Allegations of police departments using excessive force during investigations or arrest procedures have not stopped appearing on the national headlines since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. Furthermore, the events like the killing of Eric Garner in New York, the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, the shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and the death in custody of Freddie Gray in Baltimore contributed to fueling the public’s distrust of the police forces (Wihbey and Kille par. 1).
What Went Wrong in the Department
The example of the Cleveland Police Department can be beneficial for illustrating the issue and coming up with a solution to how change can be implemented to minimize conflicts and getting back the trust of the community. The investigation of six police departments in Cleveland has shown that uncalled for police practices, and conduct deficiencies became systematic.
Issues such as inadequate police training, escalation of conflicts through excessive force, violation of the Constitutional rights of citizens, lack of transparency in accountability, using force to already handcuffed individuals, and unamicable engagement with the community are reasons for why change is needed (McCarty par. 3). By identifying major problems existing in Cleveland Police, the Justice Department is planning to start a close cooperation with officials for introducing reforms that will potentially eliminate the inappropriate police practices.
Cleveland police department was also notorious for committing acts similar to the events in Ferguson. In November 2012, the police chase ended in the shooting of two unarmed people Melissa Williams and Timothy Russel (“Cleveland Police Shooting: What Happened, Who’s Involved and What is Next” par. 1). Officer Brelo is currently awaiting trial for firing forty-nine rounds at the victims, while other members of the police department are changed with duty dereliction and disciplined for playing a contributing role in the car chase (McCarty par. 6). Therefore, radical changes are needed to eliminate police misconduct in the future and win back the trust of the general public for the forces designed to protect the community, not to attack it.
Effective Police Leadership
One of the primary changes that can be made in the Cleveland Police Department is associated with the notion of effective police leadership, which has not been exhibited by the department. By introducing new and educated police executives in the department who will articulate the law enforcement standards both to the general public and to department officers, it will be possible to create a unifying police conduct framework that will guide the change. The community should be given information about what is appropriate and what is inappropriate police conduct, as well as provided with an explanation of procedures during which deadly force is applied so that any cases of police misconduct and over-use of force will be eliminated straight away (U.S. Department of Justice 37).
To implement changes in reducing police violence, new department executives should integrate a multidimensional approach to their professional practice. New police procedures and practices should be communicated on both operational and administrative levels. It is also important to accomplish the transition of new ethical values on every level because only a multidimensional approach has proven to be effective.
Dimensions of police culture and community culture should also become significant components of the change implementation. Because many of the police violence cases were associated with using force to diverse members of the community, educating police officers on the importance of respecting other cultures and races is integral. Since the majority of the past approaches towards police reforms were one-dimensional and therefore unsuccessful, progressive changes in the Cleveland Police Department should encompass a broad spectrum of levels and dimensions associated with effective police leadership (U.S. Department of Justice 39).
The lack of effective police leadership is what caused many issues present in the Cleveland Police Department. Therefore, new department leaders should focus on fostering support teamwork, committing to the process of problem-solving grounded on factual data rather than personal opinions or beliefs, seeking the input of their employees before making important decisions about their practice, and looking for effective ways of developing mutual support and respect within the department (Couper par. 5).
Changes in the current policing models are ‘problem-oriented’ and targeted at addressing the problem of the partnership between the community and police departments. Without increased cooperation between the Cleveland Police Department and the public, the implemented changes will not be long-lasting (Giacomantonio 17). Effective police leadership should also focus on engaging the community in conversation and cooperation.
Maximizing community engagement and acceptance will only be possible if new department leaders ensure transparency and accountability. Appropriate accountability and transparent track records will be effective in establishing ‘no tolerance’ attitudes towards unnecessary police brutality, racial discrimination, and improper use of force. Investing more into creating new methods of police training will eliminate the occurrence of bias within the police department as well as improve officers’ problem-solving skills, conflict mitigation strategies, and increase responsiveness to the needs or concerns of the community.
Components of Change
It is important to mention increasing diversity in the police department as one of the components of change. Through implementing new practices of hiring diverse employees in the department, police will acquire a better understanding of various cultural perspectives on policing and helping the community (PolicyLink 4). Rejecting militarization is another aspect of the change implementation, which will contribute to winning back the trust of the community. By being cautious about what military equipment is present on the police department sites, police will establish trusting relationships with the community representatives.
Lastly, the modern environment calls for changes that will be deeply connected to the application of innovative technologies. Equipping police officers with technologies such as body-worn cameras for reducing the instances of misconduct as a component of change implementation has proven to be successful. Because the Cleveland Police Department is known for many cases of misconduct, body-worn cameras should be compulsory for every officer in the department. Any effective technological solutions will become key in eliminating racial discrimination when interacting with citizens, reduce instances of misconduct based on sexual orientation, class, or religion, as well as ensure the public that the cases of unnecessary violence will be identified, and, if necessary, eliminated.
To conclude, changes in the Cleveland Police Department for ending professional misconduct and gaining the trust of the community should stem from a multidimensional approach that takes into account a range of components. First, the major focus should be put on establishing an effective police leadership framework. New department leaders should communicate new policing standards to both officers and the public to avoid misconduct and misunderstanding. Community engagement, increasing diversity, investing in training, and technological solutions are also components of successful change.
The purpose of this study is exploratory as the researcher uses the existing theoretical frameworks and explores particular facets of police officers’ job satisfaction. The researchers test a number of hypotheses to identify a new angle to address the issue. The researchers hypothesize that police officers with certain traits have higher levels of job satisfaction compared to those having other characteristic features. The authors also hypothesize that younger police officers have a higher level of job satisfaction. The independent variables are age, working experience, personality traits, and job characteristics. The dependent variable is job satisfaction. There is no control variable, which is common for studies that are not based on the implementation of the experiment.
The job satisfaction was measured with the help of Dantzker’s job satisfaction scale, the job characteristics variables was measured with the help of the job diagnostic survey. Personality traits were measured with the help of the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness-Five Factor Inventory. The data for this study were collected through the completion of self-reporting surveys. This is the cross-sectional study as it measures certain characteristics at a single point in time. No experiment was implemented, so the participants were not divided into groups. The target population was sworn police officers of a police department located in the south of the USA. Non-probability sampling was used as the researchers focused on a single police department, and only a part of the eligible samples agreed to participate. The authors provide quite a few details concerning their sampling techniques and methods, but it is possible to characterize the method employed as convenience sampling.
The general data collection technique was the completion of self-reporting surveys. This technique might seem quite inappropriate for a truly scientific research that should focus on facts rather than people’s views. However, the major goal of the study in question was to identify the level of people’s satisfaction. Therefore, it is but natural that researchers used certain scales to elicit people’s ideas on their job experiences as well as the level of their job satisfaction. It is necessary to note that the researchers used solid frameworks that had been used in various studies and had proved to be effective. Clearly, there are some threats to the study’s validity as people could try to provide answers that would please their bosses rather than reveal their true attitudes. However, the scales used minimized this threat. Besides, the participants were informed about the purpose and possible outcomes of the research, which could encourage them to provide sincere answers.
It is necessary to note that little information concerning ethical principles and safeguards is provided in the article in question. The authors do not even state explicitly if the participants signed the written consent form. It is also unclear whether the participants were given any confidentiality guarantees. At that, it is clear that no vulnerable groups were involved, which is associated with fewer ethical concerns. Nonetheless, this study could be improved if certain ethical guidelines and principles were followed and mentioned. The researchers could obtain written consent from the participants. This could ensure the participants’ awareness of all the major goals and outcomes of the study for the field of research as well as their professional practice. The author could pay more attention to issues of confidentiality, which had to be described in the article. Finally, the authors could address a research ethics board that would help them make sure that all ethical concerns are properly addressed. This could be their university’s board.
Police is a law enforcement agency that ensures order and supremacy of law in the US cities. At least, police is aimed to be such an agency. However, recent events and numerous cases of police brutality and misconduct show that supremacy of law and order are becoming more of proclamations. For instance, Ferguson has become a symbol of the struggle against police brutality and misconduct. It is possible to note that the majority of cases (especially when it comes to lethal cases) involves suspects who pertain to minority groups (Chin 55).
However, these are not the only cases and all people can potentially be prone to brutality of police officers. Even though some people note that there is not such an issue and the cases are not examples of brutality but necessary measures to prevent (or react to) crimes, it is clear that it is a serious issue and it should obtain significant public attention.
Law Enforcement
First of all, it is necessary to consider some cases of brutality and the way they are seen in the society. It is possible to state that the police-citizen relationship in this country has been “governed by an asymmetrical status norm whereby the police officer is the boss and the citizen is the subordinate” (Jeffries 72). Hence, when police officer suspects that a person may be an offender or may plan to commit a crime, he/she can detain the person, start certain kind of interrogation and even use the force.
Many people support this status and believe that police officers need this kind of power to effectively ensure supremacy of law. They think that potential offenders and criminals have to understand that there will be adequate punishment for any misconduct.
