Nicholas A. Jones | University of Regina (original) (raw)

Technical Reports by Nicholas A. Jones

Although there are almost 70,000 police officers in Canada, fewer than 2,000 are directly engaged... more Although there are almost 70,000 police officers in Canada, fewer than 2,000 are directly engaged in Aboriginal policing. While representing a very small proportion of all Canadian officers and policing budgets, the manner in which First Nations communities are policed has profound long-term implications for the residents living there, especially given the high rates of crime and victimization in many of these places. In order to better understand the challenges of Aboriginal policing, this review first presents a context that includes a review of Aboriginal population trends and the demographic characteristics of that population. Having established a context for this study, a historical overview of Aboriginal policing in Canada is presented.The historical review is followed by an overview of the evolution of Aboriginal policing in Canada and in that section the following policy-related areas where our knowledge is not fully developed were identified. Different crime reduction strategies are reviewed, including information from Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

A telephone survey of 450 Regina residents conducted between September 17 and October 2, 2013 rev... more A telephone survey of 450 Regina residents conducted between September 17 and October 2, 2013 revealed that overall satisfaction with the Regina Police Service (RPS) was generally higher than the results presented in the 2011 RPS survey. The increase from 2011 to 2013 builds on the positive perceptions of the service that have been increasing since 2005. The following are some key findings:

• Over three-quarters (77.7%) of respondents ranked the overall quality of the RPS as very good to excellent.
• Three-quarters (75.5%) of respondents reported being highly or very satisfied with the overall level of service provided by the RPS.
• Almost four-fifths (79.5%) of respondents somewhat or strongly agreed that the RPS demonstrated professionalism in their work.
• Over three-quarters (77.3%) of respondents somewhat or strongly agreed that the RPS was an organization with integrity and honesty.
• Over four-fifths (86.7%) of respondents somewhat or strongly agreed having confidence in calling 911 in an emergency situation.

Almost two-thirds (63.5%) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that RPS officers were a visible presence in their community and 95.2% reported that the visibility of officers had remained the same or had increased in the previous year. This was a slight increase from the results reported in the 2011 survey and shows a continual upward trend since 2005. In 2013, 47% of the respondents reported that they had contact with the RPS in the previous year, which was the highest proportion since this question was asked in 2005. Of those who did have contact, 75.5% reported a high degree of satisfaction which had increased from 70.8% in the 2011 survey and was the highest reported level of satisfaction since that question was asked in 2006.

The purpose of this report was to shed light on the practice of disclosure in Saskatchewan using ... more The purpose of this report was to shed light on the practice of disclosure in Saskatchewan using information collected from justice-system practitioners and stakeholders, as well as practitioners from other provinces. Based on an analysis of their observations, four broad recommendations were generated that incorporated suggestions from the Saskatchewan participants, while also giving consideration to best practices reported by officials from other provinces who are grappling with similar issues. These recommendations fall under the broad themes of: 1) legal issues and requirements, 2) standardization of disclosure packages, 3) electronic forms of disclosure, and 4) transcription.

Papers by Nicholas A. Jones

Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2017

Journal of community safety & well-being, Mar 17, 2017

Faced with escalating crime rates and increasing demands for services, the Prince Albert Police S... more Faced with escalating crime rates and increasing demands for services, the Prince Albert Police Service led a mobilization effort to implement a crime/risk reduction strategy called Community Mobilization Prince Albert (CMPA). This study examines the evolution of crime prevention practices from traditional police-based practices that rely on focused enforcement practices, to the emerging risk reduction model, wherein police-led partnerships with community agencies are developing responses to the unmet needs of individuals and families facing acutely elevated risk (AER). These community mobilization strategies have resonated with justice system stakeholders throughout Canada, diffusing throughout the nation in a relatively short period of time. This study examines the outcomes of these crime prevention efforts and their results on reducing crime and social disorder and the associated costs of crime to society, after implementation of CMPA in 2011. In order to evaluate the crime reduction efficacy of this approach, crime rates and the costs of crime were examined prior to the adoption of the mobilization efforts and afterwards. We find a statistically significant decrease in the rates of violent and property crimes after the introduction of the community mobilization approach, and the costs to society of these offences also decreased. Given those findings, a number of implications for policy, practice, and future research are identified.

