Geoffrey Alpert - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Geoffrey Alpert
Police Quarterly, Oct 10, 2008
This study explores police—citizen encounters and the reaction of each actor to the demeanor of t... more This study explores police—citizen encounters and the reaction of each actor to the demeanor of the other throughout the interaction. Police—citizen interactions can be understood as a sequence of events, often changing rapidly and making transitions from being trivial to serious exchanges. The sequence of actions and reactions is designed to support the expectations of both actors. Although we understand that these interactions are guided or driven by the actor's needs and abilities to influence, and even coerce, each other, we are not clear on the precise definition or role of the actors' demeanor. Most previous research has been limited to a measure of demeanor at one point in time. Our design allowed for measurement of changes in demeanor as the police—citizen interaction developed, and our examination revealed that the demeanor of both officers and suspects changed during the encounters in a substantial number of cases.
New York University Press eBooks, May 26, 2020
Properly evaluating a use of force requires a working knowledge of the various force options. Thi... more Properly evaluating a use of force requires a working knowledge of the various force options. This chapter identifies two particularly relevant characteristics of any given option: how it works and its likely effects. With that framework in mind, readers are provided with a description of the tools, techniques, and weaponry that officers employ in use-of-force situations. From handcuffs to “flashbang” concussion grenades, from takedowns to chokeholds, from batons to electronic control weapons, and from firearms to experimental weaponry, just to name a few, this chapter provides detailed information about the nature of each force option, how it is generally taught and used in the policing context, and its attendant risks.
SpringerBriefs in criminology, Sep 16, 2014
There has been little systematic effort to examine the prevalence and factors that influence poli... more There has been little systematic effort to examine the prevalence and factors that influence police utilization of research and police practitioner-researcher partnerships in Australia as found in Chapter 2 in the United States. However, there has been a slow growth of partnerships between police and researchers in Australia, which has provided individuals with invaluable insight and experience into these relationships. This chapter provides this insight and experience from a senior police executive in Queensland Police Service.
Police Practice and Research, Jun 29, 2021
ABSTRACT Occupational stress influences many aspects of policing and can contribute to unacceptab... more ABSTRACT Occupational stress influences many aspects of policing and can contribute to unacceptable attitudes and behaviors among law enforcement officers. Specifically, officers with greater workload stressors may be more likely to hold attitudes favorable toward police misconduct. Yet, we predict that organizational justice may inhibit the effect of such stressors on attitudes toward misconduct. We used survey data from a sample of 437 police officers serving in eight California agencies to examine the role of organizational justice and workload stressor on officers’ beliefs in noble-cause corruption (e.g., an end justifies the means attitude). Officers who viewed their workload as taxing held stronger attitudes favorable toward noble-cause corruption (OR = 1.23, 95% CI [1.03, 1.46], p = .019). Furthermore, organizational justice moderated the effect of workload stressor on noble-cause corruption beliefs (OR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.57, 1.00], p = .049), such that workload had a weaker relationship with noble-cause corruption beliefs among officers who believed their command staff was organizationally fair. In the end, perceptions of fair supervisory treatment help buffer police officers from the negative consequences of an overburdened workload. From a practical standpoint, the results underscore the importance of police managers incorporating organizational justice into their managerial practices. However, whether police managers can be trained on the use of organizational justice remains open to empirical scrutiny.
SpringerBriefs in criminology, 2015
Criminal Justice and Behavior, Mar 1, 1998
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2023
Academic research aimed at measuring changes in officer behaviour typically focuses on agencies’ ... more Academic research aimed at measuring changes in officer behaviour typically focuses on agencies’ implementation of new training or modifications to policy. However, programmes to change officer behaviour are more likely to be successful when changes in policies are coupled with effective training. This paper reviews the importance of coupling training and policy changes to maximize the chances of modifying an officer’s behaviour. As an example, we present results from a quasi-experimental evaluation of a training programme paired with a policy modification regarding the application of an electronic control weapon (ECW). The evaluation used videos of a use-of-force encounter integrated into a pre- and post-survey asking officers for their recommended levels of force in the encounter. Results demonstrate that officers evaluated the circumstance differently after completing the training component and were less likely to recommend the use of the ECW.