Nonetheless, many people understand that this status poses numerous threats to democratic values of the USA as the country may soon turn into a police state where people will be totally under control of law enforcement agencies and live in fear as any citizen (be it a criminal or law-abiding individual) may be a victim of brutality.
For instance, in Maryland, the court decided that the use of Tasers by police officers is justified as police officers “should be permitted” to use Tasers “to shield themselves from any possibility of harm and the suspect must suffer the consequences” (Mance 658). In other words, people believe that the use of Tasers (which can be dangerous in many cases) is justified as police officers can use this weapon to protect themselves and can effectively capture and neutralize the suspect.
It is clear that some people do not submit to police officers and start running or even shooting. Of course, when shooting is involved, it is clear that police officers can and should react and try to neutralize the criminals, as it may be associated with injured people among police officers as well as citizens. Force is also justified when the offender can harm other people.
For instance, domestic violence is a widespread issue and it is clear that sometimes a violent partner does not stop beating his/her victim until police officers use the force. It is also obvious that a person with some weapon threatening other people should be neutralized.
At the same time, this does not mean that police officers can use excessive force or kill a suspect. It is necessary to note that there are numerous regulations (the Fourth Amendment is primary) that provide principles of accountability. However, police officers often violate those regulations. Researchers note that police officers “use force as an authorized form of state coercion, but they do so in tense and often emotionally charged interpersonal encounters” (1121).
As has been mentioned above, many police officers are biased and even somewhat racist. Clearly, these factors affect the way situations are evaluated and, in many cases, police officers use excessive force. It is quite obvious that police officers are trained to use force and they tend to use it instead of trying to employ other methods. One of the most striking things is the fact that many people justify police brutality and numerous court decisions suggest that public opinion holds the viewpoint that violence can be justified.
Nonetheless, this is a very dangerous trend, as police officers may develop a sense that the use of force and brutality is a norm and it can be used even in the cases of minor offenses or with any suspect. Clearly, a police officer can decide that a person holding a bag is a terrorist and use the force against a law-abiding citizen who simply carried his/her staff in a bag.
The term suspect is very broad and police officers rely on their own judgments when evaluating the degree of danger to themselves and others. These judgments can be inadequate and can lead to tragic consequences. It is clear that police as well as the entire system has to undergo certain changes. Police officers should be trained to evaluate situations correctly and react accordingly (Simmons 402). This may be the necessary solution that will ensure development of a truly democratic (not police) country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is possible to note that the line between police authority and police brutality is becoming less tangible. Thus, many people think that the use of excessive power by police is justified in any case. However, it is clear that police officers are not big bosses of the streets, but they are servants of law-abiding citizens who deserve respect and safety.
Therefore, police departments have to develop effective strategies to address the issue. The recent events in Ferguson show that more and more people start thinking that police brutality has become prevalent and has to be diminished. The society needs changes and police officers have to be ready to change.
Annotated Bibliography
Chin, William Y. “Law and Order and White Power: White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement and the Need to Eliminate Racism in the Ranks.” LSD Journal 6.1 (2013): 30-98. Print.
The author explores issues associated with white supremacy in police and states that it should be eliminated.
Harmon, Rachel A. “When Is Police Violence Justified?” Northwestern University Law Review 102.3 (2008): 1119-1187. Print.
The author notes that police violence is becoming more common even though there are numerous regulations aimed at reducing it.
Jeffries, Judson L. “Democracy for the Few: How Local Governments Empower Cops at Citizens’ Expense.” Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution 3.5 (2011): 71-75. Print.
The author reveals the cases of numerous violations and shows that political elites empower law enforcement agencies at the expense of citizens’ rights.
Mance, Ian A. “Power Down: Tasers, the Fourth Amendment, and Police Accountability in the Fourth Circuit.” North Carolina Law Review 91.1 (2013): 606-660. Print.
The author explores laws (with the focus on the Fourth Amendment) that regulate the use of force by police officers.
Simmons, Kami Chavis. “Cooperative Federalism and Police Reform: Using Congressional Spending Power to Promote Police Accountability.” Alabama Law Review 62.2 (2011): 351-403. Print.
The author states that many strategies to address police brutality have failed and it is necessary to develop a new efficient strategy.
Works Cited
Chin, William Y. “Law and Order and White Power: White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement and the Need to Eliminate Racism in the Ranks.” LSD Journal 6.1 (2013): 30-98. Print.
Harmon, Rachel A. “When Is Police Violence Justified?” Northwestern University Law Review 102.3 (2008): 1119-1187. Print.
Jeffries, Judson L. “Democracy for the Few: How Local Governments Empower Cops at Citizens’ Expense.” Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution 3.5 (2011): 71-75. Print.
Mance, Ian A. “Power Down: Tasers, the Fourth Amendment, and Police Accountability in the Fourth Circuit.” North Carolina Law Review 91.1 (2013): 606-660. Print.
Simmons, Kami Chavis. “Cooperative Federalism and Police Reform: Using Congressional Spending Power to Promote Police Accountability.” Alabama Law Review 62.2 (2011): 351-403. Print.
San Diego Police Department values its employees. The department works with “different communities in order to maintain public safety, support, and trust” (San Diego Police Department, 2014, p. 1). The department’s goal is to provide efficient policing in San Diego (San Diego Police Department, 2014).
The department also addresses the issues affecting the surrounding community. Any citizen who satisfies the minimum requirements can become part of the San Diego Police Department (SDPD). The police department ensures every employee is satisfied with the working environment (San Diego Police Department, 2014). The applicant should be a citizen or inhabitant of the United States.
The targeted age for the job is 20 years. The applicant should take a mandatory Written Test at the age of 20. This requirement ensures every applicant graduated from the Police Academy at the age of 21 (San Diego Police Department, 2014). Another key requirement for this job is education.
The candidate should have graduated from a reputable high school in the United States. The applicant can also have a degree from a recognized university or college (San Diego Police Department, 2014). The targeted applicants should present proof of academic education when they are submitting their Personal History Statements (PHS).
The department also expects every candidate to possess a valid driver’s license. The applicant should also have a minimum of Class C Driver’s License. This license permits the individual to drive a vehicle. This requirement is mandatory at the time of recruitment. The applicant should be a competent driver (San Diego Police Department, 2014). This is a significant part of the policing activity.
Every candidate should also have a valid typing certificate. Every police officer should be able to use a computer. This explains why the department expects every applicant to have a typing certificate. The candidate should be able to type over 30 words per minute. The applicant should also submit his or her certificate during the Department’s Background Investigation Process.
The certificate should also specify the applicant’s gross and net typing speed. The department does not accept any internet-based typing test. The certificate should not specify five or more errors (San Diego Police Department, 2014). The San Diego Police Department will reject any certificate with the above errors during the recruitment process. The department accepts certificates that fulfill the International Typing Contest Rules (ITCR).
Every shortlisted candidate for this job should fulfill these minimum requirements. The screening process consists of different activities, such as written exercises and performance tests. The candidates should also be able to read, interpret, and comprehend technical materials. They should also “follow directions and detect similarities between groups of numbers” (San Diego Police Department, 2014, p. 2). The applicants should also be ready to make critical decisions. The candidates should be able to write and read competently.
The police department also conducts several medical investigations to ensure every applicant is physically fit. The candidate’s medical history should meet the police department’s requirements. These examinations are necessary because they ensure the department hires individuals who can perform every duty of a police officer (San Diego Police Department, 2014).
This discussion explains why the San Diego Police Department follows a rigorous recruitment strategy in order to employ competent persons for the job. This practice has made SDPD one of the most admirable police departments in the United States.
The present paper contains a study on the topic of the intersectional bias towards female persons with mental illnesses (PMI) and its relation to police treatment of these persons. In modern research, there is some contradicting evidence on many of the issues related to the topic, which is why the current research is carried out. It examines the police officers’ attitudes and views to determine if they bear the signs of the PMI-related bias and sexism and examine the way the two intersect and affect the officers’ behavior. The literature review allows hypothesizing that police officers can be found to exhibit sexist and biased attitudes towards female PMI, which result from the sexism and the stigmatization of PMI that exist in modern society. Still, the effects, which the two issues can have on officers’ behavior, may vary. The findings of the interview-based study predominantly confirm these predictions. In particular, it is found that sexism and PMI-related bias can be detected in the officers’ responses. Still, there is some mixed evidence to them affecting the officers’ attitudes and decisions. Also, the findings contain some examples of the interaction between the two phenomena. Finally, the findings indicate that police rules, guidelines, and educational interventions can alleviate the effects of bias and sexism, resulting in improved police service and enhanced safety of female PMI. In the end, the paper contains suggestions for future research.
Introduction
Even nowadays, the issues of discrimination and stigmatization in everyday settings are rather acute. One of the groups that suffer from intersectional discrimination is that of female people with mental illnesses (PMI) (Landqvist, 2015; Morabito & Socia, 2015). The present study seeks to answer the following question: how do the attitudes and views, which seem to be affected by the stigmatization of PMI and sexist attitudes toward women, interact with each other and affect officers’ behaviors when dealing with female PMI?
