There has been a significant amount of attention refocused on problems surrounding police and communities of color. The most consistent remedy identified has been reforming police departments, which is an organizational-level solution. However, only minimal strides have been made in empirical research to understand the organizational correlates associated with police-community relations. Thus, this research investigated the impact that police departments’ organizational and managerial characteristics have on police-community relations. The key contributions of this research to the literature are three-fold. First, a composite indicator of police-community relations was developed by compiling a large nationwide dataset of local police-departments. This multidimensional indicator includes citizen complaints, police use of force, assaults against police officers, and civilian deaths by police. Second, the role that specific organizational characteristics—community-oriented policing, passive representation, professionalism, and control mechanisms—have on police-community relations was estimated using ordinary least squares regression analyses from over 250 police departments. The findings portrayed that only specific (and very few) organizational and managerial characteristics of police departments impact police-community relations. Specifically, police departments that had formal partnerships with the community, dedicated beat patrol officers, and minority representation were found to have lower levels of use of force. Police departments with higher numbers of officers dedicated to problem-solving activities in the community had lower levels of citizen complaints; in contrast, departments that were more formalized had higher levels of citizen complaints. Lastly, to understand the causal mechanisms undergirding organizational factors and police-community relations, an in-depth case study was conducted in Hartford, Connecticut. The case study included (a) 88 interviews with police officers, public officials, and community leaders, (b) 67.7 hours of participant observations, and (c) a review of secondary sources. A thematic content analysis of the data underscored the importance of police departments cultivating soft skills, investing in human resources, and being intentional about engaging the community. Specifically, police departments can influence police-community relations by impacting the level and quality of service provision and/or officer attitudes and behavior. Taken as a whole, this study adds to the knowledge base of organizational behavior, public management, and policing studies while also providing implications for policy and practice.

published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Mineral projects in the global South have been subjected to increasing opposition, especially from adjacent communities, ultimately forcing some firms to abandon government-permitted and financially viable projects. Consequently, the mining literature has become saturated with prescriptions for firms seeking to engage with impacted communities. This literature is limited in that: it has primarily focused on conflict-ridden situations; the role of context has been largely ignored; and there has been little validation of what works and why. This thesis responds to these limitations through an assessment of the Canadian firm Kinross Gold at Paracatu, Brazil, where company-community relations have seemingly been healthy for years. Kinross has exerted considerable effort to engage with the community through several initiatives. While not all initiatives have been effective, community relations are strong, especially when compared to other foreign-owned mines in Latin America. However, Paracatu also boasts a diversified economy, and positive population and governance characteristics. This research shows that both context and company practice are important in determining company-community relations.

In any country where there are informal settlements, crime prevention and combat is, to a great extent, determined by the availability of reliable information about crime and about the physical environment in which it occurs. Of equal importance in reducing crime is accurate reporting on the behalf of the public and accurate mapping of crime incidences on the part of the police. Informality makes such information gathering, reporting and mapping extremely challenging. Street level geocoding match rates are lower in informal settlements areas compared to formal urban areas, due to the fact that these areas are unplanned without any road networks or proper address points. To determine the success or otherwise of measures taken to control crime in informal settlements, it is necessary for a system to be in operation whereby crime can be geocoded to a specific location. The integration of community local knowledge with Geographic Information Systems can help populate urban-based geospatial databases for informal settlement crime mapping, and a mental mapping exercise can contribute by the identification of landmarks which can be geocoded. The aim of this research was to establish how community understandings and constructions of their local geography can contribute to ‘official’ police crime mapping and, consequently, to the improvement of policing in informal settlements. In order to achieve this research objective, community ‘mind maps’ were explored through focus groups and these were correlated with police geocoding and mapping systems. The aim here was to explore whether and how these systems can work together in dealing more effectively with crime and in enhancing police-community relations in informal settlement areas. A key finding of this research was that, coming together or integration between community generated mapping information and conventional GIS methodologies, has the potential to completely transform the way in which informal settlements crimes are mapped. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This article presents an analysis about teacher’s education possibilities regardingtheir professional context in elementary education. For this, a conceptual reviewabout relationship between education and community is explained. In this analysis,the educational processes’ characteristics from this perspective are highlighted, aswell as their implications. Subsequently, some guidelines about teacher’s education from this view are exposed and a systemic approach of education are presented taking into account educational factors inside and outside the school, as well as the teacher as an agent who learns permanently. / Este artículo presenta un análisis sobre las posibilidades de formar al profesorado de educación básica en relación con el contexto en el que desarrolla su labor profesional.Para ello, se parte de una revisión conceptual sobre el vínculo entre educación ycomunidad con la finalidad de explicar las características de los procesos formativosque se llevan a cabo desde una visión comunitaria, así como sus implicaciones. Apartir de este análisis se establecen algunas orientaciones sobre los aspectos a considerar en la formación del profesorado en este sentido, destacando una visión sistémica de la educación, dentro de la cual los factores escolares y los del entorno se relacionan, y en la que el profesor es un agente en continuo aprendizaje. / Este artigo apresenta uma análise sobre as possibilidades de formar professoresde educação básica relacionado com o contexto em que desenvolvem seu trabalhoprofissional. Para tanto se partirá de uma revisão conceitual sobre o vínculoentre a educação e a comunidade, com o objetivo de explicar as características dosprocessos formativos que desenvolvem dentro de uma visão comunitária, assimcomo suas implicações. A partir desta análise se estabelecem algumas orientaçõessobre os aspectos a serem considerados na formação do professorado, enfatizandouma visão sistêmica da educação, dentro da qual a escola e o meio ambiente estãointer-relacionados, e na qual o professor é um agente em contínua aprendizagem.

This study aims to analyze actions of conduct by law enforcement authorities against segments of the Bahian population between the years 1900 and 1920, besides highlighting the different forms of reaction against these same practices that society considered abusive. For this it was necessary to understand the universe of police activity, observing their daily actions to combat crime, and show under what conditions was done police work and what it meant to be a cop, both economically, and socially in the period investigated. The soldiers crowded the ranks of the corporation had a popular origin, which meant that the agents can order carregassem habits and customs that often clashed with the ideals of modernity and civility rendered by the ruling classes of the time. / O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar ações de conduta por parte das autoridades policiais contra seguimentos da população baiana, entre os anos de 1900 e 1920, além de evidenciar as diferentes formas de reação contra essas mesmas práticas que a sociedade considerava abusivas. Para isso, foi necessário compreender o universo da atividade policial, observando suas ações cotidianas de combate à criminalidade, bem como mostrar sobre quais condições era feito o trabalho policial e o que significava ser policial, tanto do ponto de vista econômico, quanto social no período investigado. Os soldados lotados nas fileiras da corporação possuíam uma origem popular, a qual fazia com que os agentes da ordem carregassem consigo hábitos e costumes que, muitas vezes, se chocavam com os ideais de modernidade e civilidade proferidos pelas classes dominantes da época.

No description available.

This study seeks to identify a relationship between Rational Choice/Classical thought and resisting arrest among criminal offenders. It seeks also to fill the gap that currently exists with regard to the effects of situational dynamics and police-citizen violence.

Serving in the capacity of Sheriff's interns during the time the decision had been made to implement Neighborhood Team Policing, the writers of this study propose to participate in evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the project. However, due to the size and complexity of such a task--and the time restrictions placed upon completion of this study--the boundaries of this research will be limited to those of providing descriptive data on the performance of project activities as they relate to the achievement of the objectives of Goal 1 of the Neighborhood Team Policing Project: Improved police-community mutual involvement and problem-solving.

No description available.