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Article
Publication date: 2 December 2019

Jeffrey Nowacki and Dale Willits

The purpose of this paper is to use Maguire’s (2003) theory of police organizations to explain whether police agencies dedicate specific personnel to cybercrime response.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use Maguire’s (2003) theory of police organizations to explain whether police agencies dedicate specific personnel to cybercrime response.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from this study come from the 2013 Law Enforcement Management and Statistics survey. Maguire’s (2003) theory of the organizational structure of police organizations is used to measure organizational variables related to context, complexity and control. Logistic regression is used to examine whether these organizational characteristics are related to cybercrime response.

Findings

The results suggest that organizational context, complexity and control are related to cybercrime response. Specifically, in terms of context, larger agencies, agencies whose officers engage in more non-routine tasks, and agencies governed by an active collective bargaining agreement are more likely to dedicate specific resources to cybercrime. In terms of complexity, agencies with more hierarchical layers, agencies that utilize more specialization and agencies that make greater use of civilian employees are more likely to dedicate specific personnel to cybercrime. Finally, regarding control, agencies that assign non-sworn personnel to administrative tasks are more likely to dedicate resources to cybercrime response.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to use this framework to examine the relationship between organizational characteristics and cybercrime response. It shows that this perspective can be useful for understanding police organizations and police policies, programs and strategies.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2019

Brittany Solensten and Dale Willits

The purpose of this paper is to examine a collaborative relationship between non-profit organizations and a Midwest police department to address issues of poverty and homelessness.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine a collaborative relationship between non-profit organizations and a Midwest police department to address issues of poverty and homelessness.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative interviews were conducted with five non-profit organization workers along with three police officers about social problems in the city between September and December of 2017.

Findings

The collaboration between non-profit organizations and law enforcement was largely helpful and successful in integrating residents of tent city into existing housing programs within the city, limiting future law enforcement calls addressing latent homelessness issues.

Research limitations/implications

This qualitative study was exploratory in nature and data were drawn from a single city. Although key stakeholders were interviewed, results are based on a small sample of police and non-profit social service workers. Also, individuals who lived in the tent city were not interviewed.

Practical implications

This study demonstrates how an approach in addressing tent cities through non-profit organizations and law enforcement collaboration are arguably effective in humanely moving residents of tent cities into housing for a long-term solution to homelessness.

Originality/value

There is limited research about tent cities especially the long-term effectiveness of dismantling them with various methods. This paper demonstrates one city’s approach to combat homelessness by dismantling a tent city, with a follow-up a few years later showing the effectiveness of a more humane approach, which can set an example for future cities also combating homelessness.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 42 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2024

Brittany Solensten and Dale Willits

The purpose of this study was to fill the gap in understanding the impact of Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) evidence and testimony in driving under the influence (DUI) trials. This…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to fill the gap in understanding the impact of Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) evidence and testimony in driving under the influence (DUI) trials. This was accomplished by documenting and analyzing the perceptions of DREs and the DRE program across different stakeholders to understand how and when this type of evidence is used in DUI trials.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is a qualitative case study of the DRE program in one police agency in Washington. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with criminal justice actors and state-level experts on their perceptions of the DRE program for the agency. Themes were developed from these interviews to analyze their perceptions of the efficacy and utility of DREs in trials.

Findings

While the courts in Washington accept DRE evidence in criminal trials, DRE evidence is largely absent in the adjudication process. Participants noted multiple reasons for this, including the lack of trials, the primacy of blood evidence and the expansion of the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program.

Originality/value

Although the DRE program has been around for decades, there is a lack of peer-reviewed studies regarding DRE evidence, and no studies regarding how court actors perceive and use DRE evidence. Understanding when and how DRE evidence is utilized in DUI trials can increase its value and utility by prosecutors and the national DRE program.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2023

David A. Makin, Mary K. Stohr, Jacelyn Unger, Ethan Howell, Megan Parks, Dale Willits and Craig Hemmens

The paper examines “lessons learned” from the COVID-19 pandemic by capturing the organizational and operational experiences of police departments in the state of Washington across…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper examines “lessons learned” from the COVID-19 pandemic by capturing the organizational and operational experiences of police departments in the state of Washington across two waves of survey administration. This study is among the first to document experiences at a state level, affording an opportunity to compare national results and allowing for documenting shifts between each wave.

Design/methodology/approach

This study draws from a state-specific replication of the IACP instrument fielded by Lum et al. (2020a) on the experiences of police departments working under COVID-19 and integrates specific questions from stakeholders in Washington. The survey was administered through Qualtrics, which was distributed by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) 6 months into the pandemic and 18-months later.

Findings

Respondents reported operational and organizational reconfigurations including shifting to telecommuting for support staff and command staff, implementing online reporting forms for use by the public to report crimes and planning exercises for predicted budget reductions. While CDC and Washington Department of Health guidelines informed most of the respondents' policy, integrating that policy into the operational procedures demonstrated how quickly issues in staffing can transition from a challenge to a severe issue. Quarantining and staffing problems remained an issue across both waves, which were exasperated by staff turnover.

Research limitations/implications

The response rate and response completeness, particularly a drop in response for Wave 2, limit the ability to supply more precise estimates documenting the experiences of WA police departments. Relatedly, an inability to match Wave 1 to Wave 2 results inhabits a direct comparison of changes 12-months later. Second, the responses reflect those of the chief law enforcement officer (Chief of Police, Sheriff) or the person designated by the chief, which may not represent the experiences of front-line officers.

