Tarah Hodgkinson

Student Academic Dishonesty: The Potential for Situational Prevention

Approximately one-half to three-quarters of university students commit some form of cheating, plagiarism, or collusion. Typical university responses are policy statements containing definitions plus punishment procedures. This paper collates a portfolio of strategies and tactics that seek to design-out, deter, and discourage academic misconduct. It finds many routine tactics exist, from silence and the use of large halls for major exams, to restrictions on electronic devices. Others are less consistently adopted, such as splitting lengthy exams in two to discourage washroom-visits where cheating takes place. The portfolio of tactics is framed in the context of crime opportunity theory and the 25 techniques of situational crime prevention. It is proposed that more consistent application of tactics focusing on environmental design, curricular design, and class management offer significant potential for reducing misconduct. Future research should seek to evaluate and enhance such interventions.

Is there a role for potential supervised injection facilities in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada?

Supervised injection facilities (SIFs) are medical facilities where injection drug users can inject their illicit drugs under the supervision of nurses and doctors. Currently, there is only one legal SIF in operation in North America and it has been operating in Vancouver, British Columbia for over a decade. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the current facility needs to be expanded to other locations in British Columbia, Canada. We employ mathematical modeling to estimate the number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C infections prevented based on the available secondary data. Additionally, we also estimate the number of prevented overdose deaths attributable to the SIF. With very conservative estimates, it is predicted that establishing two SIFs locations outside Vancouver in British Columbia’s capital city, Victoria, is cost-effective, with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.25:1. It appears that expanding SIFs to Victoria could offer significant savings for local health care institutions.

Assessing what police officers do “on the job”: toward a “public values” approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a test in a policing context of a performance assessment tool that is based on a “public values” approach. The Capability, Importance, and Value (CIV) Tool allows police organizations to examine the roles their members carry out to determine whether they are being capably done, are important, and deliver value to stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach Five focus groups were conducted with front line officers from a large Canadian police service. The focus group process incorporated elements of Appreciative Inquiry and Structured Brainstorming. Findings Valuable information can be collected from front line police officers with the CIV Tool. Police organizations could use this information to improve performance while ensuring that the roles undertaken by their members align with broader organizational goals and objectives including providing value to stakeholders. Research limitations/implications This study was designed as a limited test of the CIV Tool. More extensive testing is required with a larger sample that includes police investigators and members of other specialty units. Practical implications The CIV Tool can serve to augment existing police performance measurement strategies. It can help to identify which roles contribute to achieving organizational goals and which do not. Based on this information, ameliorative action can be taken. Social implications A “public values” approach places emphasis on stakeholder needs and expectations. Addressing these directly can result in enhanced performance as well as greater police transparency, responsiveness, and accountability. Originality/value Ongoing police performance assessment based on a “public values” approach is uncommon in policing. Its use has important implications for police organizations and their stakeholders.

Evaluating the impact of police foot patrol at the micro-geographic level

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of a police foot patrol considering micro-geographic units of analysis. Design/methodology/approach Six years of monthly crime counts for eight violent and property crime types are analyzed. Negative binomial and binary logistic regressions were used to evaluate the impact of the police foot patrol. Findings The impact of police foot patrol is in a small number of micro-geographic areas. Specifically, only 5 percent of the spatial units of analysis exhibit a statistically significant impact from the foot patrol. Originality/value These analyses show the importance of undertaking evaluations at the micro-scale in order to identify the impact of police patrol initiative because a small number of places are driving the overall result. Moreover, care must be taken with how small the units of analysis are because as the units of analysis become smaller and smaller, criminal events become rarer and, potentially, identifying statistically significant change becomes more difficult.

Variations in Mental Health Act calls to police: an analysis of hourly and intra-week patterns

Purpose Investigating the day of week and hour of day temporal patterns of crime typically show that (late) nights and weekends are the prime time for criminal activity. Though instructive, mental-health-related calls for service are a significant component of police service to the community that have not been a part of this research. The purpose of this paper is to analyze calls for police service that relate to mental health, using intimate partner/domestic related calls for police service for context. Design/methodology/approach Approximately 20,000 mental health related and 20,000 intimate partner/domestic related calls for police service are analyzed. Intra-week and intra-day temporal patterns are analyzed using circular statistics. Findings Mental-health-related calls for police service have a distinct temporal pattern for both days of the week and hours of the day. Specifically, these calls for police service peak during the middle of the week and in the mid-afternoon. Originality/value This is the first analysis regarding the temporal patterns of police calls for service for mental health-related calls. The results have implications for police resourcing and scheduling, especially in the context of special teams for addressing mental health-related calls for police service.

Fear of Crime in an Island Paradise

Numerous empirical studies have examined fear of crime. Key theoretical constructs include age, gender, vulnerability, marital status, social cohesion, social incivilities, and perceptions of police. While these constructs have extensive empirical support from cross-sectional and longitudinal projects, they focused on Western liberal democratic nations. Little research exists on fear of crime and its correlates within smaller, island nation-states. The current study (N = 480) examines (a) the prevalence of fear of crime within the Maldives and (b) the extent to which previous theoretical constructs can be generalized to other population areas. Findings demonstrate levels of fear of crime in the Maldives consistent with Western liberal democratic societies but that only certain previous theoretical constructs are associated with variations in fear of crime.

Crime Reduction, Reduction of Imprisonment and Community Crime Prevention Programs: Risk Factors and Programs Implemented to Reduce Them

A growing body of research has described and documented the risk/protective factors associated with serious/violent offending and victimization. While these two streams of criminology were originally investigated as separate entities, the amassing research in both fields revealed clear overlap in risk factors, leading to the conclusion that the offender is also typically the victim and vice versa. The current chapter seeks to describe this literature and map the conceptual overlap between the offending and victimization of women and children. Specifically, this chapter: (1) describes the typical victim profile; (2) outlines the risk factors associated with serious/violent offending and victimization, and their distinct developmental pathways; and (3) reviews current intervention programs that have successfully reduced serious/violent offending and victimization.