Social Science Research Network, Apr 9, 2020
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 9, 2004
this and the following two chapters include descriptions and analyses of information provided by ... more this and the following two chapters include descriptions and analyses of information provided by the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD). This chapter reports the general findings from the MDPD control-of-persons reports, and should be read in conjunction with Chapter 4, which includes an analysis of the sequential actions of officers and suspects during encounters, and Chapter 5, which reviews the inconsistencies in reports from officers and suspects. The Miami-Dade Police Department provided complete access to their use-of-force and officer personnel files. Their cooperation allowed for a comprehensive review and analysis of all the use-of-force and personnel data and was instrumental in allowing the formulation of the framework given in Chapter 8, a framework that underpins this book. The data set from MDPD includes information from 1,038 official Miami-Dade Police Department control-of-persons reports from the years 1996, 1997, and 1998 (Table 3-1). These data are reported by the officer's supervisor after talking to the officer, suspect, and available witnesses. The department's computerized information and an analysis of the written reports were used to create the data set. Although differences existed between officer and suspect versions in 12 percent of the cases (Chapter 7), the analyses of computerized forms and the Force Factor calculations relied on the “official” version as reported by the supervisor. We begin our analysis of the Miami-Dade Police Department Control of Persons Reports with information on suspect characteristics and actions, then discuss arresting officer characteristics and actions, and analyses of the interaction patterns between officer and suspect.
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 9, 2004
this chapter focuses on the Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD), and mirrors work... more this chapter focuses on the Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD), and mirrors work done in conjunction with the Miami-Dade Police Department (Chapters 3 through 5). The PGPD section of this book includes descriptions of both officer and suspect characteristics and an analysis of the patterns of interaction of primary officers and suspects (both sober and impaired). Rather than dedicate an entire chapter to sequential analyses (as we do with MDPD in Chapter 5), we incorporate them into this chapter, largely because of the limited data available. As in Chapter 3, an officer's level of force is analyzed relative to the level of suspect resistance using the Force Factor, an index incorporating both officer force and suspect resistance. Due to limited data, we do not focus on the inconsistencies we were able to highlight in the Miami-Dade analysis. However, this chapter does make a significant contribution to the research in this field, and provides further support for both our findings in Chapter 7 and the conceptual framework we propose in Chapter 8. The data from PGPD were collected during the first six months of 1999 and are based on 244 incidents. The Prince George's County data did not have very many cases with low levels of resistance, which indicates that either force was not frequently used or reports were not filed unless there was significant resistance. It is unclear whether this indicates a reporting bias or a complete population of events.
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 9, 2004
this chapter summarizes the major findings of the original research reported in this book. The li... more this chapter summarizes the major findings of the original research reported in this book. The literature on police use of force has developed enormously over the years and draws on a variety of data sources, although it relies mainly on official agency records and observational studies. Each of these methods has its limitations. First, many agencies do not collect use-of-force information. Second, if the data are collected, they are often created by the officers who were involved in the action, which may bias the information. Third, the data are not uniform across agencies. Fourth, many agencies that collect information do not grant access to outside researchers. For these and other reasons we discuss, the study of police use of force is fraught with problems. Of course, other data can be used to examine an agency's use of force, including lawsuits, citizen complaints, and observational techniques, but, as we have seen, each of these methods also has its own shortcomings. Agencies that collect and maintain use-of-force data may only require them for specific types and/or high levels of force, and not for the full range of cases. For example, one agency may only require reports for incidents when an intermediate weapon is used, while another may have officers complete specialized forms for all force used beyond handcuffing and come-along holds. Making comparisons across agencies is therefore problematic and must be undertaken with caution.