The study suggests that sexism and PMI-related bias are a significant issue that can negatively impact the access of female PMI to police services, and the paper seeks to investigate the specifics of the issue and possible solutions. As a result, the hypotheses of the study include the following ones:
H1. The effects of both sexism and PMI-related bias can be found in the answers of the respondents.
H2. Sexism and PMI-related bias can affect the officers’ attitudes and behaviors when dealing with female PMI.
H3. Sexism and PMI-related bias interact in a rather complex way, so the outcomes of these attitudes include positive and negative attitudes and treatment of female PMI.
Literature Review
Policing and Mental Illness
Overview: police encounters and settings
Police encounters with persons with mental illnesses (PMI) are frequent and pervasive events. In particular, they are shown to account for 6-7% of the total encounters of police officers with the population; as stated by Morabito and Socia (2015), these encounters are also typically regarded as more dangerous than those with people without mental illnesses by various groups, including the officers themselves (p. 254). Apart from that, the encounters happen in various settings, including domestic ones (private places), mental health institutions, public places during a patrol, and the police stations where “regulars” might visit a particular officer for support (Ogloff et al., 2012, p.60; Short, MacDonald, Luebbers, Ogloff, & Thomas, 2012; Wood, Watson, & Fulambarker, 2017). The encounters’ specifics are similarly multiple: the PMI can play the roles of a victim or a suspect in offenses of various levels of seriousness. Apart from that, there are mental health crises, which can also end in a police encounter (Watson, Swartz, Bohrman, Kriegel, & Draine, 2014, p. 2). In every one of these settings, the officers usually have a limited time to respond appropriately. However, the response can have consequences for the safety of various people involved in the situation (Watson et al., 2014, pp. 1-2). As a result, the treatment of PMI by police officers is important to investigate.
Stigmatization of PMI
Historically, mental illness is correlated with stigmatization, stereotypes, and bias (Hansson & Markström, 2014, p. 1). After the deinstitutionalization of the 1960s, PMI’s social exclusion followed (Hansson & Markström, 2014; Schulenberg, 2016), which resulted in their involvement in troublesome activities. The criminal justice system was suddenly required to control PMI’s deviant behaviors, for which it never had the resources (Morabito & Socia, 2015, p. 255). The frequent interactions with the police could have led to some of the stereotypes about PMI, including their supposedly violent and deviant behavior (Livingston et al., 2014).
Indeed, the perception of PMI as typically violent can be characterized as a misconception and bias. For example, Morabito and Socia (2015) carried out a statistical analysis of over 6000 of the use-of-force cases (by employing relevant reports from the Portland Police Bureau) and demonstrated that mental illnesses do not have a significant impact on the likelihood of officer and subject injury (p. 267). In general, factors like gender, race, resistance, and the type of force seem to have a much greater impact on the likelihood of injury. Morabito and Socia (2015) admit that possible explanations for their findings may include sufficient training in handling PMI and point out that there are limitations to their study. However, they still suggest that such findings, which are consistent with those of similar previous studies, imply that the typical perception of PMI as “extremely dangerous” maybe not warranted and can result in stigmatization which is based on stereotypes (Morabito & Socia, 2015, p. 269).
Effects of stigmatization for PMI
Stigmatization is harmful to PMI, including female PMI, for multiple reasons. There are psychological consequences like lowered self-esteem as well as economic ones like difficulties in finding a job. (Hansson & Markström, 2014). Moreover, the stigma limits PMI’s access to help and services through the service workers’ bias and reduced trust of the PMI (Desmarais et al., 2014; Morabito & Socia, 2015; Martin & Thomas, 2013). Finally, stigma can lead to direct violence (Barnett, Maticka-Tyndale, & Kenya, 2016). It is also noteworthy that stigmatization is known to be intersectional, resulting from multiple sources of stigmatization, including gender, race, disabilities, and so on (Dorfman, 2016), which makes it a more complex issue with unfavorable outcomes for the stigmatized people.
An example of stigmatization is shown by Livingston et al. (2014). The authors carry out a study of PMI perceptions, which demonstrates that most police encounters for PMI are not perceived negatively. However, their study still shows that about 30% of the respondents have had a negative police contact experience. There are limitations to work, including the sample of 60 Canadian people and the interview format, which does not allow generalizing the results. Still, some respondents’ complaints about not being treated like human beings cannot be overlooked (Livingston et al., 2014, p. 4). They also seem to be partially supported by other similar studies. For example, Desmarais et al. (2014) compared PMI perceptions and people without mental illnesses. They concluded that PMI is more likely to have negative experiences related to police encounters (p. 438). Given the level of social bias against PMI, it does not appear surprising that police officers can be prone to adopting it.
Police officers’ perspectives on working with PMI
Apart from the PMI’s perspective on the police-PMI encounters, police officers need to be considered. According to a literature review by Ogloff et al. (2012), several evidence-based studies indicate that, when analyzing PMI encounters, police officers tend to consider it difficult to communicate and cooperate with PMI (Ogloff et al., 2012, p. 65). Ogloff et al. (2012) also show that there is evidence to police officers preferring to handle minor PMI offenses informally, even though they believe that calling a mental health service is preferable. The reluctance to call service is explained by the fact that police officers often encounter difficulties receiving help from these services (Short et al., 2012). These factors make encounters with PMI particularly troublesome for officers, which affects their choice (and options) in the treatment of PMI and resolution of related cases.
Furthermore, Ogloff et al. (2012) point out that there is a significant amount of evidence to police officers demonstrating compassion towards PMI. Indeed, some studies indicate that police officers can be more accepting and empathetic with respect to PMI than society in general (Schulenberg, 2016, p. 5). However, these results seem to contradict the equally evidenced fact that PMI are more likely to be charged with minor offenses or non-criminal behavior (Schulenberg, 2016, p. 1) and the perceptions of some of PMI (Livingston et al., 2014). In general, it seems that there is no apparent conclusion on the way police officers treat PMI. Still, it can be inferred that they receive different treatment than those received by people without mental illnesses.
Policing and Women
Sexism-related stereotypes about women
Nowadays, sexist attitudes and discrimination against women are still an international issue, reflected in police officers’ behaviors (Landqvist, 2015). A study by Lila, Gracia, and García (2013) demonstrates that police officers can exhibit benevolent or hostile sexism as measured with the ambivalent sexism inventory developed by Glick and Fiske (1996). In terms of this inventory, benevolent sexism presupposes holding stereotypes about women (for example, their vulnerability or the specifics of their emotional life) and their role in society (as a member of a patriarchal family) without explicit hostility. In hostile sexism, both hostility and stereotypes are present. Lila et al. (2013) do not aim to provide the percentage of sexists. Still, they show that both types of sexism affect officers’ behavior with hostile sexism reducing empathy towards women and benevolent sexism resulting in a statistically greater possibility of conditional law enforcement: that is, law enforcement that is guided by the willingness of the victim to press charges rather than legal principles (p. 914).
According to the authors, the approach can have a distinctly negative effect on women’s safety: the authors focused on partner violence, in which conditional law enforcement can fail to protect the victim and further endanger them by complying with the victim’s wish to drop the charges. A more recent study by the same authors with a similar design seems to support these conclusions (Gracia, García, & Lila, 2014). Moreover, similar issues are detected by Sleath and Bull (2017), who review the problem of the perception of rape victims and victim-blaming. Thus, sexism-related stereotypes are evidenced to be exhibited by the police. They have negative consequences for the treatment of women, the management of their cases, and their access to police service.
Intersectional discrimination of female PMI
It can be suggested that female PMI are in danger of intersectional discrimination. The study by Morabito and Socia (2015) indicates that female mentally ill offenders are more likely to be involved in a use-of-force incident than male ones; that is, police officers are shown to be more likely to apply force to female PMI than male ones (pp. 264-265). In light of the fact that female offenders are reported to have high rates of mental issues (Cottler, O’Leary, Nickel, Reingle, & Isom, 2014), the issue becomes graver. In general, female PMI seems to be a particularly vulnerable and often victimized group, and the victimization can originate from police officers (Cottler et al., 2014).
However, the effects that the intersectional discrimination can have on female PMI treatment by the police are not apparent. For example, the interviews carried out by Watson et al. (2014) with 147 officers suggest that a female PMI (especially if she is taking medications) is typically perceived as an easier case and a more cooperative subject (pp. 5-6). It can be inferred that the stereotypical idea of females being less aggressive than males can, in this case, contradict the misconception concerning the aggressiveness of PMI. Thus, the evidence about the effects of the intersection of sexist and PMI-related bias on the police treatment of female PMI offers different, sometimes contradicting conclusions.
