Sample Article Summaries
Article Summaries
Jennings, W. G., Fridell, L. A., & Lynch, M. D. (2014). Cops and cameras: Officer perceptions of the use of body-worn cameras in law enforcement. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42(6), 549-556. Doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.09.008
Jennings, Fridell and Lynch (2014) carried out a study to determine police officers’ perceptions towards use of body-worn cameras in their job. The authors noted that emerging technology has been transforming the policing job. The technology, for instance, has increased the ability of the officers to detect crime incidents and to gather evidence. Also, the technology has helped to improve accountability of police officers. Body-worn camera is an example of the recent technologies that have helped to improve accountability of police officers and their ability to gather evidence (Jennings et al., 2014). Jennings et al. (2014) noted that the rate of use of body-worn cameras by police officers has been increasing. In their exploration of the previous studies, however, the researchers noted that there was a lack of empirical studies meant to determine the perceptions of officers towards the use of body-worn cameras in their job. At the same time, the researchers noted that police departments invest a lot of money in body-worn cameras. In this regard, Jennings et al. (2014) suggested that there was a need to determine the perceptions of the police officers towards the use of those cameras in their job. The researchers gathered data for the study from 95 patrol officers from Orlando Police Department. Some of the officers wore Taser AXON Flex body-worn cameras while others did not. The results of the study indicated that most police officers support the use of body cameras in their job. Most of the officers indicated that the cameras would help to improve their behaviors and to enhance their response to calls for service. The researchers, however, suggested that there is a need for additional studies that would include data gathered from many political departments.
Kaba, F. et al. (2014). Solitary Confinement and Risk of Self Harm among Jail Inmates. American Journal of Public Health, 104(3) 442–447. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301742
Kaba et al. (2014) sought to determine how solitary confinement affects the risk of jail inmates harming themselves during the period of incarceration. The researchers noted that there are numerous cases of self reported among jail inmates during the recent years. According to Kaba et al. (2014), self-harm is usually caused by mental health problems that develop during the confinement period. The previous studies have shown that approximately third of Jail inmates are diagnosed with mental illnesses in the US. As such, Kaba et al. (2014) suggested that solitary confinement of jail inmates increases the risk of self-harm. Kaba et al. (2014) gathered data from New York City jail system about cases of self-harm that had occurred between the beginning of January 2010 and the end of December 2012. From assessment of the records for 1303 inmates Kaba et al. (2014) noted that there were 2182 self-harm incidents. However, Kaba et al. (2014) noted that only around 7.3 percent of those admissions involved solitary confinement. Despite this, the results suggested that the inmates who were confined alone were more likely to engage in self-harm than those who stayed together with others (Kaba et al., 2014). The results indicated that the risk of self-harm increased due to mental health problems that developed in the inmates. Among the mental health problems noted were stress, depression and feelings of loneliness. The results indicated that the risk of self-harm did not defer based on gender. Kaba et al. (2014) noted that the managers for New York City jail system recognized the issue and thus, they have been changing the existing confinement practices. Those who are put on solitary confinement are provided with mental treatment services frequently.
Lehmann, P. S., Chiricos, T., & Bales, W. D. (2017). Sentencing Transferred Juveniles in the Adult Criminal Court: The Direct and Interactive Effects of Race and Ethnicity. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 15(2), 172-190. doi: 10.1177/154120401667804
In their study, Lehmann, Chiricos and Bales (2017) sought to determine the effects of ethnicity and race on sentence outcomes of juveniles in adult criminal courts. Lehmann et al. (2017) noted that transferring of juvenile offenders to adult criminal courts has become a common practice in the US. At the same time, recent studies have shown that ethnicity and race affect judgment outcomes in adult courts. For instance, scholars have found that Black and Hispanic offenders are given more harshly treatment than white offenders in the adult courts. Lehmann et al. (2017) noted that the effect of ethnicity and race on the treatment of juveniles that are transferred to the adult courts had not been given significant attention in research and thus, the aim of their study was to fill that gap. After examining the previous studies related to the topic of study, the researchers explored theoretical accounts related to sentencing disparities. Lehmann et al. (2017) noted that sentencing outcomes are also influenced by variables such as offense type, age and sex. The researchers gathered data from Florida Sentencing Guidelines database about juvenile offenders who had been sentenced between 1995 and 2006. The population of study comprised of 30,913 juveniles. The results were analyzed using statistical models. During the analysis process, the effects of offense type, age and sex were taken into consideration. The results derived from the study indicated that Juveniles who are blacks are more likely to be sentenced to prison and to receive longer sentences than the juveniles who are whites in the adult courts. Juveniles who are Hispanics are also more likely to be sentenced to jail than the juveniles who are whites (Lehmann et al., 2017). The results indicated that the blacks were more likely to receive harsh treatment irrespective of their age.