Contemporary Sociology, Sep 1, 1989
The Socio-Cultural Context of Police-Citizen Relations in Dade County, Florida Methods of Data Co... more The Socio-Cultural Context of Police-Citizen Relations in Dade County, Florida Methods of Data Collection Police Task Evaluations Attitudes toward the Police and Policing Attitudes toward the Police and Other Social Institutions Conclusions: Police Task Evaluations Conclusions: Attitudes toward the Police and Policing Policing in the Community Bibliography Index
Journal of Experimental Criminology, Jan 28, 2023
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 9, 2004
in this chapter , we review the sequence of actions between officers and suspects from the moment... more in this chapter , we review the sequence of actions between officers and suspects from the moment the officer arrives on the scene. This interaction process is key to understanding how situations develop between officers and citizens and how force is used with regard to the interdependent actions (and reactions) of the officers and citizens. What the officer sees the suspect doing, how the officer responds, how the suspect responds to the officer's first action, and how the officer then responds to the suspect, all affect the sequence of events and the levels of suspect resistance and officer use of force. The result may be as benign as an officer peacefully questioning a suspect or as menacing as a deadly shoot-out. This chapter, then, is a first attempt to analyze these interactions in this way. Before we present our analysis, we give a brief discussion of several other attempts to look at the sequence of police–citizen interactions. Richard Sykes and Edward Brent (1983) analyzed routine police–citizen contacts by looking at encounters and utterances. Their research focused on the three decisions an officer must make in every encounter: defining the situation, ascertaining who is involved, and determining how the encounter should be handled. They observed 1,622 encounters in 1973, and recorded the sequence and temporal order of statements made by officers and civilians that referred to defining, controlling, resisting, and confirming the situation.
Policing & Society, Oct 27, 2017
New York University Press eBooks, May 26, 2020
The vast majority of the 18,000 police agencies in the United States have policies, procedures, a... more The vast majority of the 18,000 police agencies in the United States have policies, procedures, and training that govern officers’ uses of force. While there are notable consistencies and broad, though not universal, agreement on certain shared principles, there are significant variations in the details of how agencies draft and operationalize their administrative policies. This chapter explores how police agencies define “force” and “reportable force” for purposes of internal policy, and offers a detailed review of the conceptual models that are widely used as visual representations of administrative regulation: the forty-year-old but highly influential incremental models, force matrix and force continuum, as well as the more recent, but less widely adopted, situational tactical options and situational behavioral models. The chapter concludes by describing a dozen common components of administrative use-of-force policies.
Social Forces, Mar 1, 1991
Police Quarterly, Oct 10, 2008
This study explores police—citizen encounters and the reaction of each actor to the demeanor of t... more This study explores police—citizen encounters and the reaction of each actor to the demeanor of the other throughout the interaction. Police—citizen interactions can be understood as a sequence of events, often changing rapidly and making transitions from being trivial to serious exchanges. The sequence of actions and reactions is designed to support the expectations of both actors. Although we understand that these interactions are guided or driven by the actor's needs and abilities to influence, and even coerce, each other, we are not clear on the precise definition or role of the actors' demeanor. Most previous research has been limited to a measure of demeanor at one point in time. Our design allowed for measurement of changes in demeanor as the police—citizen interaction developed, and our examination revealed that the demeanor of both officers and suspects changed during the encounters in a substantial number of cases.
New York University Press eBooks, May 26, 2020
Properly evaluating a use of force requires a working knowledge of the various force options. Thi... more Properly evaluating a use of force requires a working knowledge of the various force options. This chapter identifies two particularly relevant characteristics of any given option: how it works and its likely effects. With that framework in mind, readers are provided with a description of the tools, techniques, and weaponry that officers employ in use-of-force situations. From handcuffs to “flashbang” concussion grenades, from takedowns to chokeholds, from batons to electronic control weapons, and from firearms to experimental weaponry, just to name a few, this chapter provides detailed information about the nature of each force option, how it is generally taught and used in the policing context, and its attendant risks.
SpringerBriefs in criminology, Sep 16, 2014
There has been little systematic effort to examine the prevalence and factors that influence poli... more There has been little systematic effort to examine the prevalence and factors that influence police utilization of research and police practitioner-researcher partnerships in Australia as found in Chapter 2 in the United States. However, there has been a slow growth of partnerships between police and researchers in Australia, which has provided individuals with invaluable insight and experience into these relationships. This chapter provides this insight and experience from a senior police executive in Queensland Police Service.
