Christopher M. Donner

Low self-control and cybercrime: Exploring the utility of the general theory of crime beyond digital piracy

While technological innovations over the last thirty years have markedly improved the ways in which people communicate and gather information, these advances have also led to computer crimes and related deviance becoming permanent fixtures in our society. In an effort to curtail internet offending, it is important for academics and practitioners alike to better understand why some individuals engage in cybercriminality. Criminologists have utilized several theories to investigate this type of deviance, including low self-control theory. However, the vast majority of this prior research has focused on a narrow scope of offending, namely digital piracy. The current study utilizes a sample of 488 undergraduate students to evaluate the theory’s generality hypothesis by examining the extent to which low self-control predicts online deviance in general and beyond digital piracy more specifically. Study results support the generality hypothesis in that low self-control is related to non-digital piracy online deviance. Specific findings, policy implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

Low Self-Control and Police Deviance: Applying Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory to Officer Misconduct

Prior research assessing police misconduct has generally focused on prevalence and demographic correlates while neglecting traditional criminological theories. Some recent research has begun to fill the void in this area, but the link between self-control and police misconduct has yet to be explored. The current study utilizes a behavioral measure of self-control to evaluate the extent to which low self-control predicts police misconduct. Data from a sample of 1,935 police officers from the Philadelphia Police Department are analyzed, and the results generally indicate that low self-control is related to police misconduct. Specific findings, policy implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

The Relationship Between Self-Control and Police Misconduct A Multi-Agency Study of First-Line Police Supervisors

Prior research has identified several individual, organizational, and community-level correlates of police misconduct, but studies based on theoretical explanations have only recently emerged in the literature. The purpose of the current study was to examine the potential relationship between self-control and police misconduct using both Gottfredson and Hirschi’s original version of self-control theory and Hirschi’s revised version of the theory. Data from a multi-agency sample of 101 first-line police supervisors demonstrated that self-control, as measured by both conceptualizations of the theory, was significantly related to self-reported prior engagement in police misconduct as well as the likelihood of future misconduct. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical and policy implications, as well as in terms of study limitations and directions for future research.

Quick on the Draw

Police officers have a continuum of force options available to them, but, without question, the most extreme of these options is deadly force. Recent officer-involved shootings in the United States, and their subsequent media attention, have placed police use of deadly force at the forefront of political, academic, and policy conversations. While the extant literature has uncovered numerous structural, organizational, and situational predictors of police shootings, studies to date are more limited with respect to individual-level factors and have essentially ignored criminological theoretical constructs. Using Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime as a theoretical framework, the current study fills a gap in the literature by using personal and agency records of 1,935 Philadelphia police officers to examine the relationship between low self-control and officer-involved shootings. The results indicate that officers with lower self-control are significantly more likely to have been involved in a police shooting.

Life-Course Criminology

It is well understood that crime is mostly committed by young people (adolescents and young adults) and that most eventually “age out” of crime. Thus, it is critical to study crime and deviance through a developmental and life-course lens. This perspective assumes that behavior is affected by life-course factors, and that the evolution of offending over the life course contains elements of both continuity and change. Though relatively new to the criminological literature, this perspective has garnered significant attention and empirical support, and it remains one of the leading theoretical approaches in contemporary criminology. Keywords: Age; Crime; Criminology; Developmental Disorders; Genetics