Luke, T. J. et al. (2016). Training in the Strategic Use of Evidence technique: Improving deception detection accuracy of American law enforcement officers. J Police Crim Psych, 31(4), 270-278. doi:10.1007/s11896-015-9187-0
Luke et al. (2016) carried out a study to determine whether or not training law enforcement officers in Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique helps to improve the accuracy of detecting deception. As Luke et al. (2016) explained, the law enforcement officers that use the SUE technique do not disclose information that they know about crime incidents to the suspects during the interview process. Consequently, the suspects are not aware about what a police officer knows about the crime. Luke et al. (2016) noted that there was a lack of significant empirical studies meant to determine how SUE is effective in enhancing accuracy of detecting deception/ thus, their study was meant to fill that gap. The researchers carried out the study on 59 police officers in Glynco in Georgia 20 were male officers and the rest were female. Some of the officers had received training on SUE while others did not have the training. During the data correction, each the police officers included in the study sample was asked to interview one crime suspect with the aim of detecting deception (Luke et al., 2016). The police officers that had received training in SUE were asked to apply the skill and knowledge they had gained. The interviews were conducted in the premises of Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. After analyzing the data that was gathered, Luke et al. (2016) found that SUE helped to increase police officers’ accuracy of detecting deception from the responses of suspects. The accuracy rate of the police officers that had received training was 65 percent while that of the officers that had not received training was 43 percent.
Morash, M., Kashy, D. A., Smith, A. W., & Cobbina, J. E. (2014). The Effects of Probation or Parole Agent Relationship Style and Women Offenders’ Criminogenic Needs on Offenders’ Responses to Supervision Interactions. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(4), 412-434 DOI: 10.1177/0093854814551602
Morash et al. (2014) noted that there had been extensive research focusing on determining how staff relationships affect customer outcomes in organizations. Scholars have also paid attention to how relationships between female offenders affect them. Most of the studies related to that topic have focused on the impact of the relationships on recidivism among the female offenders. Some studies have examined the long-term and short-term impacts of relationships between the law enforcement officers and offenders on the latter. However, there was a lack of studies focused on determining how relationships between parole officers affect outcomes on women offenders. Morash et al. (2014) suggested that the relationship between parole supervisory staff is important since it has effects on the offenders. As such, the researchers sought to fill the existing gap in research through determining how the relationship between parole supervisory officers affects women offenders in the short-term. Morash et al. (2014) gathered data through interview method from 330 offenders aged between 18 and 60 years. The offenders reported about their perceptions of their relationships with the parole officers. Later, the researchers asked 69 parole and probation supervisory officers about their interaction styles with the women offenders (Morash et al., 2014). The data derived from the study was analyzed statistically. The indicated that punitive relationship between supervisory officers increased anxiety and inclination to react among the female offenders. Conversely, supportive relationship between the officers reduced anxiety and reactance among the offenders.