Police Practice and Research, Jun 29, 2021
ABSTRACT Occupational stress influences many aspects of policing and can contribute to unacceptab... more ABSTRACT Occupational stress influences many aspects of policing and can contribute to unacceptable attitudes and behaviors among law enforcement officers. Specifically, officers with greater workload stressors may be more likely to hold attitudes favorable toward police misconduct. Yet, we predict that organizational justice may inhibit the effect of such stressors on attitudes toward misconduct. We used survey data from a sample of 437 police officers serving in eight California agencies to examine the role of organizational justice and workload stressor on officers’ beliefs in noble-cause corruption (e.g., an end justifies the means attitude). Officers who viewed their workload as taxing held stronger attitudes favorable toward noble-cause corruption (OR = 1.23, 95% CI [1.03, 1.46], p = .019). Furthermore, organizational justice moderated the effect of workload stressor on noble-cause corruption beliefs (OR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.57, 1.00], p = .049), such that workload had a weaker relationship with noble-cause corruption beliefs among officers who believed their command staff was organizationally fair. In the end, perceptions of fair supervisory treatment help buffer police officers from the negative consequences of an overburdened workload. From a practical standpoint, the results underscore the importance of police managers incorporating organizational justice into their managerial practices. However, whether police managers can be trained on the use of organizational justice remains open to empirical scrutiny.
SpringerBriefs in criminology, 2015
Criminal Justice and Behavior, Mar 1, 1998
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2023
Academic research aimed at measuring changes in officer behaviour typically focuses on agencies’ ... more Academic research aimed at measuring changes in officer behaviour typically focuses on agencies’ implementation of new training or modifications to policy. However, programmes to change officer behaviour are more likely to be successful when changes in policies are coupled with effective training. This paper reviews the importance of coupling training and policy changes to maximize the chances of modifying an officer’s behaviour. As an example, we present results from a quasi-experimental evaluation of a training programme paired with a policy modification regarding the application of an electronic control weapon (ECW). The evaluation used videos of a use-of-force encounter integrated into a pre- and post-survey asking officers for their recommended levels of force in the encounter. Results demonstrate that officers evaluated the circumstance differently after completing the training component and were less likely to recommend the use of the ECW.
Social Science Research Network, Apr 9, 2020
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 9, 2004
this and the following two chapters include descriptions and analyses of information provided by ... more this and the following two chapters include descriptions and analyses of information provided by the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD). This chapter reports the general findings from the MDPD control-of-persons reports, and should be read in conjunction with Chapter 4, which includes an analysis of the sequential actions of officers and suspects during encounters, and Chapter 5, which reviews the inconsistencies in reports from officers and suspects. The Miami-Dade Police Department provided complete access to their use-of-force and officer personnel files. Their cooperation allowed for a comprehensive review and analysis of all the use-of-force and personnel data and was instrumental in allowing the formulation of the framework given in Chapter 8, a framework that underpins this book. The data set from MDPD includes information from 1,038 official Miami-Dade Police Department control-of-persons reports from the years 1996, 1997, and 1998 (Table 3-1). These data are reported by the officer's supervisor after talking to the officer, suspect, and available witnesses. The department's computerized information and an analysis of the written reports were used to create the data set. Although differences existed between officer and suspect versions in 12 percent of the cases (Chapter 7), the analyses of computerized forms and the Force Factor calculations relied on the “official” version as reported by the supervisor. We begin our analysis of the Miami-Dade Police Department Control of Persons Reports with information on suspect characteristics and actions, then discuss arresting officer characteristics and actions, and analyses of the interaction patterns between officer and suspect.
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 9, 2004
this chapter focuses on the Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD), and mirrors work... more this chapter focuses on the Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD), and mirrors work done in conjunction with the Miami-Dade Police Department (Chapters 3 through 5). The PGPD section of this book includes descriptions of both officer and suspect characteristics and an analysis of the patterns of interaction of primary officers and suspects (both sober and impaired). Rather than dedicate an entire chapter to sequential analyses (as we do with MDPD in Chapter 5), we incorporate them into this chapter, largely because of the limited data available. As in Chapter 3, an officer's level of force is analyzed relative to the level of suspect resistance using the Force Factor, an index incorporating both officer force and suspect resistance. Due to limited data, we do not focus on the inconsistencies we were able to highlight in the Miami-Dade analysis. However, this chapter does make a significant contribution to the research in this field, and provides further support for both our findings in Chapter 7 and the conceptual framework we propose in Chapter 8. The data from PGPD were collected during the first six months of 1999 and are based on 244 incidents. The Prince George's County data did not have very many cases with low levels of resistance, which indicates that either force was not frequently used or reports were not filed unless there was significant resistance. It is unclear whether this indicates a reporting bias or a complete population of events.