Police CEOs and subordinates’ perceptions of workplace misconduct: Examining the effect of demographic similarity on attitudinal congruence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether homophily – whereby people are influenced by those perceived as similar to themselves – affects attitudes toward police misconduct. Specifically, whether demographic dissimilarity between police chief executive law enforcement officers (CEOs) and subordinates is related to differences in perceptions of misconduct. Design/methodology/approach The data for this research are drawn from the National Police Research Platform. Multilevel mixed-effects regression modeling is used to analyze data from 78 randomly selected US police agencies (78 law enforcement CEOs and 10,709 officers from those agencies). Findings The main finding is that demographic dissimilarity between the CEO and subordinates is associated with differences in attitudes about police deviance, net of other factors. Practical implications The results exemplify the need to diversify police agencies at all levels, not just the lower ranks. Because employees were found to be more similar to those one step (up or down) from one another on the organizational hierarchy, diversifying at all levels of the police organizations will help to reduce the social distance between those in closer ranks, which could ameliorate the dissimilarity effect. Likewise, police agencies may need to adopt new management strategies to compensate for a diversifying workforce. Originality/value This study builds on previous research and investigates an understudied topic in the policing literature by assessing the extent to which dissimilarity is related to attitudinal congruence about workplace deviance in police organizations.

Organizational cynicism in policing: Examining the development and growth of cynicism among new police recruits

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational cynicism (OC) among new police officers. Specifically, this paper investigates what factors are predictive of baseline levels of OC among police recruits and the growth of cynicism over time in these young officers. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study are drawn from Phase I of the National Police Research Platform. Latent growth curve modeling is used to analyze data on 760 police recruits across five geographically diverse training academies within three distinct time periods (first day of academy, just before graduation, and six months post-graduation) to assess the development of OC in new police officers. Findings Several variables, including gender, race, and relations in policing exerted significant effects on a baseline level of OC and on growth in cynicism over time. Practical implications OC is an important topic for police administrators. Cynicism among employees can lead to undesirable organizational outcomes such as low job morale and satisfaction. Thus, it is important for police administrators to better understand the development and growth of OC in its personnel, particularly in new police officers. Originality/value This study builds on previous research and investigates an understudied topic in the literature by assessing the development and growth of OC among new police officers.

The General Nature of Online and Off-Line Offending Among College Students

While online offending has been found to be a specialized phenomenon, most literature on criminality indicates that offending behavior over the life course is of a general nature, which is consistent with Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime. Utilizing data collected from a large sample of 502 undergraduate college students, this study examined the extent to which college students commit off-line offending as compared with online offending. Results from a series of bivariate and multivariate analyses indicated support for conceptualizing online offending as part of a more general offending repertoire rather than as a specialty. Detailed findings, study limitations, and implications for both criminal career research and the specialization debate are also discussed.

The effects of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police and citizen outcomes

The purpose of this paper is to review the extant of the published literature on body-worn cameras (BWCs) in policing, specifically in the context of how BWCs affect both citizens and officers.,The current study is a narrative review of the impact of BWCs on police and citizens generated through a search of four repositories (Google Scholar, Criminal Justice Abstracts, EBSCO Host, PsychInfo).,The current narrative review identified 21 articles that matched the selection criteria. In general, this body of research demonstrates that: the police are supportive of BWC adoption; the evidence from BWC evaluations suggests that the use of BWCs can have benefits for police-public encounters.,The practical implications derived from this narrative review suggest police administrators that the adoption and effective implementation of BWCs are one mechanism that can strengthen police-community relationships and decrease police misconduct through enhanced legitimacy and accountability.,This study is useful for researchers who wish to further examine BWC issues in policing, for police managers/administrators who are currently utilizing BWC technology, and for those who are considering adopting BWC technology.

Can community policing increase residents’ informal social control? Testing the impact of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy

Abstract This study examines whether community policing can build informal social control. Specifically, this paper assesses the impact of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) in Chicago neighborhoods. The data for this research are drawn from both the Community Survey of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) and the CAPS Prototype Panel Survey. Bivariate and multivariate methods are used to analyze data gathered from 8782 residents nested within 343 neighborhood clusters. Initially, community policing was found to increase informal social control, but this effect was rendered non-significant after controlling for theoretically and empirically relevant variables. Several social (dis)organization variables, as well as satisfaction with policing services, yielded significant effects in a multilevel regression model. Further analysis found that the community policing effect on informal social control was mediated through satisfaction with the police. These findings indicate indirect support for the ability of community policing to build informal social control and suggest that general satisfaction with the police is important to neighborhood crime control strategies.