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1. Camera Point-of-View Exacerbates Racial Bias in Viewers of Police Use of Force Videos

   https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqab002  

   Bailey, Rachel L; Read, Glenna L; Yan, YaoJun Harry; Liu, Jiawei; Makin, David A; Willits, Dale (April 2021, Journal of Communication)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract The implementation of body-worn cameras (BWC) by policing agencies has received widespread support from many individuals, including citizens and police officers. Despite their increasing prevalence, little is known about how the point-of-view (POV) of these cameras affects perceptions of viewers. In this research, we investigate how POV interacts with skin color of citizens in police use of force videos to affect perceptions of procedural justice. In an experimental study, participants watched eight police use of force videos—half recorded from BWC and half from an onlooker’s perspective—in which skin tone of the citizen varied. Results indicate that POV interacts with citizen skin tone such that, compared to the onlooker perspective, the BWC exacerbated viewer racial bias against dark skin tone citizens. Furthermore, identification with the police officer fully mediated this relationship. Results are discussed in relation to media theory and practical implications. 

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2. Identifying misconduct-committing officer crews in the Chicago police department

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267217  

   Jain, Akshay; Sinclair, Rajiv; Papachristos, Andrew V. (May 2022, PLOS ONE)

   Jackson, Jonathan (Ed.)

   Explanations for police misconduct often center on a narrow notion of “problem officers,” the proverbial “bad apples.” Such an individualistic approach not only ignores the larger systemic problems of policing but also takes for granted the group-based nature of police work. Nearly all of police work is group-based and officers’ formal and informal networks can impact behavior, including misconduct. In extreme cases, groups of officers (what we refer to as, “crews”) have even been observed to coordinate their abusive and even criminal behaviors. This study adopts a social network and machine learning approach to empirically investigate the presence and impact of officer crews engaging in alleged misconduct in a major U.S. city: Chicago, IL. Using data on Chicago police officers between 1971 and 2018, we identify potential crews and analyze their impact on alleged misconduct and violence. Results detected approximately 160 possible crews, comprised of less than 4% of all Chicago police officers. Officers in these crews were involved in an outsized amount of alleged and actual misconduct, accounting for approximately 25% of all use of force complaints, city payouts for civil and criminal litigations, and police-involved shootings. The detected crews also contributed to racial disparities in arrests and civilian complaints, generating nearly 18% of all complaints filed by Black Chicagoans and 14% of complaints filed by Hispanic Chicagoans. 

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3. Law enforcement training using simulation for locally customized encounters

   https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2022.960146  

   Kent, Julie A; Hughes, Charles E (September 2022, Frontiers in Virtual Reality)

   Law enforcement professionals require up to date training for interacting with individuals on the autism spectrum in a manner that facilitates positive citizen response. Although these officers interact with the public regularly, they may only have sporadic interactions with citizens who are not neurotypical. The timing of these interactions is not easy to predict; therefore, it is important to provide regular opportunities to practice contacts with special needs communities. However, in much the same way that it can be difficult to provide regular sessions with other protected groups of people, it is not practical to pull individuals on the autism spectrum to participate in law enforcement training. Role play with neurotypical individuals and classroom training presenting facts about autism do little to prepare these officers for their real-world encounters. Virtual interactions with people on the autism spectrum allow officers to practice techniques without compromising the health and safety of the communities they serve. This paper presents results of a study comparing police training through experiences in virtual reality (VR) with video training regarding police interactions with individuals on the autism spectrum. Police officers in a municipal police department who participated in the study were divided into three groups for continuing training purposes. One group received video training, one group received practice in VR, and one group received training through both video and VR. The differences in training method did not result in significant differences in training effectiveness. However, subjective data did support the efficacy of practice in a virtual setting. This project addressed three important challenges with training in VR. First, the team needed to define the specifics of behavior and language that the simulated individuals would exhibit. Second, the VR had to be tailored to be relevant to the officers participating. Third and finally, the schedule for training delivery had to minimize the time that officers were away from their assigned duties. Officer feedback on their training experiences indicated the approach to these challenges was well-received. The primary research question is whether training in VR is any more effective that watching a training video. 

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4. Exploring and Understanding Law Enforcement’s Relationship with Technology: A Qualitative Interview Study of Police Officers in North Carolina

   https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063887  

   Dempsey, Ronald P.; Brunet, James R.; Dubljević, Veljko (March 2023, Applied Sciences)

   Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into law enforcement has become a concern of contemporary politics and public discourse. In this paper, we qualitatively examine the perspectives of AI technologies based on 20 semi-structured interviews of law enforcement professionals in North Carolina. We investigate how integrating AI technologies, such as predictive policing and autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, impacts the relationships between communities and police jurisdictions. The evidence suggests that police officers maintain that AI plays a limited role in policing but believe the technologies will continue to expand, improving public safety and increasing policing capability. Conversely, police officers believe that AI will not necessarily increase trust between police and the community, citing ethical concerns and the potential to infringe on civil rights. It is thus argued that the trends toward integrating AI technologies into law enforcement are not without risk. Policymaking guided by public consensus and collaborative discussion with law enforcement professionals must aim to promote accountability through the application of responsible design of AI in policing with an end state of providing societal benefits and mitigating harm to the populace. Society has a moral obligation to mitigate the detrimental consequences of fully integrating AI technologies into law enforcement. 

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5. Supporting social hierarchy is associated with White police officers’ use of force

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007693118  

   Swencionis, Jillian K.; Pouget, Enrique R.; Goff, Phillip Atiba (April 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   null (Ed.)

   Three studies translate social dominance theory to policing, testing the relationship between individual officers’ endorsement of social hierarchies and their tendency to use force against residents. This article demonstrates a link between officer psychological factors and force. Because police are empowered to use force to maintain social order, and because White officers hold a dominant racial identity, we hypothesized social dominance orientation (SDO) would relate to force positively for White officers. For Black officers, we hypothesized a weak relationship between SDO and force, if any. To test these predictions, we examined the relationships between SDO and force using negative binomial regression models stratified by officer race. In an eastern city, SDO relates to force incidents positively for White officers and negatively for Black officers. In a southern city, SDO relates to force positively for White officers, and not significantly for Black officers. Stratified by race and rank, a second eastern city shows a marginally significant, positive SDO/force relationship for White patrol officers, and no significant SDO/force relationship for Black patrol officers. Finally, testing our hypotheses on a dataset pooled across these cities revealed a positive SDO/force relationship among White officers, and no significant SDO/force relationship among Black officers. These findings are consistent with our hypotheses and suggest a need to examine the role that maintaining social hierarchies plays in police behaviors. Future research must continue to investigate these relationships, especially with larger samples of non-White officers, and information about officers’ patrol environments. 

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