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 9, 2004
this chapter summarizes the major findings of the original research reported in this book. The li... more this chapter summarizes the major findings of the original research reported in this book. The literature on police use of force has developed enormously over the years and draws on a variety of data sources, although it relies mainly on official agency records and observational studies. Each of these methods has its limitations. First, many agencies do not collect use-of-force information. Second, if the data are collected, they are often created by the officers who were involved in the action, which may bias the information. Third, the data are not uniform across agencies. Fourth, many agencies that collect information do not grant access to outside researchers. For these and other reasons we discuss, the study of police use of force is fraught with problems. Of course, other data can be used to examine an agency's use of force, including lawsuits, citizen complaints, and observational techniques, but, as we have seen, each of these methods also has its own shortcomings. Agencies that collect and maintain use-of-force data may only require them for specific types and/or high levels of force, and not for the full range of cases. For example, one agency may only require reports for incidents when an intermediate weapon is used, while another may have officers complete specialized forms for all force used beyond handcuffing and come-along holds. Making comparisons across agencies is therefore problematic and must be undertaken with caution.
Contemporary Sociology, Sep 1, 1989
The Socio-Cultural Context of Police-Citizen Relations in Dade County, Florida Methods of Data Co... more The Socio-Cultural Context of Police-Citizen Relations in Dade County, Florida Methods of Data Collection Police Task Evaluations Attitudes toward the Police and Policing Attitudes toward the Police and Other Social Institutions Conclusions: Police Task Evaluations Conclusions: Attitudes toward the Police and Policing Policing in the Community Bibliography Index
Journal of Experimental Criminology, Jan 28, 2023
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 9, 2004
in this chapter , we review the sequence of actions between officers and suspects from the moment... more in this chapter , we review the sequence of actions between officers and suspects from the moment the officer arrives on the scene. This interaction process is key to understanding how situations develop between officers and citizens and how force is used with regard to the interdependent actions (and reactions) of the officers and citizens. What the officer sees the suspect doing, how the officer responds, how the suspect responds to the officer's first action, and how the officer then responds to the suspect, all affect the sequence of events and the levels of suspect resistance and officer use of force. The result may be as benign as an officer peacefully questioning a suspect or as menacing as a deadly shoot-out. This chapter, then, is a first attempt to analyze these interactions in this way. Before we present our analysis, we give a brief discussion of several other attempts to look at the sequence of police–citizen interactions. Richard Sykes and Edward Brent (1983) analyzed routine police–citizen contacts by looking at encounters and utterances. Their research focused on the three decisions an officer must make in every encounter: defining the situation, ascertaining who is involved, and determining how the encounter should be handled. They observed 1,622 encounters in 1973, and recorded the sequence and temporal order of statements made by officers and civilians that referred to defining, controlling, resisting, and confirming the situation.
Policing & Society, Oct 27, 2017
New York University Press eBooks, May 26, 2020
The vast majority of the 18,000 police agencies in the United States have policies, procedures, a... more The vast majority of the 18,000 police agencies in the United States have policies, procedures, and training that govern officers’ uses of force. While there are notable consistencies and broad, though not universal, agreement on certain shared principles, there are significant variations in the details of how agencies draft and operationalize their administrative policies. This chapter explores how police agencies define “force” and “reportable force” for purposes of internal policy, and offers a detailed review of the conceptual models that are widely used as visual representations of administrative regulation: the forty-year-old but highly influential incremental models, force matrix and force continuum, as well as the more recent, but less widely adopted, situational tactical options and situational behavioral models. The chapter concludes by describing a dozen common components of administrative use-of-force policies.
Social Forces, Mar 1, 1991