Kevin Strom

The Influence of Social and Economic Disadvantage on Racial Patterns in Youth Homicide Over Time

Explanations for the increase in youth homicide in the mid-1980s and early 1990s focus predominantly on crack cocaine markets and related firearms effects. This study examines whether weakened social controls contributed to the escalation of youth homicide, independent of drug market effects. Specifically, the authors consider how city-level changes in social and economic disadvantage contributed to increases in race-specific youth homicide victimization. They find that structural factors played an important role in race- and age-specific youth homicide rates, independent of others factors, including drug arrests. City-level increases in social and economic disadvantage were positively associated with increases in Black teenage and young adult homicide rates and White teenage homicide rates. The implications of these findings for theories of homicide are discussed.

Effect of forensic evidence on criminal justice case processing

This study examined the role and impact of forensic evidence on case‐processing outcomes in a sample of 4205 criminal cases drawn from five U.S. jurisdictions. Regression analyses demonstrated that forensic evidence played a consistent and robust role in case‐processing decisions. Still, the influence of forensic evidence is time‐ and examination‐dependent: the collection of crime scene evidence was predictive of arrest, and the examination of evidence was predictive of referral for charges, as well as of charges being filed, conviction at trial, and sentence length. The only decision outcome in which forensic evidence did not have a general effect was with regard to guilty plea arrangements. More studies are needed on the filtering of forensic evidence in different crime categories, from the crime scene to its use by investigators, prosecutors, and fact‐finders, and to identify factors that shape decisions to collect evidence, submit it to laboratories, and request examinations.

Mapping Police Stress

Research on police stress has developed out of several theoretical frameworks, but the knowledge base is limited by a common reliance on self-report stress measures. This article describes an innovative approach to studying police stress that attempts to overcome some of these limitations by using direct, real-time, and spatially anchored measurement of an officer’s stress response (via heart rate) during shift work. A pilot study was conducted using a single officer to determine whether this methodology is feasible for future studies. The pilot study demonstrated that continuous heart rate measurement over the course of the test officer’s shift was possible and that these data could be placed in space-time context for purposes of exploring potential stress “hot spots.” Overall, the results indicate that the methodology is both feasible and suitable for systematic studies of police stress, with the potential to advance our understanding of when, where, and why officers experience stress. Potential benefits, limitations, challenges of implementation, and future directions are discussed.

Alcohol availability and youth homicide in the 91 largest US cities, 1984–2006

The aggregate relationship between homicide and alcohol availability is well established across a number of national and sub-national settings in North America, Europe and some parts of Asia. However, results linking youth homicide and alcohol availability at the retail level are largely absent from the literature, especially at the city level and across longer time periods. In a multivariate, pooled time series and cross-section study, youth homicide offending rates for two age groups, 13-17 and 18-24, were analysed for the 91 largest cities in the USA between 1984 and 2006. Data for social and economic characteristics, drug use, street gang activity and gun availability were also used as time series measures. Data on the availability of alcohol for each city were gathered from the US Census of Economic Activity, which is conducted every 5 years. These data were used to construct an annual time series for the density of retail alcohol outlets in each city. Results indicated that net of other variables, several of which had significant impacts on youth homicide, the density of alcohol outlets had a significant positive effect on youth homicide for those aged 13-17 and 18-24. Such positive effects have been found for adults in national and neighbourhood level studies, but this is the first study to report such evidence for teenagers and young adults. An important policy implication of these findings is that the reduction of the density of retail alcohol outlets in a city may be an effective tool for violent crime reduction among such youth.

The Impact of Residential and Nonresidential Drug Treatment on Recidivism Among Drug-Involved Probationers A Survival Analysis

A variety of approaches for addressing drug use and drug-related crime among the nearly 5 million offenders on community supervision in the United States has been tried and evaluated, but questions remain about which policies or programs are most effective. The authors use a large data set to assess the impact of residential and nonresidential drug treatment on recidivism. Propensity score matching is used to establish equivalent treatment and comparison groups and to enable comparisons of treatment type. Survival analysis is used to determine the extent to which each treatment modality and numerous covariates were associated with time until recidivism. Compared to those receiving no treatment, those receiving nonresidential treatment took longer to fail or recidivate. However, those receiving residential treatment did not differ from those who received no treatment in time to failure. In the treatment-only model, nonresidential treatment participants took longer to fail than their matched residential treatment counterparts.

