The SITREPThe ALE( Alcohol Law Enforcement will be joining for our first webinar of the summer semester. This agency is in North Carolina and they are recruiting now. Come out to hear some amazing information from our panelist: Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Reese Wilkerson and Special Agent, Glen Webb.
By Juliana King
A recent recent research study conducted by Vanessa M. Diaz and Lidia E. Nuno of California State University explores the gender gap in policing. In their article titled “Women and Policing: An Assessment of Factors Related to the Likelihood of Pursuing a Career as a Police Officer” they examine individual, group, and cultural factors that shape policing. As Dias and Nuno write, “In this article we are asked to understand why the percentage of women as police officers has slowly risen to 12% representation and what are the current most influential mitigating factors.” A key variable for the researchers is the “male-dominated nature of policing, which has historically excluded women from its ranks mainly due to perceptions of policing as physically demanding, dangerous, and a sexist occupation (Diaz and Nuno, 2021) This led the researchers to ask the questions related to “personal characteristics, perceptions of the profession, and the current socio-political climate.” (Diaz and Nuno, 2021)
The study surveyed almost 400 current students at California State University enrolled in criminology courses to see why they were or were not interested in becoming a police officer. The survey included a variety of ethnicities and included women and men to assess responses for gender differences or similarities. They used an online Qualtrics survey system and stratified random sampling to eliminate systematic bias. One surprising finding was that physical fitness capability influenced more than gender capability in the feeling of wanting to pursue being a police officer. This also showed how recruitment could be overstating the physical requirements for the role and leaving out other equally as important parts like report writing, social work, and job-related trauma exposure. Physically fit men and women were more likely to want to become police officers. While the socio-political climate at that time was a negative influence on wanting to become a police officer, I would recommend for it to have been evaluated differently because it is a variable that did become obsolete upon change of administration. Some limitations that were stated were the analysis of only one population location and the small size studied.
Going forward, criminal justice professionals should be aware of some of the positive ways women can contribute to the role of policing. The researchers felt that including women in policing roles they would be able to “be more effective than men in de-escalating violence, building trust in the community, and using an appropriate amount of force.” (Diaz and Nuno, 2021) Recruiters could work on making women aware and not intimidated by physical expectations for the role and emphasizing their strengths that make them a viable recruit like report writing, and citizen relations.
Diaz, V. M., & Nuño, L. E. (2021). Women and Policing: An Assessment of Factors Related to the Likelihood of Pursuing a Career as a Police Officer. Police Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/10986111211009048
By Morgan Garrett, Meredith College
A interesting recent study published in The Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice examined the challenges of developing researcher-practitioner collaborations within small-to-medium sized police departments. In “Building Bridges Between Researchers and Police Practitioners in Small and Midsize Law Enforcement Agencies in the United States,” Iwama et al. (2021) identify the unique challenges police departments face in creating working relationships with researchers. Some of these challenges include studies in larger cities not applying to smaller and midsize cities, not having the same level of attention as larger cities, and lack of resources and funding.
The most important challenge researchers face is gaining the trust of the departments; finding community leaders they want to work with; and creating partnerships. Consistent communication and transparency amongst all partners are key to a successful working relationship. By including law enforcement officers and community members in the research and having their opinions heard, they feel that they are part of the research to enact change instead of being researched. Another key aspect of this partnership is having a local champion who is not only a part of the community, but also has ties to law enforcement. The local champion will understand both the law enforcement and community side of the partnership because they have experience and the trust of both sides which will aid in bridging the gap between partners.
This current study, which drew from survey research, found that the “critical integrated pedagogy” is the best model to form and maintain a working researcher and police practitioner relationship. This model encourages understanding each partners’ perspective, sharing knowledge, and increasing exposure of the partners to each other. Researchers recommend that increased resources be invested in supporting research partnerships in small-to-medium sized police departments.
Hi! There will be upcoming webinar panels this summer semester on June 23rd and July 21st. The topic of the webinars and the panelist attending will be listed on this page soon! This is an amazing opportunity to hear from incredible people.
Summer Classes has started the week of May 24th! Have a good first week for the Masters Program for Criminal Justice at Meredith College.
Over the past year, there has been a call for police officers and departments to do a better job dealing with mental health issues especially with regards to COVID. The MA in Criminal Justice hosted a panel of practitioners today specifically focused on responding to community concerns in stressful times. Notably, the panel emphasized responding to people in the community by seeing their actions in a contextualized manner instead of focusing solely on actions. Crisis Intervention Training is a program that police officers can take to learn how to de-escalate situations, deal with involuntary commitment, and more generally to meet people where they are. The panel stressed that the future of policing and criminal justice must strive to find an equitable response for all communities.
On Wednesday, February 17, 2021, the MA in Criminal Justice held a panel discussion on Trauma-Informed Policing with Professor Bianca Harris, Chief Blue, and his staff from the Chapel Hill Police Department. The topic of discussion for this panel was to discuss what Trauma-Informed Policing is. Throughout the discussion, Chief Blue and his staff would describe this policing model as showing empathy and acknowledging that the community that officers are engaging with has been impacted by trauma in various ways. This collaborative policing allows officers to approach individuals with a trauma-informed lens.
Quote from the panel: “We do more than just the traditional law enforcement job. We help resolve the situation by using empathy and understanding to help the individual get the help they need in order to not escalate the situation. This is because everything is not black and white, you have to look at the grey areas”. – Chapel Hill Police Department
On October 22nd, 2020, the MA in Criminal Justice hosted a panel which consisted of devout, female leaders in the field of Corrections. These panel members provided an insight on their work within the State of North Carolina. Several students and members of criminal justice departments within North Carolina attended the event. The event was recorded and provided publicly for students.
On September 16, the MA in Criminal Justice at Meredith hosted a panel on Juvenile Justice and Raise the Age. Several students and members of government agencies in NC, Maryland and Alabama were in attendance. The event was recorded and has been archived for students.
This blog is for the Masters Program for Criminal Justice at Meredith College. Here, you will hear about information regarding the program, school, and information in the Criminal Justice field!