Practical implications

Reflecting on the lessons learned across each Wave, agencies shared adaptations implemented to better protect the health of staff and their communities to effectively manage future health emergencies. Most directly, they learned how to conduct some business remotely and the necessity to innovate. The most important lesson learned, and implication for policy is improving the resourcing and logistics to secure adequate health protections. The data also highlight a concern for clarity, consistency, and credibility in supplying information to police departments in pandemic and emergency situations.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to enhance “lessons learned” for police response in pandemic and emergency situations. These data supply insight into the anticipated and lived experiences of agencies adapting to the pandemic in Washington State. The endogenous and exogenous shock that is COVID-19 altered how police departments interacted externally and internally resulting in operational and organizational reconfigurations.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 46 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 January 2011

Charles Wankel

This volume is aimed at instructors in schools of education and those who support them. It is meant to be a window by which the decisions, experiences, and evaluations of your…

Abstract

This volume is aimed at instructors in schools of education and those who support them. It is meant to be a window by which the decisions, experiences, and evaluations of your colleagues’ use of social media in teaching can be examined. Rather than a recipe book with specific steps, it is meant to be a sauna that gets your creative juices flowing. Social media are used by people of all ages in the second decade of the 21st century, so having your learners get involved in using Facebook events for service learning projects in your town can be applicable for when they move onto teaching learners at other levels.

Details

Educating Educators with Social Media
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-649-3

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 13 January 2011

Abstract

Details

Educating Educators with Social Media
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-649-3

Article
Publication date: 27 June 2008

Deirdre O'Shea and Melrona Kirrane

The purpose of the paper is to focus on personal and social background factors as potential channels for the transmission of work related attitudes in young adults. The paper aims…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to focus on personal and social background factors as potential channels for the transmission of work related attitudes in young adults. The paper aims to examine the extent to which gender, parental job type, job status, and education, as well as school experience, influence the development of attitudes towards work and family life.

Design/methodology/approach

The study comprised a quantitative (questionnaire based) survey with a sample of 782 final year undergraduate students attending various third level institutions in Ireland and the USA.

Findings

The results indicated that individuals who had grown up in traditional mixed families had more positive attitudes towards balancing work and home roles than did those who had grown up in traditional single earner families. Father's educational level also emerged as a significant factor in the career‐family attitudes of the participants.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this research indicate that young people have developed attitudes towards managing the work/family interface on entering the workforce, which they acquire through a social learning process. Limitations included the cross‐sectional nature of the design and future longitudinal research is needed.

Practical implications

Organizations and managers need to be aware of the well‐developed attitudes of new entrants in order to address early issues of psychological contract and person‐organizational fit, which have an impact on career success and career management.

Originality/value

The findings of the paper break new ground on the role of social learning on the formation of attitudes towards managing the work‐family interface. Such attitudes proceed to inform behavioral patterns and decisions in the harmonious management of the two domains.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 23 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 January 2011

Malik Aleem Ahmed is a Ph.D. candidate in the Values and Technology Department (Section of Philosophy) and Infrastructure Systems & Services Department (Section of Information and…

Abstract

Malik Aleem Ahmed is a Ph.D. candidate in the Values and Technology Department (Section of Philosophy) and Infrastructure Systems & Services Department (Section of Information and Communication) at Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. He has earned a masters degree in Business Administration with specialization in Information Technology Management from Pakistan. His areas of research interests are ICT and Ethics, ICT for Governance in developing countries. His Ph.D. research concerns the usage of ICT for better Governance in developing countries. The main emphasis of the research is on the public sector institutional strengthening with the help of ICT in the developing countries and the effect of intercultural variations of values. He has worked in different capacities in the field of Information and Communication Technology for seven years in Pakistan. His last job was in the capacity of “IT Advisor” for a USAID sponsored project (Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Project) in Pakistan. He has also been involved in the field of teaching at University level. He is also serving as the webmaster of this 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology website.

Details

Educating Educators with Social Media
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-649-3

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2007

Bård Tronvoll

The paper seeks to investigate whether the demographic and socio‐economic characteristics of complainers in a monopolistic market are different from those in a competitive market.

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to investigate whether the demographic and socio‐economic characteristics of complainers in a monopolistic market are different from those in a competitive market.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review is undertaken, with particular emphasis on the socio‐economic characteristics of complainers. An empirical study is then presented. The empirical study consists of a large survey of satisfaction among consumers of the Norwegian Office for Social Insurance – a monopolistic governmental service provider.

Findings

The study reveals that complainers in this monopolistic market belong to lower socio‐economic groups. They typically have low incomes, are outside the labour market, have a modest standard of accommodation, and live alone.

Research limitations/implications

The study analyses only one type of monopolistic institution in only one country. The generalisability of the findings might, therefore, be limited. The study demonstrates that consumer complaint behaviour in this monopolistic market differs from behaviour reported in competitive markets. Moreover, the study indicates that complainers in this monopolistic market are confronted with different complaint barriers when exit is closed.

Practical implications

The findings of the study suggest that a monopolistic institution should encourage dissatisfied consumers to complain, and should make internal switching possibilities known to consumers.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to study complainer characteristics in a monopolistic market structure empirically. The paper questions previous assumptions that complainers necessarily belong to upper socio‐economic groups.

Details

International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-4233

Keywords

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