police Department increasingly formalized procedures related to Taser deployment, resulting in a reduction in use. If officers were facing a similar risk and dealing with similar crimes during the period, how do you suppose they dealt with noncompliant suspects given the restrictions on Taser use?
     

Hughes, A. G., & Teodoro, M. P. (2013). Assessing professionalism: Street-level attitudes and agency accreditation. State and Local Government Review, 45(1), 36–45.

Abstract: Professional organizations now accredit state and local agencies across several fields. This article investigates the attitudes of street-level bureaucrats toward their agencies and the tasks required of them in accredited and nonaccredited agencies. If accreditation changes bureaucratic attitudes in ways that build a sense of mission or shape functional preferences, it could lead to more effective public service delivery. The empirical subjects of this study are American municipal police departments and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEAs). Analysis of quasi-experimental data from a survey of officers suggests that accreditation helps build a sense of mission at the street level but finds little evidence of an effect on functional preferences.

Questions to Consider:

  1. To achieve national police accreditation takes an organizational investment of time and money. If, for the sake of argument, the primary benefit is reputational—the agency is believed to be well quipped and employ officers of a higher standard—is the investment worth it, even if accreditation results in little change in actual street-level behavior?
     

Lombardo, R., & Olson, D. (2009). Organizational approaches to drug law enforcement by local police departments in the United States: Specialized drug units and participation in multi-agency drug task forces. Justice Research and Policy, 11, 45–75.

Abstract: This paper examines the factors associated with the decision of local police departments in the United States to operate specialized drug units or to participate in multi-jurisdictional drug task forces. Combining data from the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) Survey, the 2000 Census, and the Uniform Crime Report, we use both bivariate and multivariate methods to conduct the analysis. The findings indicate that county-level agencies, those with other formalized drug control efforts, high levels of violent crime, high degrees of task specialization and formalization, and high proportions of the resident population accounted for by renters were more likely to operate drug units, participate in multi-agency drug task forces, and allocate more officers per capita to these efforts.

Questions to Consider:

  1. Researchers found that agencies with drug enforcement special units were also more likely to participate in multiagency drug task forces. Do you believe that these structures and relationships with other agencies absolve the general members of the organization from concentrating on drug law enforcement? After all, two dedicated bodies—a special unit and task force—focus on the issue.