Zachary A Powell | California State University, San Bernardino (original) (raw)
Papers by Zachary A Powell
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2024
Over the last 30 years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has used the pattern-or-practice initiati... more Over the last 30 years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has used the pattern-or-practice initiative to implement police reform in maligned law enforcement agencies. Despite the longevity of the program, there is limited empirical evidence that assesses the effectiveness of the initiative, and what evidence exists shows mixed results. This paper advances prior scholarship in this area by considering what is known about the program, outlining the implied theory of the DOJ's efforts, lamenting the lack of evaluation evidence, and prescribing a modern research agenda for this topic area.
Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly contributed to stress among people worldwide, with first resp... more The COVID-19 pandemic significantly contributed to stress among people worldwide, with first responders being disproportionately burdened. The enduring impacts and strategies to prevent burnout and recover from the pandemic among policing personnel remain unclear to date. Two-hundred ninety-seven participants from a large US metropolitan police department completed surveys, and 25 also participated in interviews. Results indicated that COVID-19 was an inflated stressor for police, primarily through staffing shortages, limited resources, and rapidly changing policies. Civilian (and command) experiences differed considerably from sworn personnel. Policing-specific stress and burnout significantly impacted mental and physical health outcomes. Rapidly changing policies extending beyond the COVID-19 pandemic were stressful but were not identified as the largest source of stress for many interviewed individuals. Many participants stated that ongoing negative scrutiny and social movements specific to anti-Black racism in policing were more stressful. This study highlights the need for wellness initiatives in police agencies as society moves beyond the pandemic. Navigating the post-pandemic world is key for bridging police-community divides moving forward. With this knowledge, one can better support all personnel within an agency, with ripple effects on community member safety and health.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2023
Introduction: A study was conducted to investigate if an individual's trust in law enforcement af... more Introduction: A study was conducted to investigate if an individual's trust in law enforcement affects their perception of the emotional facial expressions displayed by police officers. Methods: The study invited 77 participants to rate the valence of 360 face images. Images featured individuals without headgear (condition 1), or with a baseball cap (condition 2) or police hat (condition 3) digitally added to the original photograph. The images were balanced across sex, race/ethnicity (Asian, African American, Latine, and Caucasian), and facial expression (Happy, Neutral, and Angry). After rating the facial expressions, respondents completed a survey about their attitudes toward the police. Results: The results showed that, on average, valence ratings for "Angry" faces were similar across all experimental conditions. However, a closer examination revealed that faces with police hats were perceived as angrier compared to the control conditions (those with no hat and those with a baseball cap) by individuals who held negative views of the police. Conversely, participants with positive attitudes toward the police perceived faces with police hats as less angry compared to the control condition. This correlation was highly significant for angry faces (p < 0.01), and stronger in response to male faces compared to female faces but was not significant for neutral or happy faces. Discussion: The study emphasizes the substantial role of attitudes in shaping social perception, particularly within the context of law enforcement.
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2023
American police face considerable criticism from the public about the perceived unnecessary and e... more American police face considerable criticism from the public about the perceived unnecessary and excessive use of deadly force in civilian interactions. Police reform advocates often call for widespread change to reduce officer-involved shootings and other forms of deadly force. Some, such as California, pursued statewide legal interventions to limit police deadly force. AB 392, the California Act to Save Lives, changed the deadly force standard so that objectively reasonable officers, when considering the totality of circumstances, can only use deadly force when necessary to defend human life. The stricter standard was designed to limit officer deadly force and reduce civilian deaths so this paper considers the efficacy of AB 392 on the incidence of fatal force in California. The results of interrupted time series and synthetic control method (SCM) analyses find no evidence of a reduction in deadly force after the passage of AB 392. Any effort to change deadly force should be coupled with legislative changes and evidence-based practices. Policymakers, practitioners, and researchers will need to explore a multi-pronged approach to reduce deadly force encounters.