Pina-Sánchez, J. & Linacre, R. J. (2014). Enhancing Consistency in Sentencing: Exploring the Effects of Guidelines in England and Wales. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 30(4), 731-748. doi:10.1007/s10940-014-9221-x
In the above article, Pina-Sánchez and Linacre (2014) explore the effects of developing guidelines enhancing consistency of sentencing outcomes. The authors start by acknowledging the fact that it is vital for legal institutions in different countries or states to enhance sentencing consistency. Pina-Sánchez and Linacre (2014) noted that some states of the US have been putting efforts to enhance sentencing consistency since 1970s. Also, some countries, such as
England and Wales, Western Australia, New Zealand and Northern Ireland have been trying to do the same. Prior to 2011, legal institutions in England and Wales used to make significantly different sentences on similar offences due to differences in their court guidelines. The two nations agreed to come up with guidelines that would be followed by legal institutions within their jurisdictions in order to enhance uniformity in sentencing (Pina-Sánchez & Linacre, 2014). In their study, Pina-Sánchez and Linacre (2014) sought to determine the extent to which consistency in sentencing had been achieved in England and Wales by 2014. The authors conducted Crown Court Sentencing Survey on CCSS is a dataset derived from England and Wales. To determine disparities in sentencing, the authors used regression method during data analysis process and then examined variance in the results of the analysis (Pina-Sánchez & Linacre, 2014). The results derived from the study indicated that variability in sentencing in England and Wales has been reducing since 2011 as a result of the guidelines that were created. However, the researchers found some variations which they attributed to legal factors. Pina-Sánchez and Linacre (2014) concluded that developing similar guidelines can help to reducing variations in sentencing in legal jurisdictions in different countries or states.
Wang, Y., Zheng, L., Hu, T., & Zheng Q. (2014). Stress, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction: Case of Police Force in China. Public Personnel Management, 43(3) 325–339. doi: 10.1177/0091026014535179
The above article contains empirical study that was focused on determining the extent to which policemen in China experienced stress and burnout and their levels of job satisfaction. Wang et al. (2014) noted that there are many social problems in China, such as emergent group incidents, high rate of crime and grim security situation. In this regard, they suggested that such issues make police work onerous. When assessing results of the previous studies, Wang et al. (2014) noted that policemen in China are among the most overworked civil servants in China. Thus, the researchers found it essential to determine the levels of Job stress and burnout in police officers. When doing the research, the authors of the article sought to determine how job stress and burnout affect the levels of job satisfaction among the police officers. Wang et al. (2014) gathered data from 521 police officers using survey questionnaires. The series of questionnaires used included Chance Scale, the Maslach Burnout, the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale and Inventory Police Stress Questionnaire. Locus of control was used as the moderator in the relationships between stress and burnout and the relationship between burnout and satisfaction (Wang et al., 2014). The results derived from the study indicated that police officers in China frequently experience stress and burnout. The stress and burnout were found o have adverse impact on the levels of job satisfaction among the officers. Wang et al. (2014) concluded that the management for police departments in China should focus on addressing, eradicating or reducing causes of stress and burnout among the officers. The authors gathered data for the study from one region in China and thus, they proposed for a future study that would include data gathered from many regions.
References;
- Jennings, W. G., Fridell, L. A., & Lynch, M. D. (2014). Cops and cameras: Officer perceptions of the use of body-worn cameras in law enforcement. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42(6), 549-556. Doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.09.008
- Kaba, F. et al. (2014). Solitary Confinement and Risk of Self Harm among Jail Inmates. American Journal of Public Health, 104(3) 442–447. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301742
- Lehmann, P. S., Chiricos, T., & Bales, W. D. (2017). Sentencing Transferred Juveniles in the Adult Criminal Court: The Direct and Interactive Effects of Race and Ethnicity. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 15(2), 172-190. doi: 10.1177/154120401667804
- Luke, T. J. et al. (2016). Training in the Strategic Use of Evidence technique: Improving deception detection accuracy of American law enforcement officers. J Police Crim Psych, 31(4), 270-278. doi:10.1007/s11896-015-9187-0
- Morash, M., Kashy, D. A., Smith, A. W., & Cobbina, J. E. (2014). The Effects of Probation or Parole Agent Relationship Style and Women Offenders’ Criminogenic Needs on Offenders’ Responses to Supervision Interactions. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(4), 412-434 DOI: 10.1177/0093854814551602
- Pina-Sánchez, J. & Linacre, R. J. (2014). Enhancing Consistency in Sentencing: Exploring the Effects of Guidelines in England and Wales. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 30(4), 731-748. doi:10.1007/s10940-014-9221-x
- Wang, Y., Zheng, L., Hu, T., & Zheng Q. (2014). Stress, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction: Case of Police Force in China. Public Personnel Management, 43(3) 325–339. doi: 10.1177/0091026014535179