Summary
Hansson and Markström (2014) cite evidence which states that there have been no improvements in public attitude toward PMI in the past 20 years (p. 1), and the studies by Landqvist (2015) and Lila et al. (2013) explicitly demonstrate that sexism is still an issue for modern society. Consequently, it may be difficult for police officers and other criminal justice staff to avoid being influenced by this bias (Schulenberg, 2016, p. 5), and the training may be nonexistent or insufficient as a countermeasure (Hansson & Markström, 2014; Melnikov, Elyan-Antar, Schor, Kigli-Shemesh, & Kagan, 2016; Schulenberg, 2016, Wood et al., 2017). It is well-established that female PMI are more vulnerable and more often victimized than women without mental illnesses. It is true for the general community and police encounters (Desmarais et al., 2014; Morabito & Socia, 2015; Schulenberg, 2016). However, there is also some contradicting evidence, which indicates that police officers can be compassionate towards PMI or perceive female PMI in a less negative way (Watson et al., 2014), arguably, as a result of sexist prejudices toward women. Given the lack of consensus in the studied literature on the intersection of the two types of bias and their effect on female PMI treatment, further research is required.
Methods
Research Question, Operationalization, and Hypotheses
As it was mentioned, the research question of the proposed study seeks to investigate the attitudes and views of police officers, which seem to be affected by the stigmatization of PMI and sexist attitudes toward women, with a focus on their interaction and impact on the officers’ behaviors. In response, the proposed study hypothesizes that the effects of both sexism toward women and PMI-related bias can be found in the answers of the respondents. Still, their intersection can have a variety of effects on the police officers’ behavior, including positive and negative treatment of female PMI.
The question’s operationalization requires measuring the officers’ tendency to exhibit sexist attitudes and bias with respect to PMI. In this study, sexism scores were measured with the ambivalent sexism inventory (Lila et al., 2013), which was used for the study as a questionnaire. This inventory was developed by Glick and Fiske (1996), and it includes 22 questions with Likert-scale responses that assess both the benevolent and hostile sexism in respondents. The score can range between zero and five; lower scores correspond to less prominent sexism. No similar scale was encountered for PMI bias, which is why it was investigated through thematic analysis.
Methodology and Its Strengths and Weaknesses
Data collection
The study is interview-based, but the method is supplemented with the ambivalent sexism inventory. Two police officers from the Suburban County Police Department (SCPD) and one recently retired officer from the Big City Police Department (BCPD) were interviewed. The former two officers filled out the inventory in the form of a questionnaire as well.
The semi-structured interviews used for the research correspond to an interview guide, the answers to which contribute to answering the research question. The interview questions include ones about the past and present experiences in encountering persons of different characteristics (such as gender, age, mentally ill people, and so on), their perceptions of dangerousness when encountering with different groups of people, and the amount of training that the officers have received in dealing with people who are mentally ill. Moreover, the other set includes questions about the police officers’ age, gender, and several years worked in the SCPD or the BCPD.
The use of the mentioned methods is justified by the aims and specifics of the study. The semi-structured interview design allows to structure the interview and guide it to provide relevant information. Still, it also leaves opportunities for an open-minded and in-depth investigation of a phenomenon (Bryman, 2015, p. 10). The relationship between police officers and female PMI is very complex, and semi-structured interviews seem to be appropriate for investigating it. Also, the method is likely to offer information about a particular person’s perspective and experience, which is the study’s aim.
On the other hand, the benefit of ambivalent sexism inventory consists of its ability to provide a valid, reliable assessment of a person’s sexist attitudes (Lila et al., 2013). In other words, it offers an objective assessment of a crucial parameter, which can be more difficult to detect in an interview. Thus, both methods are appropriate and contribute to the achievement of the aims of the study.
However, there are certain limitations to the methodology as well. The use of interviews can mostly provide the respondents’ subjective views, beliefs, and opinions, which implies that the approach is not very objective or generalizable. This problem is less prominent for the inventory since it is a valid and reliable tool. Still, a similar disadvantage is also related to the sample: with a small sample, it is impossible to make conclusions about a population and generalize the findings. Finally, the lack of an objective measure for PMI-related bias is an issue. This factor limits the possibility of making conclusions about the officers’ attitudes to PMI, and it must be taken into account when considering the findings of this study.
Data analysis
The collected data was analyzed with the help of a thematic analysis: the transcripts were analyzed for the existence of repeating themes, which manifested themselves in codes that corresponded to the core topics and ideas that participants had mentioned (Bryman, 2015, p. 11). The themes searched for included those related to the identification of the illness, the characterization of PMI women, the description of the situations, which typically involve PMI women, and the response and interventions chosen for the situation. Also, the theme of directly expressed attitudes was considered, and the topic of training as a bias-minimizing intervention. The analysis enabled the development of summaries and comparisons of the results of different interviews.
Sample, settings, and ethical considerations
The sample of the study (two officers from the SCPD and one recently retired officer from the BCPD) can be regarded as rather small. However, a greater sample was deemed unreasonable due to time constraints. Also, Bryman (2015) points out that the thematic analysis of qualitative data is a rather time- and effort-consuming activity. This fact can be used to justify the size of the sample.
The settings include the SCPD and the retired officer’s home. Indeed, the provided literature overview suggests that officers can encounter PMI in multiple settings, including the police stations and public places, which seem to be most convenient for the research purposes (rather than, for example, mental care institutions), which guided the choice of the settings (Ogloff et al., 2012, p.60). It was possible to approach officers directly (this approach was used as a more appropriate one in the case of a retired police officer) or by calling local departments and asking for permission to interview their officers (this approach used for SCPD officers). Both options could result in officers being reluctant to participate; they were also expected to be reluctant because of the topic’s sensitivity, which prompted the study to take into account ethical considerations.
The ethical considerations of the present study predominantly center around the protection of the participants. First, the anonymity of the participants must be preserved. They will never be identified in recordings, transcripts, and final report; fake names are used to distinguish between interviewees. The recordings were eliminated after the transcription; they were not demonstrated to anyone outside the research group. The transcripts will be eliminated after the analysis is complete. The materials have been kept at one of the researchers’ places in a secure location. Every participant was offered complete information on the study, its aims, procedures, and related risks. Also, it was explicitly stated that the participants were free to refuse to answer a sensitive question or completely withdraw from the study without negative consequences. In the end, these measures are meant to protect the participants and encourage them to participate.
Findings
The findings support the three hypotheses of the study. The first hypothesis, which suggests that sexism and positive bias can be found in the officers’ responses, is supported. The second hypothesis, which implies that the bias can affect the officers’ attitudes and activities with respect to female PMI, is partially supported. Finally, the third hypothesis, which is concerned with the interaction between sexism and PMI-related bias, is confirmed by some examples of this interaction.
Respondent Information
A description of the respondent information is required before the analysis of their responses. A total of three officers were interviewed; their fake names are David, John, and Mike. John and Mike also completed the ambivalent sexism inventory questionnaire, in which the former scored 2.07 in hostile sexism and 2 in benevolent sexism while the latter scored 2.4 and 2.7 respectively. The scoring was carried out in accordance with the guidelines by Glick and Fiske (1996), which involved reversing six of the items and then calculating the average score for benevolent and hostile sexism. The inventory produces relative scores, which implies that John is less sexist than Mike, but both exhibit a rather low level of sexism.
A certain amount of information on the respondents was gathered because it was deemed relevant to the research. David is a retired BCPD officer with more than thirty years of experience (predominantly as a uniform police officer); he also has an education and seven years of practice as a clinical psychotherapist. He retired from police service in 1994. John is an officer of SCPD with about four years of experience in the internships. Mike comes from the same Department; he has worked there for over three years. Mike also has four years of prior experience in working with children with special needs. The three officers were very cooperative and friendly; they did not seem to find most questions sensitive to the point of refusing to answer, but some of the questions required some time for consideration.
First Hypothesis
H1. The effects of both sexism and PMI-related bias can be found in the answers of the respondents.
The findings contain extensive evidence that can be used to support the first hypothesis, including the sexism inventory results and the topics of working with women and PMI, sexism, PMI encounters, and the perception of danger from the thematic analysis.
Assessing the dangerousness of a person
In general, while showing the awareness of sexism, David states that his experience suggests that men are more dangerous than women, which might be an effect of sexist beliefs. John believes that it is impossible to “know” if a person is dangerous or not, but he lists some of the dangerousness criteria. He states that in his experience, men aged 18-35 are more likely to be dangerous, which also may refer to sexist attitudes. Still, he also mentions non-sexist criteria: for example, the knowledge about the violence involved in the call and prior police encounters of the person in question. Apart from that, John reports that some of his colleagues were injured during PMI encounters, making him view PMI as potentially dangerous. When asked to provide an example of a PMI encounter, John describes the case which involved a woman who wanted to stop taking her medication and was causing “a mess in her household.” He reported that the woman was violent towards the family members and less violent towards the police, but he does not specify violence. The event progressed well with the officers managing to calm the woman down with the help of a conversation. As shown in the literature review, viewing PMI as violent is likely to be a biased point of view (Lila et al., 2013; Morabito & Socia, 2015), but it may be suggested that the officer bases his view on personal experience and realizes that people with or without mental issues can be dangerous.