Crime & Delinquency, 2019
Criminological inquiry has recently showcased increased attention toward the near repeat phenomen... more Criminological inquiry has recently showcased increased attention toward the near repeat phenomenon, which suggests that following an initial criminal event, there is an increased risk for the occurrence of the same type of event spatially and temporally proximate to the initiating event. The majority of previous research tends focuses on the patterns related to violent and conventional property crimes but neglects to examine other economic-related crimes. Given the significant costs associated with this crime type, unpacking hidden patterns may be useful in identifying high-risk areas and deploying appropriate countermeasures. The current study builds on previous examinations of the near repeat phenomenon through the exploration of specific economic crimes (counterfeiting, credit card/ATM fraud, false pretense/swindling) using 6 years of crime data from the Fort Worth (Texas) Police Department. Although near repeat patterns were discovered across multiple analyses, the greatest risk across all analyses was for repeat victimization at the same location. A discussion of policy implications, limitations, and areas for future research are also provided.
Social Forces, 2018
We analyze why domestic homicide rates in a country sending troops into war increase with some in... more We analyze why domestic homicide rates in a country sending troops into
war increase with some international wars, but not others. Drawing from
research on the brutalization effect, we first explain how war can have an
effect on homicides through individuals learning acceptable behavior from the state.
Second, we explain why we observe the brutalization effect with some wars, but not
others. We argue that illegitimate wars are associated with increased homicide
rates, while state participation in legitimate wars should not affect homicide rates.
Pursuing an illegitimate war may serve as a signal to society that norms and morals
have been suspended, leading to a period of moral deregulation in the form of anomie. To test our theory, we conduct time-series analyses of data for the United
States between 1928 and 2014. After examining the characteristics of eleven international wars pursued by the United States, we find that a brutalization effect occurs
when the country engages in illegitimate, but not legitimate, conflicts. We also examine the validity of several potential alternative explanations and provide directions for
future research
Deviant Behavior, 2021
Delinquent Youth Concentration and Juvenile Recidivism
Criminal Justice Studies, 2021
The stigma associated with incarceration is well documented. Less attention has been directed to ... more The stigma associated with incarceration is well documented. Less attention has been directed to the impact of this stigma on those in romantic relationships with partners who are incarcerated (i.e. courtesy stigma). Using semi-structured interviews with 12 women involved in romantic relationships with men who were incarcerated, we explore whether they experienced courtesy stigma and if so, how they managed it. The women said they experienced courtesy stigma from others, including friends and family. In response, participants either avoided interactions with those they thought would judge them (by withholding information or severing ties) or by fully embracing the relationships (pointing to their benefits). These management techniques allowed participants to have a sense of agency in their decisions. Considering the importance of healthy relationships in promoting desistance from criminal behavior, examining the management of courtesy stigma from the perspective of the un-incarcerated partner may increase our understanding of these relationships on reentry.
Policing; A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2023
Contemporary discussions on policing focus on the impact of intense external scrutiny on proactiv... more Contemporary discussions on policing focus on the impact of intense external scrutiny on proactive policing practices. Some commentators suggest negative feedback directed at law enforcement inhibits police willingness to engage in proactive police practices. This effect, known as 'de-policing' , endangers communities due to officer disengagement in crime prevention techniques. To examine this effect, previous research relies on crime data to examine de-policing; few studies explore how officer-initiated actions, such as a stop, shift in the wake of a de-policing effect. Using data from the Stanford Open Policing Project, this paper examines how officer-initiated behaviour (vehicle and pedestrian stops) changes after a negative public scrutiny shock (in this case, the shooting of Michael Brown). Further, the study examines how crime rates changed after Brown's death. The findings of this paper suggest police proactivity declined and crime increased after Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri. Policy implications, future research avenues, and theoretical enhancements to de-policing are discussed.
