William V. Pelfrey

Female Inmates’ Procedural Justice Perceptions of the Police and Courts Is There a Spill-Over of Police Effects?

Serious offenders, especially incarcerated individuals, are rarely asked to judge the procedural justice of the police and courts. While serious offenders are rarely studied, even more uncommon are assessments of serious female offenders. In addition, despite a fair amount of research on perceptions of the procedural justice of the police and courts, little research has examined the spill-over of police effects onto the perceptions of the courts. This paper aims to bridge these gaps, by examining a sample of female inmates’ perceptions of the police and courts, and the spill-over of perceptions of the police onto perceptions of the courts. Results indicate that female offenders’ procedural justice perceptions are significantly influenced by their perceived honesty of police officers and the judge, and their perceived opportunity to have their voice heard in police and court encounters. There also appears to be a significant spill-over of police effects onto perceptions about the courts.

Tourism and crime: A preliminary assessment of the relationship of crime to the number of visitors at selected sites

Tourists and visitors represent a valuable and appreciated element of many countries and many communities. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these tourists and visitors are at great risk of being victims of violent and property crimes in the cities they visit. This paper assesses the relationship between the number of visitors to various cities and the types and patterns of crimes, over time, in two cities engaged in mass tourism. If the anecdotal reports are valid indications, crime should fluctuate directly in proportion to the number of visitors. If other factors have stronger explanatory power, the relationship between tourists (visitors) and crime will not be strong or consistent. Based on the data, this research showed that the number of tourists over the course of an eleven year period does not adequately explain the variations in violent crime rates of either of the two cities. Violent crime rates in Honolulu and Las Vegas from 1982 through 1993 showed less of an increase than the increases experie...

Police body worn cameras: a mixed method approach assessing perceptions of efficacy

Purpose The importance of body-worn cameras (BWC) in policing cannot be overstated. This is not a hyperbolic statement – use of force incidents in Ferguson and Baltimore, the ensuing riots, coupled with critical long term implications for police community relations demonstrate the need for BWC data. Few studies have been published on the use of BWCs and little is known about officer perceptions, administrator decision making, and agency use of BWC data. No published studies incorporate qualitative data, which lends important context and depth, in the interpretation of officer survey data. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The current study presents a mixed-method study of a large university police agency prior to full implementation of BWC. A survey of patrol officers and supervisors, using a census approach with near full participation, coupled with focus group interviews, produced data on perceptions, concerns, and expectations of full BWC implementation. Findings Findings point to officer concerns regarding the utilization of BWC data and administrative expectations regarding complaint reduction and officer assessment. Originality/value Important implications regarding training and policy are presented. BWC data represent an important tool for agency decision makers but have numerous potential negative uses. Understanding officer concerns juxtaposed with administrator expectations, through both survey and qualitative data, advance the knowledge on BWC.

MEASURING VIOLENT CRIME IN NORTH CAROLINA UTILIZING MAIL AND TELEPHONE SURVEYS SIMULTANEOUSLY: DOES METHOD MATTER?

This article is a report of research that examined violent crime in North Carolina by simultaneously administering telephone and mail surveys to North Carolina residents. The purpose of the research was to determine whether the method of data collection, that is, telephone interviewing versus mail surveys, has any impact on the data collected. The results of the research indicate no difference between the methods.

Examining the comprehensive examination: Meeting educational program objectives

This article describes an alternative to the traditional method of administering the comprehensive examination, logically integrated in criminal justice educational program objectives. First, the traditional method of offering the comprehensive examination is evaluated according to its ability to satisfy the educational program goals of developing critical thinking and communication skills together with knowledge of the discipline. Blooms Taxonomy is used as the paradigm of evaluation. Based upon the examination of available literature and the actual administration of the traditional comprehensive examination at Virginia Commonwealth University, the conclusion is reached that traditional examinations do not test beyond Blooms first step, knowledge of terminology. The administration of the take-home comprehensive exam is then analyzed as administered at VCU and is found to better serve the educational program objectives of critical thinking and communication skills together with learning knowledge.

Exploring Explanations for Campus Crime: Examining Internal and External Factors

Although crime has been a major national concern for decades, “campus crime” has only recently been the subject of analysis and controversy. Generally these analyses have been performed and interpreted by the popular news media who often ignore important crimogenic factors{3) and who were more interested in expose’ than in scientific research leading to crime prevention strategies. Media reports have documented victimization on campus, often reporting increases in such victimization (Hendricks. 1992; Anon., 1987:l); however, the dissemination of these statistics is often nothing more than a descriptive rcport (see for example, Gilbert, 1992; Cooper, Kenworthy, & Mc Allister, 1990). Seldom are attempts made to increase citizens’ understanding of such crime and comp.arisons are often made between college campuses regardless of the comparability between the colleges. Students,parents,andfacultyconcerned with crime oncampus havecallcd for safer campuses (Gaines, 1989) long before the public dissemination of campus crime statistics was legislated. Since Congress passed the Student Right To Know and Campus Security Act (1990), the popular press has made a concerted effort to frequently report campus crime statistics without much regard for attempting to expIain such statistics. As a result, no one really knows the relative safeness of a campus, we just know the crime statistics. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, the authors will review the scholarlyresearch on campus crime in order to identify thecorrelatesof such crime. Second, data collected from a 1984 survey of 354 universities and colleges will be examined to determine if the correlates identified in the literature explain campus crime in these settings.

Cigarette Trafficking, Smurfing, and Volume Buying Policy, Investigation, and Methodology Recommendations From a Case Study

Cigarette trafficking represents a growing but poorly understood criminal activity. There are several modes of trafficking, ranging from small-time smugglers to sophisticated criminal networks. Tax disparities make trafficking cigarettes, often purchased legally in southern states and resold illicitly in northern locations, an immensely profitable yet low-risk enterprise. This article represents a case study of cigarette trafficking and is designed to identify modes of trafficking, key inflection points, and establish a predicate for discussion. Policy recommendations for legislation and law enforcement are proposed and avenues for studying this issue are described.

Examining the Role of Demographics in Campus Crime Alerts: Implications and Recommendations

Colleges and universities are required by the Clery Act to issue crime alerts to members of the campus community. Issuing agencies have significant discretion in the timing and information included in crime alerts, including the perpetrator descriptors. The inclusion of perpetrator/suspect descriptions in the crime alert is intended to maximize public safety. Race descriptors may have negative consequences through the repetition of minority suspect information. To address the issue of demographic use in crime alerts, a mixed method approach was employed. A summary review of several years of crime alerts issued by a large urban university was conducted to assess the role of demographics. Qualitative data were collected through a series of focus groups and interviews addressing the balance of public safety and potential negative perceptions (perpetuated by crime alerts). Reviewed crime alerts indicate that they are largely posted for violent crimes, particularly robbery, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. Perpetrators are overwhelmingly male and largely Black. It is reasonable to question whether repeated descriptions of crime acts committed by Black males could raise, foster, or enhance negative stereotypes. Recommendations for model crime alerts and campus events are included. Consideration of stereotype impacts may influence crime alerts but circumstances and public risk may supersede these concerns.