Mike offers a similar perspective: he believes that most officers tend to perceive any person as dangerous to a certain extent because they are not aware of these persons’ intentions. He also points out that stereotypes cannot help make the right decision concerning a person’s dangerousness. However, he reports being particularly cautious with PMI, although he does point out that he has never personally experienced PMI violence. In other words, Mike might also exhibit a biased approach to assessing the dangerousness of a person, and this bias is predominantly PMI-related.
Working with women and the issue of sexism
When asked to describe the females that he had encountered during police service, David states that it may be difficult to generalize his experience. Still, he believes that women were mostly cooperative and “quiet.” He states that women are socially conditioned to be quiet, but he also recalls meeting women who could speak up for themselves. Also, he states that he considers “the fact that women and men socialize differently” when encountering women. Moreover, he supposes that it is easier for him to deal with men because he is male, but he does not believe that it was a significant factor during his policing practice.
Similarly, John also recalls that he has predominantly encountered calm and cooperative women; he states that intoxicated women are less likely to get physically aggressive than intoxicated men, even though the women can get verbally aggressive. Still, he mentions that women can be aggressive, and he also reports the issue of women flirting with him to avoid tickets. Apart from that, John has heard from his colleagues that women tend to be less aggressive and physically strong, making managing them easier; he also views males as more easily “agitated.” Despite this, he still points out that it may be more difficult for him to deal with a female PMI because he needs to “learn to speak their language.”
Mike believes that most of the people he had encountered during his service are cooperative regardless of their gender. Also, Mike states that 20-to-35-year-old males that he has encountered turned out to be more dangerous, but he still points out that “every day is completely different than the next,” and so are his encounters with people. To sum up, certain elements of the officers’ views may be considered sexist, but they point out that their experience warns him against supporting sexist approaches to women.
Apart from that, the officers discuss the issue of sexism. David reports being only slightly worried about being accused of sexism. On the other hand, John is worried about exhibiting sexism, especially if some people can record such behavior or statements coming from an officer. Mike reports that he has encountered people who accuse him of various types of bias, but he states that he only follows the guidelines and the law. He believes that these accusations have no ground. To sum up, the officers are aware of sexism and the difficulties that overt sexism can cause to a person of their profession.
PMI: encounters, settings, attitudes, management
With respect to PMI’s attitude, David seems to be compassionate, suggesting that it is important to provide PMI with support and understanding; he also reports disliking the phrase “mentally ill.” He states that he is not “afraid” of PMI and does not think that females or males are more predisposed to illness. In general, his attitude corresponds to the literature review findings (Ogloff et al., 2012).
John views PMI encounters as dangerous in case he lacks the information about the particular PMI and the situation and reports needing to prepare for the encounter mentally; he thinks that PMI encounters are difficult to manage. Mike is also rather cautious with PMI. He points out that PMI can be unpredictable and triggered by events or actions that the officer does not know to avoid because the triggers are unique and personal. In general, Mike believes that PMI are not unlikely to act violently since their issue “has to do something with their brain,” but he has never had a violent encounter personally. However, he also points out that people can generally be unpredictable, regardless of their mental state. It is also noteworthy that he prefers the terms “an emotionally disturbed person” or “a fragile-minded person.”
To sum up, these two officers seem to share the idea about PMI being violent, which the literature review demonstrates to be a biased, stereotypical, and harmful belief (Morabito & Socia, 2015). However, this view is grounded in John’s peer experience, and Mike points out that police service is a generally dangerous job, which makes any encounter potentially dangerous. Thus, it may be incorrect to insist that the officers exhibit bias based on this information alone.
The officers also discussed the specifics of the management of cases with PMI involved. David reports that his management of PMI cases involved the decisions that were required by the situation, and could involve arrests, referrals, and hospitalization. John reports similar procedures, mentioning medical evaluations and referrals, hospitalization, or “general processing like everyone else.” Mike also points out that situations can require various decisions, including hospital referrals. All three officers also mention the need for situational assessment. They state that generalizations are not helpful because every situation with PMI, females, and any other person is often unique.
Still, the officers have some common tools for PMI management. David reports having special techniques for PMI, including more cautious management of the situation, which involves purposefully “deescalating the situation emotionally,” building rapport, and listening. Mike’s techniques also involve deescalating the situation, listening, and being approachable and helping people feel safe. Also, Mike states that the police department guidelines support PMI case management. Similarly, John reports that he uses academy-taught techniques, focusing on respectful treatment and the lack of discrimination. Apart from that, John focuses on the distress that people tend to experience during police encounters and suggests dispelling it. He states that communication with PMI is important and that while working with PMI, an officer has to be “extra sensitive.”
To sum up, the officers seem to be aware of the PMI’s specific needs and develop their generic tools for PMI management accordingly, while also customizing them to particular situations. These findings demonstrate that officers have managed to overcome the issue of being ill-equipped to deal with PMI (Morabito & Socia, 2015). They support the literature review discussion on the method of PMI management, especially with respect to referrals (Ogloff et al., 2012).
Summary
As a result of the analysis, it can be concluded that the officers can exhibit both sexism and PMI-related bias in rather mild forms. Indeed, the officers’ scores in the ambivalent sexism inventory are rather low, but they are still present, which corresponds to the literature review findings (Lila et al. 2013). As for PMI-related bias, at least one of the officers regards PMI as particularly violent without the experience of contacting a violent PMI (Mike), and another one reports that the encounters with PMI are particularly stressful for him (John). Such an attitude is demonstrated as rather biased by the literature review findings (Watson et al., 2014). It should be pointed out that, for example, David considers the differences between males and females as a result of socialization rather than a kind of biological predisposition.
Similarly, Mike refers to PMI as dangerous, partially explaining it by their illnesses. Still, he makes multiple concessions about the fact that different illnesses can cause different reactions and point out that he has to view most people as potentially dangerous. Also, all the officers are aware of sexism and bias, which may have led to low sexism scores. Still, the traces of the two phenomena have been encountered, which implies that the first hypothesis is confirmed.
Second Hypothesis
H2. Sexism and PMI-related bias can affect the officers’ attitudes and behaviors when dealing with female PMI.
The second hypothesis is related to the same themes that are relevant to the first one. The officers provided some direct information on the way the police treat female PMI. In particular, Mike and John report that the police-related treatment and procedures meant for female PMI are completely identical to those meant for male PMI. They also report that the issues related to handling female and male PMI are essentially the same (predominantly, managing the situation, avoiding violence, and building rapport). However, John also reports that he is more cautious when dealing with males than females. PMI-related events are typically very stressful and difficult for him, which also results in greater caution. In general, he seems to be more cautious with female PMI than non-PMI females, but male PMI are viewed as more dangerous than female ones by him. To sum up, there is some contradicting evidence on the way female PMI are treated, but both the attempts at fair treatment and the hints of bias affecting the action and attitudes of officers can be found.
Apart from that, there is some indirect evidence of bias affecting or failing to affect PMI treatment. In particular, it is noteworthy that, for example, David reports being guided by intuition, which is justified by his experience when defining a person’s dangerousness. Since his experience indicates that women, including female PMI, are less dangerous than men, the officer’s attitudes and, possibly, even actions might be affected by bias. When asked directly if he finds female PMI to be more difficult to manage than male ones, David answers affirmatively. He explains his sentiment by believing that it is easier for him to deal with people of his gender because he understands them better. John reports a similar sentiment about needing to learn to “speak the language” of female PMI, but later, he agrees that the same is also necessary when dealing with male ones. In other words, the officers believe that building rapport with female PMI can be more difficult because of their gender, which suggests that their actions, attitudes, and treatment of female PMI might be affected by bias.
However, David also discusses female PMIs’ anger at length without differentiating it from that of men: he uses the same rationalization approach, suggesting that it is important to understand the reason for the anger, which should help make the person less hostile. This example suggests that David’s actions can be informed by sexism awareness instead of sexist bias. To sum up, such details demonstrate that the officers’ actions can indeed be affected by the presence or the absence of bias and sexist attitudes, which is supported by the literature review (Lila et al., 2013; Watson et al., 2014).
To sum up, the second hypothesis can be partially confirmed. Indeed, the officers’ answers provide the evidence to the idea that both PMI-related bias and sexism can affect the officer’s behavior and attitudes, which eventually may have an impact on the treatment of female PMI. These findings correspond to the result of the literature review; moreover, the respondents’ tendency to be compassionate and careful when dealing with PMI can also be supported by the theoretical findings (Ogloff et al., 2012). Apart from that, it is safe to conclude that PMI, including female PMI, are treated by the officers in a specific way, which is different from treating people without similar issues.