Justice Evaluation Journal, 2023
Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been widely adopted in the United States due to their perceived pro... more Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been widely adopted in the United States due to their perceived promise of reducing police misconduct through a deterrent or Hawthorne effect. Much of the available evidence indicates that BWCs reduce civilian complaints, use-of-force, and other police misbehavior. However, there is a tendency for existing research to study minor forms of misbehav- ior rather than serious misconduct. This study focuses on examin- ing how settlements, a proxy of serious police misconduct, changed with BWC adoption and are an important outcome to study as they may correspond with financial and litigation bur- dens for police departments. This study uses panel data from 19 police departments over 10 years to assess how settlements changed post-BWC adoption. The results indicate BWC adoption is associated with a 40% reduction in police settlements and a 40% decrease in the median cost per settlement, and suggest BWCs may lead to less severe police misconduct over time.
Criminal Justice Policy Review, 2021
Consent decrees, authorized by Section 14141 of the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act, represent on... more Consent decrees, authorized by Section 14141 of the 1994 Violent Crime Control
Act, represent one of the most powerful governmental tools used to encourage—
and possibly force—police reform. The consent decree process, however, carries a
significant fiscal burden; in some cases, the cost of police reform inhibits agencies’
cooperation with the decrees. One possible solution to this problem calls for the
creation of a public-supported police reform fund, whose monies are reserved
strictly for consent decrees. Guided by focal concerns theory, this study reports on a
factorial survey experiment used to assess variation across individuals’ willingness to
pay for police reform. Results indicate that the seriousness of a police reform issue
and the agency’s ability to pay for reform act as significant drivers of endorsement of
a police reform fund.
Research Summary Section 14141 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 grant... more Research Summary Section 14141 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 granted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) the authority to investigate, intervene into, and force reforms within any police department deemed to exhibit a pattern or practice of police misconduct. The DOJ's primary enforcement mechanism is to sue the offending jurisdiction. Such lawsuits are typically settled with " consent decrees " or court-ordered legal agreements to implement specified reforms. We assembled a panel data set to explore the relationship between consent decrees and civil rights litigation in 23 targeted jurisdictions. The results suggest that DOJ intervention may be associated with modest reductions in the risk of civil rights filings. Policy Implications Federal consent decrees are pursued under the assumption that they reduce civil rights violations, yet this assumption has remained largely untested. Such oversight is unfortunate , as it is important to gauge the effectiveness of time-consuming and expensive federal intervention into local law enforcement affairs. Our study offers preliminary evidence that consent decrees may reduce civil rights violations, as operationalized by Section 1983 litigation, an indicator of police misconduct. Reductions in such filings may signal increased satisfaction with police agencies and a move toward reduced
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in b... more The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
In the economics and housing literature, the narrative of the "arsonist for profit" is popularize... more In the economics and housing literature, the narrative of the "arsonist for profit" is popularized, where a would-be offender destroys personal property for financial gain. More of than not, arson is expected to increase during periods of economic decline. Over a 12-year period, data on this crime and other demographic variables were collected for 264 counties to study the impact of the 2007 recession on this firesetting. The analyses herein find no support for the profiting arsonist. Implications for future research in this area are discussed.
Greene , (2016),"Exploring the viability of an attitudes toward ethical behavior scale in underst... more Greene , (2016),"Exploring the viability of an attitudes toward ethical behavior scale in understanding police integrity outcomes"
Purpose -Klockars et al. use scenario methodology to measure perceived seriousness, level of disc... more Purpose -Klockars et al. use scenario methodology to measure perceived seriousness, level of discipline warranted, and willingness to report fellow officers engaged in various negative behaviors. These data are used to characterize the occupational culture of integrity in a given agency, relative to other agencies. What remains unclear is whether these agency-level findings mask important meso-and micro-level variation in the data (i.e. at the precinct/district and officer levels) that may contribute to a more complete understanding of an agency's culture of integrity. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach -This study replicates and extends Klockars et al.'s work using data from a survey administered to 499 Philadelphia police officers, with the goal of both validating their methodological approach and exploring the need for multi-level theory in the study of police integrity. In addition to comparing the results from Philadelphia to those obtained by Klockars et al., the authors test for differences across officer demographics, and explore variance in the willingness to report various behaviors at both the officer-and district-levels. Findings -Results indicate that bivariate relationships between officer-level demographics and willingness to report fellow officers are negated when controlling for theoretically relevant attitudinal variables such as cynicism and, consistent with Klockars et al., perceived seriousness of the underlying behavior. In addition, there is significant district-level variation in the average willingness to report fellow officers, and this variation can be explained by both organizational and environmental variables. On balance, the findings provide support for a multi-level approach to the study of police integrity. Originality/value -While the Klockars et al. approach addresses macro-level variation in police integrity, this study contributes important findings at the meso-and micro-levels.
