Samuel Walker

* Searching for the Denominator: Problems With Police Traffic Stop Data And an Early Warning System Solution

In response to widespread allegations of racial and ethnic discrimination in traffic stops, a practice that has been labeled “racial profiling,” law enforcement agencies are now collecting data on traffic stops that include the race or ethnicity of drivers. Interpreting these data to determine whether a pattern of race discrimination exists poses enormous difficulties. Specifically, it is not clear what baseline (often referred to as “the denominator”) should be used to assess the racial and ethnic distribution of people stopped. Using the first traffic stop data reports from the San Jose Police Department as a case study, this paper examines baselines that are commonly used or discussed as appropriate. The paper argues that resident population data and/or official crime data are not adequate as baselines. As an alternative, the paper proposes an approach based on police early warning systems.

“Broken Windows” and fractured history: The use and misuse of history in recent police patrol analysis

In a recent and provocative article entitled “Broken Windows,” James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling propose a new role orientation for the urban police in America. They argue that the police should replace their current preoccupation with crime control and concentrate instead on dealing with small order maintenance problems. Their argument is based upon a synthesis of recent police research and an analysis of police history. This article critiques the analysis of police history offered by Wilson and Kelling. It disputes their argument that American police officers enjoyed a high degree of legitimacy in the eyes of urban neighborhood residents in the years before the advent of the patrol car. It also offers a different interpretation of the impact of technological innovation upon patterns of police-citizen contacts during the past fifty years.

Racial Minority and Female Employment in Policing: The Implications of “Glacial” Change

This article reviews the issues surrounding the employment of racial minorities and women by American police departments. It places particular emphasis on the extent to which slow but uneventful change forces a reconsideration of our understanding of the police. The article reviews the available data on police employment and examines the issues surrounding the factors associated with progress toward equal employment opportunity, the impact of changing employment practices on police performance, public attitudes, and the dynamics of the police subculture.

Less than meets the eye: police department bias crime units

In the USA, rising concern about ethnic conflict has led to the creation of special bias crime units (BCUs) in a number of police departments. The vast majority of states have some form of hate crime legislation against crimes motivated by race, religion, gender, etc. Criticisms have been leveled against this legislation, among them the claim that it could be a tool for discrimination against minorities or that the laws are largely a symbolic response to ethnic conflict. Records an exploratory study of BCUs in 16 small to medium police departments in central USA. Notes that an officer who is prejudiced against a group may fail to apply the law. Details the variety among the departments surveyed, of which only 25 per cent had established a BCU. Concludes that departments’ commitment to BCUs is weak in general. Also finds that Law Enforcement Management Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) data, although widely used, is often inaccurate, due to the inherent limitations of mail surveys.

Early Warning Systems for Police: Concept, History, and Issues

Early warning (EW) systems are data-driven management tools for identifying police officers with performance problems and for providing some intervention to correct those problems. EW systems have emerged as popular tools for enhancing police accountability. This article reports the findings of a national evaluation of EW systems. It argues that EW systems are more complex mechanisms than generally recognized. There are a variety of alternatives with regard to the proper selection criteria for identifying officers, the mode of intervention, and the form of postintervention monitoring for officers subject to intervention. This article discusses the issues related to these alternatives and to the larger goals of EW systems.

Language barriers in the delivery of police services: A study of police and Hispanic interactions in a midwestern city

Abstract Interactions between police and Hispanic citizens have been neglected in research on American policing. The impact of Spanish language barriers has also been neglected. This exploratory study examined the effect of language barriers on the delivery of police services through direct observation of police patrol and the police 911 communications center in a midwestern city. Language barrier problems were measured in terms of delay, frustration, and conflict in police–citizen interactions. This study found that language barriers were not a major factor in the delivery of police services. Potential language barrier incidents were relatively few in number, and involved mainly officer frustration and few conflict situations.

The neglect of police unions: exploring one of the most important areas of American policing

Police unions are widely recognized as having a major influence on American policing, with respect to day‐to‐day management, disciplinary procedures, and police–community relations. Despite this important influence, however, police scholars have neglected police unions. The reasons for this neglect are not clear, as scholars have investigated other highly sensitive police issues such as the use of excessive force and corruption. This paper examines the most important dimensions of the impact of unions on policing and outlines an agenda for future research.

Police Accountability and Early Warning Systems: Developing Policies and Programs

The identification of police officers who have potential problems has emerged as a popular approach for curbing police misconduct and achieving accountability. Early warning (EW) systems are data-driven programs whose purpose is to identify officers whose behavior is problematic and to subject those officers to some kind of intervention, often in the form of counseling or training. Because of their potential for providing timely data on officer performance and giving police managers a framework for correcting unacceptable performance, early warning systems are consistent with the new demands for performance evaluation raised by community policing and the effective strategic management of police departments. This article identifies essential components of EW systems and explains the characteristics, structure, and processes of a model program.

Science and Politics in Police Research: Reflections on Their Tangled Relationship

Police research in the United States has been heavilyinfluenced by external politics. This influence isagendasetting rather than truth-suppressing. Agenda-settinginfluence occurs where external political influencecauses researchers to undertake research on a subject orsubjects they had previously neglected. The influence ofpolitics on research has, in some very importantrespects, greatly enriched social science research on thepolice, forcing scholars to confront subjects andmethodological issues they had previously neglected. Therelationship between police research and the externalpolitical environment is extremely complex and is by nomeans simple or one-directional. There are also someimportant examples, notably, community policing, ofwhere research findings have influenced the politicalagenda.

The Impact of Traffic Stops on Calling the Police for Help

Using data from the Police—Public Contact Survey (PPCS), the current study examined how experiencing traffic stops affect the likelihood that Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics will contact the police for services. First, experiencing one or more traffic stops in the past year significantly decreased the likelihood of contacting the police for assistance and to report a neighborhood problem, net of other demographic characteristics. Second, traffic stop experiences had similar effects on Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, each group less likely to have contacted the police for assistance and to report neighborhood problems if they had experienced one or more traffic stops in the past year. This study also discusses the reasons why experiencing traffic stops are related to contacting the police for help and provides some implications for police— community relationships.