However, it should be pointed out that not all the officers’ attitudes and actions that they report can be referred to as bias or sexism. In fact, in most cases, the information that the officers report appears to indicate the intent to accommodate the varied needs of female PMI, which naturally requires specific activities. Indeed, David states that women who seem to be excessively quiet need encouragement to engage in a conversation with the officer. Similarly, the officers’ intent to deal with PMI with greater care seems to correspond to female PMI’s needs as a particularly vulnerable population. All the officers also report that stereotypes are not helpful, and decisions should be based on particular characteristics of a situation. Thus, in most cases, the officers’ activities and attitudes do not seem to be driven by bias; instead, they appear to be driven by diversity awareness, which ensures just treatment of a vulnerable population like female PMI. Therefore, the second hypothesis appears to be confirmed only partially. A more specific result could be achieved if a more objective tool for bias determination was found or developed.
Third Hypothesis
H3. Sexism and PMI-related bias interact in a rather complex way, which is why the outcomes of these attitudes include positive and negative attitudes and treatment of female PMI.
The study’s findings suggest that there are certain interactions between PMI-related bias and sexism, but their patterns and outcomes are rather complex. For example, Mike, who scores 2.4 and 2.7 out of five in hostile and benevolent sexism, specifically points out that mental illness can make a small, physically weak woman engage in a violent fight with an officer. He also emphasizes that he has never encountered a dangerous female PMI, but he reports learning about an incident with a female PMI barricading herself. It should be pointed out that Mike tends to highlight the fact that any person can be dangerous. Also, he believes that female PMI are less dangerous than male PMI, which corresponds to John’s view.
Indeed, John exhibits similar views. When discussing female PMIs, John characterizes them as reckless, eccentric, and agitated, while previously stating that women are typically less dangerous and violent than men. He also states that female and male PMI have been quiet and cooperative in his practice. In other words, his perceptions of female PMI do not seem to be supported by his experience, but they persist. At the same time, he reports that male PMI can be expected to be more violent than female PMI, and he bases this belief on reports and the experiences of his colleagues. In other words, the officers’ belief about the level of dangerousness in people of different gender and mental health is rather consistent, which makes it logical to presume that in his case, the two potential biases interact without directly contradicting each other.
Still, there appears to be a contradiction between the PMI-related bias and sexism in at least one instance: the perception of a female PMI’s dangerousness. Both features, which were mentioned (the idea of the weakness of women and the violence of PMI), can be regarded as typical bias, as was demonstrated in the literature review (Lila et al., 2013). As a result, it can be suggested that, when discussing female PMI, Mike and John prioritize the PM-related dangerousness bias over that concerning the relative harmlessness of women. In the end, the misconception about PMI contradicts the common sexist belief and becomes a dominant view in the officers’ opinion.
Thus, the third hypothesis can be regarded as confirmed: some interaction between the types of bias is found, but its dynamics and outcomes may vary. In particular, the dynamics can include the presence or the lack of conflict between the developed perceptions due to the two types of bias, and a form of hierarchy between these perceptions can be developed where one misconception is viewed as more relevant than the other. However, the female PMI outcomes are not obvious since the findings do not characterize the effects of the perception of PMI as violent on the officer’s behavior.
Other Information
Additional information refers to the findings that do not contribute sufficient evidence to either of the hypotheses but are relevant to the topic. In particular, the findings support the idea that PMI encounters are frequent and pervasive (Morabito & Socia, 2015). David reports that PMI encounters happened quite often during his career, and Mike also states that it is a rather frequent occurrence. On the other hand, John reports having few encounters with PMI, “maybe 3 to 4 a year.” In other words, two of the officers report that PMI encounters are rather frequent, and all of them admit that there are unique complexities to dealing with PMI, which is why the discussion of the topic becomes particularly important.
Key issues in working with PMI and solutions
The topic of the issues in working with PMI and their solutions is shown to be particularly important by the literature review, which is why it is discussed specifically in this paper. The officers reported certain issues in working with PMI, including building rapport, deescalating the situation or avoiding its escalation, and ensuring that nobody gets injured. John and Mike discussed the need for special caution when working with PMI, and John specifically points out that PMI encounters are especially stressful and difficult, in his opinion. These factors, including communication issues and PMI encounter management’s general difficulty, correspond to the literature review findings (Ogloff et al., 2012).
Apart from that, at least two officers seem to report the issue of determining the presence of mental issues. Only David report using his experience, education, and intuition to assess the connection of PMI to reality. On the other hand, John reports that it is most convenient when someone can inform the officer about the person’s mental state and regards the personal assessment of the PMI’s behavior and speech and officer’s intuition as a last resort. Mike also affirms that he and most other officers lack psychological education, which is why they cannot diagnose mental disorders. Still, he mentions that in some cases, PMI or their relatives provide the information. In other words, there is some evidence of the lack of psychology-related training causing difficulties for officers working with PMI Morabito & Socia, 2015).
The respondents also dwelled on the aspects that can help to deal with the challenging issues. David mentions his clinical psychotherapist education and practices, and his “psychological insight” helped him manage the issues with PMIs involved and seek out help through referrals to psychologists and social workers. Similarly, Mike believes that his experience of working with children with special needs helps him now to deal with youngsters and adults who exhibit any kind of emotional disturbance. Also, David mentions that the willingness to understand PMI’s issues and willingness to spend time on the process of listening and talking to them helps to deal with PMI’s (and some other) cases. Finally, Mike focuses on guidelines and policies that protect people from unjust treatment (particularly women from sexism). This finding suggests that the law’s presence in the lives of women and female PMI improves the quality of policing services provided to them, improving their safety.
The officers were also asked to provide information about education, which could prepare them to deal with different people. David reports taking a course related to dealing with people with emotional issues offered by the military police school at the beginning of the 1960s. Apart from that, at the beginning of his police service career, he took a course, “How to Deal with Abnormal People.” He states that “to this day I still laugh about the name,” but he reports that it was just another course on people with emotional issues. Similarly, John reports taking relevant courses, which prepared him for dealing with diverse populations, including PMI. Mike remembers attending courses in dealing with emotionally disturbed people provided by the academy and during service training. He believes that they should help resolve PMI-related situations. In general, the officers seem to regard education as an important tool in informing PMI management, which corresponds to the literature review findings (Hansson & Markström, 2014; Melnikov et al., 2016), but at least one of them (David) also reports some issues in their design, which also was predicted by the literature review (Schulenberg, 2016, p. 19).
Conclusion
The present report discusses the outcomes of a study devoted to investigating bias against PMI and sexism in the police and the outcomes of their interrelations. The study involved carrying out three interviews and analyzing two sexism inventory questionnaires; the participants included a retired and experienced officer and two young officers with less experience. The study’s findings support the first and third hypotheses, but the second one is loosely supported.
The three officers exhibit rather low or nonexistent sexism levels and bias, but both were spotted, which confirms the first hypothesis. Very few effects on the behavior of the officers were tied to bias and sexism. Still, the examples of the two interrelating were found, which supports the second and third hypotheses. In particular, it was established that, when dealing with female PMI, the officers prioritize the misconception about PMI’s increased dangerousness over the sexist idea that females are non-violent and not dangerous. As a result, female PMI are perceived by the officers as dangerous, even though the respondents also report the idea that male PMI are still more dangerous than female ones. The latter findings demonstrate a form of consistency in the sexist views. They show that the interactions between the two forms of bias (those related to PMI and sexism) are not one-dimensional.
In general, the study’s findings suggest that female PMI encounters are an important aspect of police service that occurs in a wide variety of settings and requires the use of specific techniques. The study also shows that these techniques can be promoted with the help of education. Moreover, it is worth noting that apart from the potentially biased attitudes, the officers demonstrated sexism and bias awareness as well as an understanding of the specific needs of female PMI and compassion towards them. In the end, this evidence can be used to conclude that the presence of the law in the lives of female PMI increases the changes of the just treatment of female PMI and helps officers to find the solutions to the situations that they regard as difficult.
Bearing in mind the significant limitations of the present study, additional research should be promoted. Indeed, as demonstrated in the literature review, the issues of sexism and bias towards PMI are acknowledged as significant. Still, there is little consensus on the impact that it can have on the everyday encounters of the police with female PMI. The situation is viewed as a problem, and educational interventions are offered to resolve it. Still, recent literature views the currently-existing interventions as either insufficiently effective or insufficiently studied to determine their effectiveness. On the other hand, understanding the phenomenon appears to be important for the development of interventions aimed at resolving the issue. As a result, the investigation of the specifics of police officers’ everyday encounters with female PMIs can help improve the interventions.
The specific areas of the improvement of the current research should include the involvement of a greater and, possibly, a sample of officers with characteristics. Also, a reliable, valid inventory on PMI-related bias could be very helpful for future research. Finally, the areas that are mentioned in the additional information sections can be later explored in studies devoted specifically to them. In other words, future research can eliminate the limitations of the current one or make them less prominent and cover additional areas of the topic, which are not considered in this study in detail.
Feld, B. C. (2013). Real interrogation: What actually happens when cops question kids. Law & Society Review, 47(1), 1-36.