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2015
Experts have a way of seeing the world in ways that differ from novices. Research on offenders su... more Experts have a way of seeing the world in ways that differ from novices. Research on offenders suggests that as they develop expertise in their chosen crimes they become better skilled at recognizing opportunities and evading detection. The bulk of research emphasizes the role of criminal experience on offenders' abilities to quickly assess situations and commit crimes at that moment but little has been done to examine how expertise influences crimes that cannot be committed on the spot. Our aim is to examine the importance of expertise on the commission of identity theft (a crime that requires time to commit). We highlight the roles of both legitimate and illegitimate experiences in developing skills to be successful. In addition, we show how expertise not only effects crimina\l event decisions but criminal involvement decisions (specifically persistence).
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2015
Experts have a way of seeing the world in ways that differ from novices. Research on offenders su... more Experts have a way of seeing the world in ways that differ from novices. Research on offenders suggests that as they develop expertise in their chosen crimes they become better skilled at recognizing opportunities and evading detection. The bulk of research emphasizes the role of criminal experience on offenders' abilities to quickly assess situations and commit crimes at that moment but little has been done to examine how expertise influences crimes that cannot be committed on the spot. Our aim is to examine the importance of expertise on the commission of identity theft (a crime that requires time to commit). We highlight the roles of both legitimate and illegitimate experiences in developing skills to be successful. In addition, we show how expertise not only effects crimina\l event decisions but criminal involvement decisions (specifically persistence).
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2024
Over the last 30 years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has used the pattern-or-practice initiati... more Over the last 30 years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has used the pattern-or-practice initiative to implement police reform in maligned law enforcement agencies. Despite the longevity of the program, there is limited empirical evidence that assesses the effectiveness of the initiative, and what evidence exists shows mixed results. This paper advances prior scholarship in this area by considering what is known about the program, outlining the implied theory of the DOJ's efforts, lamenting the lack of evaluation evidence, and prescribing a modern research agenda for this topic area.
Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly contributed to stress among people worldwide, with first resp... more The COVID-19 pandemic significantly contributed to stress among people worldwide, with first responders being disproportionately burdened. The enduring impacts and strategies to prevent burnout and recover from the pandemic among policing personnel remain unclear to date. Two-hundred ninety-seven participants from a large US metropolitan police department completed surveys, and 25 also participated in interviews. Results indicated that COVID-19 was an inflated stressor for police, primarily through staffing shortages, limited resources, and rapidly changing policies. Civilian (and command) experiences differed considerably from sworn personnel. Policing-specific stress and burnout significantly impacted mental and physical health outcomes. Rapidly changing policies extending beyond the COVID-19 pandemic were stressful but were not identified as the largest source of stress for many interviewed individuals. Many participants stated that ongoing negative scrutiny and social movements specific to anti-Black racism in policing were more stressful. This study highlights the need for wellness initiatives in police agencies as society moves beyond the pandemic. Navigating the post-pandemic world is key for bridging police-community divides moving forward. With this knowledge, one can better support all personnel within an agency, with ripple effects on community member safety and health.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2023
Introduction: A study was conducted to investigate if an individual's trust in law enforcement af... more Introduction: A study was conducted to investigate if an individual's trust in law enforcement affects their perception of the emotional facial expressions displayed by police officers. Methods: The study invited 77 participants to rate the valence of 360 face images. Images featured individuals without headgear (condition 1), or with a baseball cap (condition 2) or police hat (condition 3) digitally added to the original photograph. The images were balanced across sex, race/ethnicity (Asian, African American, Latine, and Caucasian), and facial expression (Happy, Neutral, and Angry). After rating the facial expressions, respondents completed a survey about their attitudes toward the police. Results: The results showed that, on average, valence ratings for "Angry" faces were similar across all experimental conditions. However, a closer examination revealed that faces with police hats were perceived as angrier compared to the control conditions (those with no hat and those with a baseball cap) by individuals who held negative views of the police. Conversely, participants with positive attitudes toward the police perceived faces with police hats as less angry compared to the control condition. This correlation was highly significant for angry faces (p < 0.01), and stronger in response to male faces compared to female faces but was not significant for neutral or happy faces. Discussion: The study emphasizes the substantial role of attitudes in shaping social perception, particularly within the context of law enforcement.