Canadian journal of criminology and criminal justice, 2019

The introduction of the First Nations Policing Program (FNPP) in 1992 was intended to provide pro... more The introduction of the First Nations Policing Program (FNPP) in 1992 was intended to provide professional and culturally appropriate policing responsive to community needs; however, there is considerable evidence that these efforts have fallen short of what was originally envisioned. This research examines perceptions about police work from a 2014 survey of 827 sworn officers policing Indigenous communities and draws some comparisons to the results of surveys conducted in 1996 and 2007 by different sets of researchers that asked the same questions of officers policing these places. Our results show that perceptions have changed: Officers in 2014 were less likely to favour key aspects of community policing, such as getting to know community members, soliciting help from the community, or getting help from community agencies, and a growing number of officers did not feel that Indigenous policing required a different policing style. We found these results varied according to the respondent's organizational affiliation and whether the individual was of Indigenous ancestry; additionally, as the proportion of non-Indigenous and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers increased, the support for community policing decreased. Given these findings, implications for a renewal of Indigenous policing are discussed.

Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Feb 9, 2018

Thousands of isolated communities across the globe are policed by officers who confront the chall... more Thousands of isolated communities across the globe are policed by officers who confront the challenges posed by distinctive geographic and environmental conditions, and many serve in places with a high proportion of economically and politically marginalized peoples in the population. This study reports the results of a survey soliciting the perceptions of 827 Canadian officers working in Indigenous communities; 260 of whom were deployed in isolated locations. Comparison of their responses using t-tests reveal that officers working in isolated communities confront a greater volume and seriousness of crime, and higher levels of social problems contrasted against their counterparts policing non-isolated communities. The results show that officers working in these locations develop a style of policing that is responsive to the characteristics of these places. Considering the perceptions of officers serving in isolated communities is an important step to consider when developing a list of best policing practices that are responsive to the needs of these places, regardless of where in the world they are located.

Safer Communities, Mar 29, 2013

PurposeThis research aimed to explore the characteristics of respondents who accessed a municipal... more PurposeThis research aimed to explore the characteristics of respondents who accessed a municipal police service's webpage or social media (Facebook or Twitter). Perceptions about the usefulness of social media in policing were solicited from the respondents.Design/methodology/approachSeveral survey items about social media were included in a study of trust and confidence in policing that was collected in two waves: a random telephone sample of 504 community residents and 314 university students.FindingsOne in five respondents had accessed the police service's webpage, while 6.9 percent had accessed their Twitter feed and 5.4 percent had viewed their Facebook site. Social media users tended to be younger and better educated while respondents over 65 years of age rarely accessed these tools. Younger respondents reported that computer‐based methods of communication were useful whether they had accessed these services or not. Older non‐users, by contrast, saw little future value in social media. Chi‐square analyses revealed that users of social media had more confidence in the police as well as greater overall satisfaction with the police.Research limitations/implicationsParticipants were from a medium‐sized Canadian city and the results might not be generalizable to other populations.Practical implicationsSocial media campaigns should be planned and target demographic groups likely to receive the intended message. Younger and better educated residents are the highest users of these services. Computer‐based media campaigns targeting senior citizens will likely be ineffective given their low participation in accessing social media and lack of interest in these methods of communication.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to examine the recipients of social media and their perceptions of the usefulness of computer‐based communication for law enforcement.

BMC Psychology

Background Public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., border services personnel, correctional workers, f... more Background Public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., border services personnel, correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, police, public safety communicators) are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events. Such events contribute to substantial and growing challenges from posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSIs), including but not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder. Methods The current protocol paper describes the PSP PTSI Study (i.e., design, measures, materials, hypotheses, planned analyses, expected implications, and limitations), which was originally designed to evaluate an evidence-informed, proactive system of mental health assessment and training among Royal Canadian Mounted Police for delivery among diverse PSP (i.e., firefighters, municipal police, paramedics, public safety communicators). Specifically, the PSP PTSI Study will: (1) adapt, implement, and assess the impact of a system for ongoing (i.e., annual, monthly, daily) evidence-based assessm...

Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2018

Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 2017

Canadian public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, par... more Canadian public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers) are exposed to potentially traumatic events as a function of their work. Such exposures contribute to the risk of developing clinically significant symptoms related to mental disorders. The current study was designed to provide estimates of mental disorder symptom frequencies and severities for Canadian PSP. An online survey was made available in English or French from September 2016 to January 2017. The survey assessed current symptoms, and participation was solicited from national PSP agencies and advocacy groups. Estimates were derived using well-validated screening measures. There were 5813 participants (32.5% women) who were grouped into 6 categories (i.e., call center operators/dispatchers, correctional workers, firefighters, municipal/provincial police, paramedics, Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Substantial proportions of participants reported current sy...