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(3), 491-512.
Organizational change is the process through which the strategies or major sections of a company are altered significantly to improve its performance (Reiss, 2012). Organizational change can be planned, unplanned or radical. Planned change occurs when deliberate decisions and actions are taken to modify the organization.
Unplanned change is often “imposed on the organization by unforeseen internal and external factors” (Reiss, 2012, p. 16). Radical change is a process that enables organizations to reclaim their competitiveness after losing it. This paper will discuss organizational change in the context of Abu Dhabi Police. It will highlight the causes and the benefits of the changes that have occurred in the police force since 1957.
Organizational Change: 1957-2014
Since its formation in 1957, Abu Dhabi Police has experienced the following organizational changes. In 1959, the number of officers in the police force was increased from 80 to 150 in response to increased demand for security services (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014).
In 1961, the organizational structure was altered by establishing two categories of personnel namely, policemen and guards. Guards were responsible for securing public places such as palaces, controlling traffic, and guarding Sheikhs. The policemen, on the other hand, were responsible for providing security to guests.
In 1968, the organizational structure was altered again by the introduction of the Criminal Investigation Branch and the Traffic Department. Moreover, three categories of officers were established. These included policemen, cadets, and guards. In 1972, Abu Dhabi Police was transformed into the Ministry of Interior (MOI) for Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014).
It was also expected to provide security in the entire UAE. In the 1980s and 1990s the government focused on expanding the police force by hiring and training more officers. Currently, Abu Dhabi Police has over 30,000 trained officers who are responsible for providing security and rescue services (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014).
From 2000, major changes in the police force focused on enhancing community policing, establishing partnerships with international security agencies, and acquiring advanced information and communication technologies to provide security. In 2009, the Urban Search and Rescue Team was established to provide emergency security services in the UAE. The “Department of Community Police was established in 2003 to prevent crime at the community level” (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014).
The Department of Social Support was also established to provide humanitarian services to citizens. In 2007, the facial recognition system was introduced to help the police to identify criminals. Other technologies that were introduced include CCTV systems and patrol mechanical information systems.
Reasons
First, the organizational structure was changed to improve the efficiency of Abu Dhabi Police. Managing the entire police force by one commander became difficult as it expanded. As a result, Abu Dhabi Police was reorganized into various departments whose heads reported to the commander of the entire police force (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014).
The reorganization improved efficiency in decision-making processes. In addition, various departments were introduced to improve coordination of the activities of the police force. Rising concerns over the effectiveness of Abu Dhabi Police also led to the change of its organizational structure. Specifically, each department was introduced to provide specialized services in order to improve performance.
Second, the police force was expanded through recruitment and training of more officers in order to meet the demand for security services (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014). Following the formation of the UAE in 1971, the population that required the services of Abu Dhabi Police increased significantly. Thus, the police force had to be expanded to provide adequate security in the entire country.
Third, the introduction of advanced technologies was informed by the increase in sophisticated criminal gangs and terror groups in the UAE and the Middle East (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014). The technologies were expected to improve security by helping police officers to detect and prevent crime, as well as, to gather evidence against suspects.
Benefits of the Change
First, the changes have led to improved security in the UAE. The use of advanced technologies and equipment enables Abu Dhabi Police to prevent criminal activities before they happen. Training programs enable police officers to conduct adequate investigations in order to bring criminals to justice. Thus, the residents of the UAE no longer live in fear of losing their lives or properties (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014).
Second, community policing has enhanced the relationship between the residents of the UAE and the police. This enables the police to get firsthand information from residents concerning security threats (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014). The residents, on the other hand, benefit from instant access to assistance from the police.
Third, accountability has been enhanced by reorganizing the police force into specialized departments. This helps in reducing corruption and negligence of duty by promoting the culture of honesty and integrity among police officers and their leaders. Finally, the changes have led to efficient use of resources. For instance, the use of modern IT solutions enables police officers to create security awareness and to conduct investigations at a low cost.
Forces of Change
The main forces that promoted organizational change in Abu Dhabi Police include the following. First, change was promoted by advancement in information and communication technologies (Kreitner & Cassidy, 2012).
For instance, digital crime records, CCTVs, and biometric identification devices replaced manual investigation techniques because they facilitate fast and cost-effective access to information. Second, world politics contributed to the change. Since 2000, most countries have focused on fighting global terrorism by enhancing security within and outside their territories. This explains the collaboration between Abu Dhabi Police and external security agencies such as the UK Police and the USA’s FBI.
Third, social trends such as high educational attainment and increased penetration of smartphones have enabled the police to use modern technologies such as the internet to communicate with the community. Finally, change was enhanced by the diversity of the workforce. Abu Dhabi Police recruits civilians and officers with military experience. This enabled the police force to establish a diverse talent pool that had leaders who were able to inspire their followers to embrace change.
Change Model
According to Kotler’s change model, the changes that took place in Abu Dhabi Police evolved through the following steps. The change was initiated by Sheikh Shakbut Bin Sultan Al Nahyan who was the first leader of the police force. He created a sense of urgency and inspired his officers to focus on change rather than maintaining the status quo.
In the second step, the Sheikh focused on building a guiding coalition by encouraging the government and influential commanders to support the change process. Winning the support of the government was expected to facilitate access to the resources that were required to implement the change.
In the third step, the successor of Sheikh Shakbut continued with the change process by creating a clear vision to guide its implementation. The vision identified the steps that had to be followed and the resources that were required to realize the change (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014). The fourth step involved communicating the vision to police officers and other stakeholders such as citizens to encourage widespread participation in the implementation process.
In the fifth step, the leaders of the police force focused on empowering their officers to implement the desired change. This included training police officers to enable them to perform their duties effectively. The officers were also provided with the necessary resources in terms of technologies and equipment to achieve their work targets (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014).
The sixth stage involved creating short-term wins to motivate police officers to complete the implementation process. The seventh step involved consolidating the gains of the police force, as well as, adjusting to new challenges and needs. The last step, which is still being implemented, involves reinforcing the change by embedding it in the organizational culture of Abu Dhabi Police.
Conclusion
Abu Dhabi Police has become a world class security organization due to the changes that it implemented in the last three decades. The police force improved its performance by investing in advanced security technologies and focusing on community policing. Moreover, the police force was expanded and reorganized into specialized departments.
These strategies have led to improved security in the UAE. In addition, the relationship between the police and the community has improved tremendously. Thus, the leaders of Abu Dhabi Police should continue to collaborate with the government to implement changes that will enhance performance in future.
References
Abu Dhabi Police. (2014). About us. Web.
Kreitner, R., & Cassidy, C. (2012). Management. London, UK: Palgrave.
Reiss, M. (2012). Change management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
The article by Meyer and Reppucci is about the research that was conducted to study the beliefs and attitudes of police officers concerning juvenile interrogation (757). The authors studied this topic thoroughly and conducted a survey; as for their primary findings, they were able to indicate that police officers’ attitudes towards the practices of juvenile interrogation were different.
Interrogation techniques for working with suspected teenagers
As it follows from the introduction section, the authors are planning to study interrogation techniques that are used nowadays to work with adolescent suspects and the participants’ beliefs concerning their acceptability and effectiveness. The society should care about the stated problem because studying the effectiveness of interrogation methods is important for crime detection rate. In their study, the authors are trying to show the attitudes of police officers towards the practices discussed and conclude these people’s insights into juvenile interrogation. As it is clear from their statements, the authors intend to contribute to the field as just a few studies related to the topic have been conducted by previous researchers.
As for the things related to the topic that is already known, it is necessary to say that interrogation techniques mentioned in the article have already been described and studied by previous researchers in the field. Nevertheless, a little is known about the use of these methods during the work with adolescents and police officers’ attitudes towards this process. As for important findings reported by previous researchers, it has been stated by many of them that a lot of existing practices are inappropriate for adolescents due to the use of the specific language. The past studies in the field led the authors to do this research work because there was a need to synthesize all the data previously reported and analyze police officers’ opinions and preferences to understand the process of juvenile interrogation better. There were a few research hypotheses stated by the authors; thus, they supposed that police officers would lack knowledge on stages of child development and its connection to the reliability of confessionary statements. Furthermore, the authors supposed that the participants would report the use of the same techniques during the work with adults and adolescents.
To conduct the study, the authors chose more than three hundred participants among police officers and investigators working in Baltimore. The majority of the participants were white males in their mid-thirties. To define if the sample is a good representation of the entire population, it is necessary to take into consideration the most recent statistical data indicating the share of people of different genders and races working in police organizations. In general, the percent of women and staff members of other races seems to be relatively small. The study conducted by the authors included both qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Conclusion
Having conducted a series of surveys and analyzed their results, the authors concluded that police officers were more likely to use the same techniques while interrogating adults and adolescents; moreover, a third of the participants believed that there was a need of special training program for police officers devoted to the proper use of these techniques during the work with younger suspects. These findings are important as they help the society to realize the knowledge gaps of police officers that need to be filled. As for the limitations of the study, the authors assume that the use of data reported by the employees of only one department maybe not enough to assess the situation in general. As for the suggestions for future research, the authors hope that the results will encourage other researchers to evaluate the situation in other areas and develop the solutions helping to increase police officers’ level of knowledge.