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2023
American police face considerable criticism from the public about the perceived unnecessary and e... more American police face considerable criticism from the public about the perceived unnecessary and excessive use of deadly force in civilian interactions. Police reform advocates often call for widespread change to reduce officer-involved shootings and other forms of deadly force. Some, such as California, pursued statewide legal interventions to limit police deadly force. AB 392, the California Act to Save Lives, changed the deadly force standard so that objectively reasonable officers, when considering the totality of circumstances, can only use deadly force when necessary to defend human life. The stricter standard was designed to limit officer deadly force and reduce civilian deaths so this paper considers the efficacy of AB 392 on the incidence of fatal force in California. The results of interrupted time series and synthetic control method (SCM) analyses find no evidence of a reduction in deadly force after the passage of AB 392. Any effort to change deadly force should be coupled with legislative changes and evidence-based practices. Policymakers, practitioners, and researchers will need to explore a multi-pronged approach to reduce deadly force encounters.
Crime & Delinquency, 2019
Criminological inquiry has recently showcased increased attention toward the near repeat phenomen... more Criminological inquiry has recently showcased increased attention toward the near repeat phenomenon, which suggests that following an initial criminal event, there is an increased risk for the occurrence of the same type of event spatially and temporally proximate to the initiating event. The majority of previous research tends focuses on the patterns related to violent and conventional property crimes but neglects to examine other economic-related crimes. Given the significant costs associated with this crime type, unpacking hidden patterns may be useful in identifying high-risk areas and deploying appropriate countermeasures. The current study builds on previous examinations of the near repeat phenomenon through the exploration of specific economic crimes (counterfeiting, credit card/ATM fraud, false pretense/swindling) using 6 years of crime data from the Fort Worth (Texas) Police Department. Although near repeat patterns were discovered across multiple analyses, the greatest risk across all analyses was for repeat victimization at the same location. A discussion of policy implications, limitations, and areas for future research are also provided.
Social Forces, 2018
We analyze why domestic homicide rates in a country sending troops into war increase with some in... more We analyze why domestic homicide rates in a country sending troops into
war increase with some international wars, but not others. Drawing from
research on the brutalization effect, we first explain how war can have an
effect on homicides through individuals learning acceptable behavior from the state.
Second, we explain why we observe the brutalization effect with some wars, but not
others. We argue that illegitimate wars are associated with increased homicide
rates, while state participation in legitimate wars should not affect homicide rates.