A key goal of this study was to review the economics, management, and policing literatures to ide... more A key goal of this study was to review the economics, management, and policing literatures to identify current trends in respect to the relationships between economics and policing, including how police services in other nations have managed austerity. With respect to the structure of this report, the first section provides a short overview of global, U.S., and Canadian economic conditions at the start of 2014. That section is followed by a review of strategies police services in other nations have used to respond to economic downturns. The results of our examination of the costs and value of policing in Canada are then presented. Prior U.S. research that has examined the costs and benefits of policing is reported, including a description of the RAND cost of crime calculator and how it was adapted to the Canadian context and a discussion of the methodology involved. The report ends with a discussion of reimagining Canadian policing in light of current economic conditions.

The Routledge International Handbook of Rural Criminology, 2016

Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, Mar 17, 2017

Rwanda’s 1994 genocide lasted only three months, yet a staggering number of citizens were murdere... more Rwanda’s 1994 genocide lasted only three months, yet a staggering number of citizens were murdered (estimates range between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people), mostly by machete. Much of this mass killing occurred in communities, with neighbor killing neighbor. Victims were killed in their homes, farms, and (quite commonly) their churches. After the genocide, Rwanda was faced with the Herculean task of holding trials for over 100,000 of its citizens. Clearly, this would not be possible using the regular judiciary system, which was incapable of trying so many cases and had lost approximately 75% of its judges in the genocide. Simply put, the country needed to dramatically revise the traditional methods for bringing such cases to trial. Because the mass murder in Rwanda took place in communities, the government chose to process most criminal cases using community-based courts. In The Courts of Genocide, Nicholas Jones reviews the process by which these courts were created, and other how other formalized courts (specifically, the Rwandan National Judiciary and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda or ICTR) were used to handle the most egregious of cases. Jones also discusses the process by which a legal system was created to handle the unique situation in Rwanda, as well as the method by which law was created with substantial input from the community rather than legislators. In short, Rwanda’s community came together to create the legal basis and the process for trying offenders. Rather than a simple review of Rwanda’s court system in the aftermath of the genocide, Dr. Jones interweaves two major themes throughout his discussion. First, it is apparent that the culture of Rwanda, with a heavy focus on community governance and civil responsibility, must dictate the types of legal systems used to try and punish offenders. This includes the importance of responsive regulation as a method of creating law and dictating punishments, and the degree to which a liberal-legalistic framework is adopted to try cases. Second, he incorporates a discussion of the “culture of impunity” that existed prior to the genocide, in which violence against ethnic minorities (mostly Tutsi) was allowed to continue without punishment. Jones spends a significant amount of time in his book tracing the creation of the gacaca courts. These community-based courts are relatively unique to Rwanda – “judges” are selected from the population based on their perceived wisdom and fairness. The use of these courts allowed for regional variations in justice, and they were also able to handle far more cases than the formal courts. The use of community-based courts serves to facilitate restorative justice as well as community service – an important part of Rwandan culture. Given the number of community members needed for the gacaca courts to operate, one can see how a focus on community service is necessary to implement a community-based solution on this scale.

Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice

Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2017

Journal of community safety & well-being, Mar 17, 2017

Canadian journal of criminology and criminal justice, 2019

Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Feb 9, 2018

Safer Communities, Mar 29, 2013

BMC Psychology

Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2018

Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 2017

The Routledge International Handbook of Rural Criminology, 2016

Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, Mar 17, 2017

Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice

Cognitive behaviour therapy, Jan 18, 2018

Police agencies increasingly implement training programs to protect mental health. The Road to Me... more Police agencies increasingly implement training programs to protect mental health. The Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) program was designed by the Canadian military to increase mental health resilience. A version of R2MR was adapted for municipal police by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC). The current research was designed to assess the R2MR program, as adapted and delivered by the MHCC, in a municipal police sample. Participants were 147 Canadian police agency employees (57% women) who received a single R2MR training session. Participants completed pre- and post-training self-report questionnaires, and follow-ups at 6 and 12 months. The questionnaires assessed mental health symptoms, work engagement, resiliency, mental health knowledge, and stigma. Multilevel modeling analyses assessed for within-participant changes over time. The results were consistent with other single session interventions; specifically, there were no significant changes in mental health symptoms, ...

International Criminal Justice Review

The establishment of the Indian Residential Schools by the Canadian federal government to assimil... more The establishment of the Indian Residential Schools by the Canadian federal government to assimilate indigenous peoples to European and Christian ideals has had generational repercussions on Canada’s indigenous peoples. Many emotional, physical, and sexual abuses occurred within these schools resulting in significant trauma within this population. In order to shed light on these impacts, indigenous women were interviewed about their experiences with these schools. Thematic network analysis was used to analyze the data, and a number of themes emerged, including identifying the relationships between residential schools, intergenerational trauma, and the normalization of intimate partner violence (IPV) in domestic relationships. The findings add to the existing discourse on IPV in indigenous populations and may be used to inform violence reduction strategies.