Work Cited
Meyer, Jessica R., and N. Dickon Reppucci. “Police Practices and Perceptions Regarding Juvenile Interrogation and Interrogative Suggestibility.” Behavioral Sciences & the Law, vol. 25, no.6, 2007, pp. 757-780.
In this paper, we will review the article titled “Police practices and perceptions regarding juvenile interrogation and interrogative susceptibility,” written by Jessica R. Meyer and N. Dickon Reppucci.
Abstract
As the name of the article suggests, it covers the topic of how most police officers treat juveniles as if they were adults and similarly interrogate them. While some officers acknowledge the psychological immaturity of children and juveniles, in practice, they rarely give it the appropriate amount of concern. This results in an alarmingly large number of false confessions made under pressure.
Introduction
In their project, the authors aim to cover the reported interrogational practices used by the police and document beliefs spread among law enforcement officers about differences between youth and adults in regards to interrogation technique susceptibility and general development capacities. The study is important as it casts light on the subject currently underrepresented and understudied. Interrogation techniques can be damaging to a child’s psyche, and false confessions are detrimental to law enforcement.
Literature Review
The literature on the subject shows the prevalence of Reid techniques in interrogation. These techniques rely on coercion, deception, physical and emotional exhaustion to get a confession out of a person. The review of the study programs indicates that out of 32 hours of study time dedicated to interrogation techniques, only 10 minutes are spent explaining how to deal with juveniles. Criminal and social science literature is split on how effective Reid techniques are. Criminal literature claims them to be effective in incriminating a criminal, while social sciences report alarmingly large rates of false confessions. The study proposes three hypotheses:
Interrogators lack accurate knowledge about child development.
Interrogators lack accurate knowledge about the unreliability of Reid techniques when dealing with children.
Law enforcement uses the same psychologically coercive and deceptive techniques with both juveniles and adults.
Methods and Data
This study involved 332 participants, all of whom were police officers. The study makes a good representation of the entire population, as the participants were diversified in age, sex, race, and rank. The study used a qualitative research method. The researchers used surveys to collect data from all participants.
Results
The findings of this study supported the initial hypotheses – the majority of the participants did not see the difference between juveniles and adults when it came to interrogation processes. While some participants acknowledged that children were more psychologically vulnerable and more prone to coercive and deceptive techniques, they did not apply that knowledge to actual interrogation and similarly treated juveniles and adults.
Discussion and Conclusion
These findings are important as they indicate a large gap of knowledge present in both new and experienced police officers in regards to interrogation techniques. This lack of knowledge promotes the use of Reid techniques, which are often deemed dangerous and ineffective, and contribute to increased rates of false confessions being made. The authors identified several limitations to their study, one of them being that the sample was taken from metropolitan police departments, meaning it does not accurately represent police practices in other areas. Another limitation mentioned in this study states that some police officers might have expressed social desirability bias. Lastly, the researchers state that some answers were obscured by personal experience in the field, particularly among the participants who handled serious criminal cases. In regards to future studies, the authors suggest conducting similar research on a larger scale, to confirm their findings.
The police are an inevitable establishment in every society of the world, in large part due to their central role in guarding and securing compliance with enacted laws as well as conformity with the principles of social order (Ojo, 2014). The police are the main actors in the first cog of the criminal justice domain popularly referred to as “entry into the system”, whereby citizens bring criminal incidents to the attention of law enforcement officers or the police themselves identify a suspect by investigating a particular case (Adler, Mueller, & Laufer, 2013). Despite these important roles, it is evident that most police departments are faced with unique challenges that are largely perceived as defects. The focus of this paper is to discuss these defects and provide some viable solutions to the challenges.
“The penetration of the system” in the field of criminal justice
The first defect emanates from the failure by police to guarantee the constitutional due process as stated in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the American Constitution, leading to incidences where they are accused of depriving individuals of their life, liberty or property without due consideration of the law. The second defect concerns the failure of police to guarantee the civil rights of individuals by undertaking activities such as stop and frisk searches, arbitrary arrests, and racial profiling. The third defect, known as police brutality, is caused by highhandedness on the part of the law enforcement officers or an uncooperative, unsupportive, and aggressive attitude exhibited by the public towards the police (Adler et al., 2013).
The fourth defect, known as an abuse of discretion, concerns the fact that the police are known to use the authority bestowed upon them by relevant legal statutes to harass and intimidate other people into compliance. Another defect facing police departments is that of corruption, whereby the police end up being compromised due to integrity issues, limited manpower, and skills, poor government funding, as well as general lack of appropriate orientation and commitment by some officers. The last defect, known as poor police-community relations, emanates from the negative public perception of the police and the lack of some police officers to establish positive relationships with community members (Adler et al., 2013).
Several general solutions could be recommended to address the defects discussed in this paper. First, the content of police training needs to be changed so that it can include more liberal courses such as sociology, psychology, and political science. It is believed that these courses will impart to the law enforcement officers components of social structure and human relations, which will be key in assisting the officers to implement good policing practices and establish mutually beneficial police-community relations (Ojo, 2014). Another solution would be to implement frequent refresher training for the police so that they can internalize important components of the constitutional due process and how to guarantee the civil rights of citizens. Additionally, it would be plausible to undertake police reforms aimed at ensuring the force implements the latest technologies and inventions to keep corruption levels down. These reforms should also aim at training police officers to adopt a community approach to policing with the view to reclaiming the lost public trust and confidence (Peake & Marenin, 2008). Lastly, the government should commit resources toward training members of the community to be more accommodative of the police and to desist from offering bribes to the law enforcement officers.
Conclusion
This paper has not only discussed the defects or challenges associated with police departments but also provided several viable solutions that could be implemented to address these problems. Overall, relevant stakeholders in the criminal justice system and the government need to prioritize the recommendations to make the police more efficient in their primary role of maintaining law and order.
References
Adler, F., Mueller, G.O.W., & Laufer, W.S. (2013). Criminology and the criminal justice system (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Education.
Ojo, M.O.D. (2014). The Nigeria police and the search for integrity in the midst of diverse challenges: An effective police management approach. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 16, 87-100. Web.
Peake, G., & Marenin, O. (2008). Their reports are not read and their recommendations are resisted: The challenge for the global police policy community. Police Practice and Research, 9(1), 59-69. Web.
Police officers should be able to manage various complicated situations that is why not every person can perform their duties. The most important characteristics of these professionals are:
Enjoy interacting with people. Every day, officers get in touch with different individuals that include their colleagues and the representatives of the general public. For example, they are often asked to provide security services at important events. They cannot be occupied only in paperwork or get irritated every time they leave their workplace.
Be a good team player. Police officers often have partners, work in groups, and contact other professionals from the law enforcement community. In this way, they should be able to both lead and follow others to create a positive and safe environment needed to reach their mutual goal.
Be a problem solver. Officers deal with various ambiguous situations while working. They make complicated decisions that influence the lives of other people. They should be able to do it immediately to reduce the effects provided on the representatives of the community.
There are a lot of other characteristics that should be present in every police officer, but these seem to be the most critical because without them officers would not be able to perform their duties appropriately. However, it cannot be said about a shooting skill, for instance. Of course, police officers should be able to protect people and catch criminals. Nevertheless, they usually manage to reach this goal due to their communication and decision-making skills regardless of those scenes that are often depicted in the movies.
It is not critical for an officer to be physically attractive. Of course, appearance has an enormous influence on people’s perceptions, but it does not mean that citizens will not be thankful to an officer who has scars on his face. Still, it does not mean that he/she should stop washing hair and changing dirty clothes.
Love for monotonous work is not important for officers as well. Even though they need to prepare numerous reports and wait in ambush, their job remains multifarious.
There are three operational styles of policing, and each of them is rather effective. Nevertheless, service style seems to be the best option for the population, as it is oriented at people instead of being focused on order or the legal system. Those departments that utilize it pay a lot of attention to community opinion. They focus on the necessity to prevent any violation of people’s privacy and make arrests only when it is needed. They protect citizens from burglaries and robberies, being less interested in minor infractions. Service police departments also ensure the safety of citizens from outsiders who can potentially harm their well-being. Emphasis is also made on public relations, which means that the community is aware of the actions conducted by officers and decisions made by them. Moreover, being aligned with the financial status of the citizens, these departments do their best to ensure that nothing affects them negatively.
On the other hand, the least effective operational style is a legalistic one. It makes officers follow the letter of the law and does not allow them to make any changes or base decisions on their considerations. People must follow officers’ directions and have no right to share another opinion. As a result, the police’s behavior is considered to be unethical and suppressive, which means that they have poor relationships with the community.