Pursuing an illegitimate war may serve as a signal to society that norms and morals
have been suspended, leading to a period of moral deregulation in the form of anomie. To test our theory, we conduct time-series analyses of data for the United
States between 1928 and 2014. After examining the characteristics of eleven international wars pursued by the United States, we find that a brutalization effect occurs
when the country engages in illegitimate, but not legitimate, conflicts. We also examine the validity of several potential alternative explanations and provide directions for
future research
Deviant Behavior, 2021
Delinquent Youth Concentration and Juvenile Recidivism
Criminal Justice Studies, 2021
The stigma associated with incarceration is well documented. Less attention has been directed to ... more The stigma associated with incarceration is well documented. Less attention has been directed to the impact of this stigma on those in romantic relationships with partners who are incarcerated (i.e. courtesy stigma). Using semi-structured interviews with 12 women involved in romantic relationships with men who were incarcerated, we explore whether they experienced courtesy stigma and if so, how they managed it. The women said they experienced courtesy stigma from others, including friends and family. In response, participants either avoided interactions with those they thought would judge them (by withholding information or severing ties) or by fully embracing the relationships (pointing to their benefits). These management techniques allowed participants to have a sense of agency in their decisions. Considering the importance of healthy relationships in promoting desistance from criminal behavior, examining the management of courtesy stigma from the perspective of the un-incarcerated partner may increase our understanding of these relationships on reentry.
Policing; A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2023
Contemporary discussions on policing focus on the impact of intense external scrutiny on proactiv... more Contemporary discussions on policing focus on the impact of intense external scrutiny on proactive policing practices. Some commentators suggest negative feedback directed at law enforcement inhibits police willingness to engage in proactive police practices. This effect, known as 'de-policing' , endangers communities due to officer disengagement in crime prevention techniques. To examine this effect, previous research relies on crime data to examine de-policing; few studies explore how officer-initiated actions, such as a stop, shift in the wake of a de-policing effect. Using data from the Stanford Open Policing Project, this paper examines how officer-initiated behaviour (vehicle and pedestrian stops) changes after a negative public scrutiny shock (in this case, the shooting of Michael Brown). Further, the study examines how crime rates changed after Brown's death. The findings of this paper suggest police proactivity declined and crime increased after Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri. Policy implications, future research avenues, and theoretical enhancements to de-policing are discussed.
Justice Evaluation Journal, 2023
Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been widely adopted in the United States due to their perceived pro... more Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been widely adopted in the United States due to their perceived promise of reducing police misconduct through a deterrent or Hawthorne effect. Much of the available evidence indicates that BWCs reduce civilian complaints, use-of-force, and other police misbehavior. However, there is a tendency for existing research to study minor forms of misbehav- ior rather than serious misconduct. This study focuses on examin- ing how settlements, a proxy of serious police misconduct, changed with BWC adoption and are an important outcome to study as they may correspond with financial and litigation bur- dens for police departments. This study uses panel data from 19 police departments over 10 years to assess how settlements changed post-BWC adoption. The results indicate BWC adoption is associated with a 40% reduction in police settlements and a 40% decrease in the median cost per settlement, and suggest BWCs may lead to less severe police misconduct over time.
Criminal Justice Policy Review, 2021
Consent decrees, authorized by Section 14141 of the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act, represent on... more Consent decrees, authorized by Section 14141 of the 1994 Violent Crime Control
Act, represent one of the most powerful governmental tools used to encourage—
and possibly force—police reform. The consent decree process, however, carries a
significant fiscal burden; in some cases, the cost of police reform inhibits agencies’
cooperation with the decrees. One possible solution to this problem calls for the
creation of a public-supported police reform fund, whose monies are reserved
strictly for consent decrees. Guided by focal concerns theory, this study reports on a
factorial survey experiment used to assess variation across individuals’ willingness to
pay for police reform. Results indicate that the seriousness of a police reform issue
and the agency’s ability to pay for reform act as significant drivers of endorsement of
a police reform fund.
Research Summary Section 14141 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 grant... more Research Summary Section 14141 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 granted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) the authority to investigate, intervene into, and force reforms within any police department deemed to exhibit a pattern or practice of police misconduct. The DOJ's primary enforcement mechanism is to sue the offending jurisdiction. Such lawsuits are typically settled with " consent decrees " or court-ordered legal agreements to implement specified reforms. We assembled a panel data set to explore the relationship between consent decrees and civil rights litigation in 23 targeted jurisdictions. The results suggest that DOJ intervention may be associated with modest reductions in the risk of civil rights filings. Policy Implications Federal consent decrees are pursued under the assumption that they reduce civil rights violations, yet this assumption has remained largely untested. Such oversight is unfortunate , as it is important to gauge the effectiveness of time-consuming and expensive federal intervention into local law enforcement affairs. Our study offers preliminary evidence that consent decrees may reduce civil rights violations, as operationalized by Section 1983 litigation, an indicator of police misconduct. Reductions in such filings may signal increased satisfaction with police agencies and a move toward reduced
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in b... more The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.
