Larry K. Gaines

AN ANALYSIS OF TRAFFIC STOP DATA IN RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA

This article describes a traffic stop study in Riverside, California, with an effort to identify evidence of racial profiling. Racial profiling was defined using the California Statute, which is limited relative to other definitions. All traffic stops for 2003 were examined. The data were disaggregated into stops made by the traffic unit and stops made by patrol and investigative units. No disparity was found in the traffic unit stops, but there was minority over-representation in the patrol and investigative stops, but differences were not statistically significant. The patrol and investigative stops were then correlated with the crime and calls for service for the department’s 133 reporting districts, which produced high correlations. Race and ethnicity of those stopped were correlated with racial and ethnic suspect information in the reporting districts, and it was found that there were high correlations. In addition, the dispositions of stops were examined by race and ethnicity.

An Examination of Police Officers’ Insights Into Problem Identification and Problem Solving

Problem solving begins with problem identification. Conventional knowledge suggests that because patrol officers work specific geographical areas (beats) on a fairly constant basis, they come to see where the problems exist; thus, police experience alone can be relied on to identify crime problems. However, few have examined whether officers are effective in identifying problems in their areas. This research examined the consistency of officer problem identification across focus groups for an entire police department in terms of the kinds of problems identified, the location of problems, and the suggested responses. Although there was little consistency across focus groups, officers were able to identify specific sites or properties thought to generate high levels of disorder-related calls. Solutions to crime problems tended to involve increased police presence for complex problems affecting areas and crime prevention for specific sites facing single-crime problems.

Citizen police academies: Observing goals, objectives, and recent trends

The American police establishment is concentrating on a number of citizen-based tactics in an attempt to embrace the principles of community policing. One approach receiving widespread attention is the Citizen Police Academy. The idea of a Citizen Police Academy is being adopted at a phenomenal rate by a variety of law enforcement agencies. Administrators assume that the Citizen Police Academy is an effective technique for interacting with community members. The present research verifies the growth in this area and provides the first major descriptive analysis of this phenomenon.

Country Comfort: Vice and Corruption in Rural Settings

ABSTRACT This article provides an in-depth examination of rural organized crime. Organized crime studies traditionally have focused on urban criminality; this study discusses its rural form. Types of participants, patterns of criminality, and relationships with political and law enforcement corruption are detailed. Although there are differences between urban and rural organized crime, it tends to exhibit some similarities regardless of setting.

Community-Oriented Policing: Management Issues, Concerns, and Problems

Community-oriented policing, as an operational alternative, seems to be sweeping the law enforcement community. More literature is devoted to community-oriented policing; the professional police associations have advocated itas the primary strategy to deal with today’s police problems, and police executives throughout the country are claiming it as their primary strategy to handle with community problems. The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) has supported problem-oriented policing (a variation of community-oriented policing) in several jurisdictions as well as sponsored several publications extolling its virtues. The Police Foundation has chosen a similar path by assisting with the implementation of community-oriented policing in several jurisdictions. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) for the past several years has offered seminars devoted to community-oriented policing at its annual meetings, and it has provided additional coverage of community-oriented policing in its

Examining Delinquent Nongang Members and Delinquent Gang Members A Comparison of Juvenile Probationers at Intake and Outcomes

This study examines differences between juvenile gang and nongang members participating in a juvenile probation program designed to identify and intervene with youth considered to be high risk for subsequent criminal and delinquent activity. After participating in the Multidisciplinary Team Program, both gang and nongang members significantly improved their grade point average, lowered the number of classes missed, and reduced the number of suspensions. Both groups also improved on family functioning and a decrease in reported alcohol and substance abuse. There were also improvements for gang and nongang members concerning subsequent delinquent activity. The results suggest that at some levels, gang affiliation is not an impediment to treatment programming. A limitation to the study was that gang membership was based on self-report and law enforcement identification, which results in false positive and false negative designations. Additionally, the nongang group may have included youths who escaped being identified as gang members.

Comparing the Effects of Treatment on Female Juvenile Gang and Non-Gang Members

Abstract Most research indicates that males comprise the greatest proportion of gang members. Since the 1990s, however, there has been an increasing interest in female gangs and gang members. The current study builds on this research interest by examining differences between female gang members and non-gang members who participated in a juvenile probation program designed to identify and intervene with youth considered to be high risk for subsequent criminal and delinquent activity. The results of a logistic regression analysis revealed that two factors significantly influenced a female offenders likelihood of being rearrested: she did not complete the program, and she did not live with her natural parent(s). We conclude that the significant results do support findings from previous research in this area; we also discuss possible explanations as to why other factors were not significantly related to rearrests.