Policing Juveniles: Domestic Violence Arrest Policies, Gender, and Police Response to Child–Parent Violence

This study analyzed the National Incident Based Reporting System data from 2000 to 2004 to determine how domestic violence arrest policies, along with incident, offender, and victim characteristics, influence arrest outcomes in violent incidents committed by juveniles against their parents. The authors’ primary interest was to assess whether the enforcement of domestic violence arrest laws, coupled with increased police involvement in familial disputes, has contributed to the decreasing gender gap in juvenile arrests for violent offenses. Results indicated that domestic violence arrest policies had positive effects on arrest outcomes both for juvenile females and males accused of assaulting a parent, as juveniles were more likely to be arrested in states with mandatory or pro-arrest policies than in states with discretionary arrest policies. However, there was also evidence that, beyond the effects of the domestic arrest laws, girls became increasingly more likely to be arrested for assaults against parents over the 5-year study period relative to boys. The implications for these findings are discussed, including the importance of a better understanding of how police respond to domestic violence incidents involving juveniles.

Crime Laboratory Personnel as Criminal Justice Decision Makers: A Study of Controlled Substance Case Processing in Ten Jurisdictions

Abstract The crime laboratory has not typically been thought of as a decision stage within the criminal justice process. However, increasing reliance on forensic evidence has led to necessary discretion about what types of cases to accept, what evidence to analyze, and how to prioritize workload. This article reports the results of semi-structured interviews conducted with state and local police agencies, prosecutors, and crime laboratory personnel in ten U.S. jurisdictions. The focus is on controlled substances cases, which represent a substantial proportion of the case workload for crime laboratories, as well as for the police and prosecutors. Results demonstrate that communication between crime laboratories, the police, and prosecutors is essential to maximizing the efficient use of limited laboratory resources. Poor communication can contribute to overflowing police evidence rooms, confusion about evidence retention policies, rushed and unnecessary laboratory requests, and the generation of “artificial backlogs” in crime laboratories. A key for improving coordination was the presence of effective laboratory submission guidelines and case tracking systems. These factors were associated with reductions in both the number of controlled substance cases pending analysis and the analysis turnaround time. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Interagency Coordination in Response to Terrorism: Promising Practices and Barriers Identified in Four Countries

Our nation’s ability to prepare for and respond to terrorism hinges on multiagency coordination. This study evaluates problems faced by law enforcement and public health agencies in multiagency response situations, drawing on rational choice theory to develop expectations about agencies’ abilities to cooperate on common policy goals. Expectations are evaluated using survey data collected from law enforcement and public health officials in four countries: USA, UK, Canada, and Ireland. Results identifying common barriers and promising practices for improving multiagency response indicate that the rational choice model explains some but not all of the findings on coordination.

Multiagency Coordination and Response: Case Study of the July 2005 London Bombings1

On July 7, 2005, terrorists carried out a series of bombings in Londons underground subway system and transportation network. Fifty‐two people were killed and more than 700 were injured. The authors of this study interviewed key staff from London agencies to evaluate the response to the London attacks and analyzed the responses using the General Coordination Model defined in prior research (Eyerman and Strom, 2005). Results indicate that the London coordination regime, which is characterized by a high level of preplanning, joint exercises, and regular improvement through constant use, minimized the effect of common barriers to multiagency response. Successful elements of the London response included the rapid recognition and declaration of a major incident; a successful command and control system that involved all key agencies and which was implemented quickly following the bombings; limited disagreement across agencies on roles and responsibilities; and, delivery of a single, unified media message.

Strategic Policing Philosophy and the Acquisition of Technology: Findings from a Nationally Representative Survey of Law Enforcement

ABSTRACT Police departments that emphasise certain strategic models (e.g. community-oriented policing, problem-oriented policing) may adopt specific types of technology to better achieve their core missions. A contrasting theory is that police agencies do not invest strategically in technology; rather, they adopt technology in a ‘black box’ without a larger plan for how a particular technology fits within the agency’s guiding philosophy or operational goals. Despite the importance of this discourse, very little research has been conducted to address these claims. Using survey data from a large and nationally representative sample of police agencies in the United States (N = 749), we examine whether strategic police goals are associated with technology use for six core technologies (crime mapping, social media, data mining software, car cameras, license plate readers (LPRs), and body-worn cameras (BWCs)). Nationally, across the sample of all US law enforcement agencies, we find little relationship between strategic goals and technology. Agency size, rather than policing philosophy was a more important determinant of technology use. However, stronger relationships between strategy and technology emerged when the analysis was limited to a subsample of larger agencies (250 or more sworn officers). Specifically, community and hot spot policing strategies were positively associated with the use of geographic information system technology, social media, and LPRs. Agencies who emphasised hot spot policing were also more likely to have used BWCs. Implications of these findings are discussed.