In the economics and housing literature, the narrative of the "arsonist for profit" is popularize... more In the economics and housing literature, the narrative of the "arsonist for profit" is popularized, where a would-be offender destroys personal property for financial gain. More of than not, arson is expected to increase during periods of economic decline. Over a 12-year period, data on this crime and other demographic variables were collected for 264 counties to study the impact of the 2007 recession on this firesetting. The analyses herein find no support for the profiting arsonist. Implications for future research in this area are discussed.
Greene , (2016),"Exploring the viability of an attitudes toward ethical behavior scale in underst... more Greene , (2016),"Exploring the viability of an attitudes toward ethical behavior scale in understanding police integrity outcomes"
Purpose -Klockars et al. use scenario methodology to measure perceived seriousness, level of disc... more Purpose -Klockars et al. use scenario methodology to measure perceived seriousness, level of discipline warranted, and willingness to report fellow officers engaged in various negative behaviors. These data are used to characterize the occupational culture of integrity in a given agency, relative to other agencies. What remains unclear is whether these agency-level findings mask important meso-and micro-level variation in the data (i.e. at the precinct/district and officer levels) that may contribute to a more complete understanding of an agency's culture of integrity. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach -This study replicates and extends Klockars et al.'s work using data from a survey administered to 499 Philadelphia police officers, with the goal of both validating their methodological approach and exploring the need for multi-level theory in the study of police integrity. In addition to comparing the results from Philadelphia to those obtained by Klockars et al., the authors test for differences across officer demographics, and explore variance in the willingness to report various behaviors at both the officer-and district-levels. Findings -Results indicate that bivariate relationships between officer-level demographics and willingness to report fellow officers are negated when controlling for theoretically relevant attitudinal variables such as cynicism and, consistent with Klockars et al., perceived seriousness of the underlying behavior. In addition, there is significant district-level variation in the average willingness to report fellow officers, and this variation can be explained by both organizational and environmental variables. On balance, the findings provide support for a multi-level approach to the study of police integrity. Originality/value -While the Klockars et al. approach addresses macro-level variation in police integrity, this study contributes important findings at the meso-and micro-levels.
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2015
Experts have a way of seeing the world in ways that differ from novices. Research on offenders su... more Experts have a way of seeing the world in ways that differ from novices. Research on offenders suggests that as they develop expertise in their chosen crimes they become better skilled at recognizing opportunities and evading detection. The bulk of research emphasizes the role of criminal experience on offenders' abilities to quickly assess situations and commit crimes at that moment but little has been done to examine how expertise influences crimes that cannot be committed on the spot. Our aim is to examine the importance of expertise on the commission of identity theft (a crime that requires time to commit). We highlight the roles of both legitimate and illegitimate experiences in developing skills to be successful. In addition, we show how expertise not only effects crimina\l event decisions but criminal involvement decisions (specifically persistence).
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2015
Experts have a way of seeing the world in ways that differ from novices. Research on offenders su... more Experts have a way of seeing the world in ways that differ from novices. Research on offenders suggests that as they develop expertise in their chosen crimes they become better skilled at recognizing opportunities and evading detection. The bulk of research emphasizes the role of criminal experience on offenders' abilities to quickly assess situations and commit crimes at that moment but little has been done to examine how expertise influences crimes that cannot be committed on the spot. Our aim is to examine the importance of expertise on the commission of identity theft (a crime that requires time to commit). We highlight the roles of both legitimate and illegitimate experiences in developing skills to be successful. In addition, we show how expertise not only effects crimina\l event decisions but criminal involvement decisions (specifically persistence).