Matthew C. Matusiak

The legacy of LEMAS

Purpose – Since 1987, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has periodically collected data from police agencies in the USA and disseminated these data as the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) series. The purpose of this paper is to outline LEMASs impact on criminal justice scholarship by describing the nexus between policing scholarship and LEMAS, and by analyzing the LEMAS constructs and variables used by researchers in refereed journal articles. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic review of the literature is undertaken to better comprehend how scholars use LEMAS variables and constructs. In total, 114 peer-reviewed journal articles were analyzed to parcel out variables and constructs derived from LEMAS data. Findings – The papers analysis reveals that LEMAS is the second-most used BJS data series and the majority of authors use LEMAS to measure elements of organizational structure but not organizational behaviors, outcomes, or outputs. Originality/value – The st...

Forensic Evidence and Criminal Investigations: The Impact of Ballistics Information on the Investigation of Violent Crime in Nine Cities,

We explore the impact of information from ballistics imaging hit reports on the investigation into violent crimes. Ballistics imaging hits link two crimes involving the same firearm by forensically matching tool marks on the fired bullets or cartridge cases. Interview data collected from detectives who received a hit report were used to explore the relationship between the presence of a hit report and outcomes in 65 gun‐related violent crime investigations in nine U.S. police agencies. Findings indicate hit reports rarely contribute to identification, arrest, charging, or sentencing of suspects, because of delays in producing hit reports. On average, hit reports were completed 181.4 days after the focal crime. This delay forces investigations to proceed without the benefit of information from ballistics analysis. Additionally, hit reports rarely contained detailed information that was immediately useful to investigators. Instead, hit reports required additional research by the investigator to unlock useful information.

How perceptions of the institutional environment shape organizational priorities: findings from a survey of police chiefs

Abstract A long tradition of research has examined the influence of organizational environments on criminal justice agencies. Based on survey data from a sample of local police chiefs, this study explores the effects of the institutional environment on police agency priorities. Specifically, we investigate how the perceived importance of different sectors of the institutional environment influences police agency priorities, as reported by police chiefs. The analyses reveal that certain sectors of the institutional environment exert greater influence on police organizational priorities than others. Moreover, the influence of institutional sectors differs according to the specific type of priority. Our findings reveal that institutional considerations exert more consistent effects on the importance of maintaining relationships with constituents than on maintaining law and order or adopting innovative practices. We draw on institutional theory in explaining the study’s findings.

“We Fight against Wrong Doers”: Law Enforcement Rangers’ Roles, Responsibilities, and Patrol Operations in Uganda

ABSTRACT Research examining wildlife law enforcement has steadily grown within recent years. Few studies, however, are based outside of the United States. Furthermore, studies that have examined wildlife law enforcement in other settings, including African countries, have primarily focused on quantifying the effectiveness of patrol activities, but little is known about actual patrol activities. Based on interviews and participant observation, this research attempts to contribute to both the criminal justice and conservation science literature by providing an in-depth qualitative investigation of law enforcement rangers’ roles, responsibilities, and patrol operations in a protected area in Uganda.

Testing the Effects of People, Processes, and Technology on Ballistic Evidence Processing Productivity

Automated ballistic imaging technology is a potentially effective tool for improving the investigation and prosecution of violent crime involving guns. This technology enables crime laboratories and law enforcement agencies to link crimes committed with the same gun. Yet, in many localities, structural and procedural constraints hamper the potential effectiveness of ballistic imaging as an investigative tool. This study examines the impact of new personnel, processes, and technology on ballistic evidence processing productivity in the Stockton Police Department’s Firearms Unit. Using interrupted time series analysis, we examine the impact of several organizational changes on ballistic evidence processing productivity. Our findings demonstrate that the Stockton Police Department achieved rapid improvements in its ballistic evidence processing capacity. The study shows how introducing key organizational changes in a police department or a crime laboratory can generate disproportionate impacts on ballistic evidence processing productivity.

The Progression of “Evolving Standards of Decency” in U.S. Supreme Court Decisions:

The non-static interpretation of the Eighth Amendment was first introduced by the U.S. Supreme Court in Weems v. United States. It was further named “evolving standards of decency,” in Trop v. Dulles. Although evolving standards of decency began as dicta, the principle is now enshrined constitutional doctrine. This article traces the history and application of evidence in identifying evolving standards of decency, from its philosophical origins through its influence on recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The article concludes by tracing the Court’s post hoc rationalization, which makes use of the doctrine controversial.

Environmental Predictors of Municipal Police Agency Goals

Applications of organizational theory to police organizations frequently employ the framework of structural contingency or institutional theories. The current study seeks to evaluate the impact of both technical and institutional environmental aspects of policing on the goals of municipal police agencies. The influence of a combination of environmental contingencies and chiefs’ ratings of institutional sectors is explored to assess which theory better explains chiefs’ emphasis on police agency goals. Relying on ordinary least squares regression models, the impact of two competing theoretical frameworks is assessed. Findings suggest that chiefs’ demographics (control variables) and legitimacy (institutional) factors have a greater impact than technical (structural contingency theory) elements on the goals that chiefs emphasize within their agencies. Potential theoretical advancement employing public sector agencies is also presented.

Structural elaboration in police organizations: an exploration

Purpose The current research explores the structural elaboration of municipal American police organizations, specifically, the structural complexity of police organizations and its relationship to time. The purpose of this paper is to describe and test essential elements of the structural elaboration hypothesis. Design/methodology/approach The authors explore the structural elaboration hypothesis utilizing a sample of 219 large police departments across the USA. Data are drawn from multiple waves of the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey and are analyzed using tobit and OLS regression techniques. Findings While there is some evidence that police departments are becoming more elaborate, little evidence for the structural elaboration hypothesis as a function of time is found. Originality/value This project is the first to specifically explore the structural elaboration hypothesis across multiple time points. Additionally, results highlight structural trends across a panel of large American police organizations and provide potential explanations for changes. Suggestions for large-scale policing data collection are also provided.

Does agency type matter? A comparison of chiefs’ perceptions of the institutional environment across three agency types

ABSTRACT Research has found that police chiefs’ perceptions of the institutional environment impacts how chiefs define and prioritise agency goals. Previous literature assessing this impact has focused solely on local police departments in the USA. It is reasonable, however, to assume that leaders of different types of agencies prioritise sectors of their institutional environment differently leading to the prioritisation of different goals. Employing survey data that requested chiefs’ ratings of potential constituent influence, the current study seeks to identify the differences in American agencies between chiefs of Independent School District, special jurisdiction, and municipal police departments in perceptions of their institutional environment and subsequent goal setting. Analysis of variance and ordinary least-squares regression results do indicate variation across agency types. Institutional theory is utilised to frame our discussion of findings.

Organizational and environmental determinants of ballistics imaging productivity in United States crime laboratories

Abstract This study employs a structural contingency theory framework to assess the influence of the formal organizational structure of crime laboratories and their environments, on the productivity of labs’ ballistics imaging systems. We contribute to the nascent evolution of organizational focus in forensics while exploring different ways in which overall lab performance can be conceptualized. We analyze data provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN), and data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2009. Three Negative Binomial models regressed the organizational and environmental variables on the productivity of crime labs, operationalized as their ability to produce bullet, brass, and total hits. Results indicate that in addition to the number of bullet and brass inputs, local labs are more productive in identifying ballistics imaging hits. Additionally, larger labs with a greater proportion of firearms requests and the ability to process those requests produce more hits. Although the current research did not find that organizational structure significantly predicted labs’ productivity, the importance of the population of bullet and brass inputs was clearly evident. Additionally, jurisdiction plays a vital role in the production of hits.