In 2007 South Carolina funded 15 regional coordinators to work with local law enforcement agencies and alcohol and drug commissions to create 16 community alcohol enforcement teams to improve enforcement of underage drinking laws. Previous researchers have suggested that collaborative leadership is needed for effective teams, yet little is known about the factors that serve as barriers to and facilitators of, collaborative leadership in alcohol enforcement teams. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of coordinators involved in leading the alcohol enforcement teams in South Carolina. The theoretical framework used was Cameron, Quinn, DeGraff, and Thankor's conceptualization of the competing values framework. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 12 alcohol team coordinators. These data were inductively coded and then subjected to a modified Van Manen and Vagle analysis. Key findings indicate strong support for the idea that existence of positive community relationships and supportive champions from community partners were crucial to building and maintaining successful teams. These findings were consistent with the theoretical framework. Recommendations include implementing leadership and collaboration training for the coordinators and team members. These findings have implications for positive social change by increasing awareness among policy makers about collaborative leadership factors, which in turn could lead to policies that generate more effectual teams, improve enforcement of underage drinking laws, and consequently, result in safer communities.

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks exposed considerable breakdowns in communications interoperability and information sharing among first responders. Multijurisdictional responses to the active-shooter incidents at the University of Texas in 2010; Sandy Hook Elementary of Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, and the Reynolds High School shooting of Multnomah County, Oregon in 2014 were replete with interoperability failures as well. Recent multijurisdictional response events continue to illuminate difficulties with first-responder interoperability and minimal research exists to promote understanding of the interoperability challenges of university police departments. The purpose of this study was to explore the barriers that impede communications of campus based law enforcement agencies during multiagency or multijurisdictional response. General systems theory and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model provided the conceptual framework for this qualitative case study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 leaders of university public safety agencies in California. Data were collected, inductively coded, and thematically analyzed. Key findings indicate that participants perceived barriers of funding, policy, inclusiveness, and training that affect communications interoperability performance. The positive social change implications from this study include recommendations of policy change for improved interoperability during multiagency or multijurisdictional response which can contribute to increased first-responder safety, more efficient multijurisdictional response, and improved safety of students and society at large.

Researchers have found that law enforcement officers often experience stress. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if the size of the law enforcement agency (small, medium, or large) had any significant influence on how police officers perceive stress in their profession from a cognitive appraisal perspective with regards to Administrative/Organizational Pressure, Physical/Psychological Threats, and Lack of Support. Members of law enforcement (N = 144) from Utah and New York were surveyed utilizing Spielberger et al.'s Police Stress Survey. Archival data were provided by the National Police Suicide Foundation. Stress index scores were calculated manually for each survey completed, and then 3 separate ANOVAs were conducted to test the hypothesis. The results showed that officers from medium-sized departments perceive greater amounts of stress than those in large or small departments in the area of administrative/organizational pressure, while officers from large police departments perceived greater amounts of stress than their counterparts in small and medium-sized agencies in the areas of physical/psychological threats and lack of support. This study has implications for positive social change: understanding the stressors that police officer's face each day can help forensic psychologists understand the methods necessary to repair the strained relationship between the community and members of law enforcement; understanding the stressors can also open a pathway for researchers to begin the process of developing more a productive dialogue between police officers, their departmental leaders, and the communities they protect, which should begin during the early phases of academy training.

Critical incidents (CI) have increased over the last several decades, with police officers experiencing more trauma and a rise in psychological problems. Stress inoculation training (SIT) could possibly lower symptoms of posttraumatic stress experienced by the police officers who have responded to CIs. To date, little research exists specific to using SIT to lower symptomatic effects of CIs in police officers. The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to examine and compare symptoms of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety for police officers who have or have not received SIT prior to a CI. The theoretical foundation was Selye's general adaptation system, a 3-stage response to a stressor: alarm reaction, resistance, and exhaustion. Survey data from a convenience sample of 85 police officers were collected using a demographic survey and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist--Civilian version. A Cronbach's Alpha test and a multivariate analysis of variance were used to determine whether SIT has affected anxiety and depression. According to study findings, police officers who received SIT showed no statistical significance for anxiety and depression compared to police officers who did not receive SIT. This study promotes positive social change by contributing knowledge and awareness to the law enforcement field who may find these results important to consider when planning training courses for their personnel.

Law enforcement organizations have been facing a challenge with maintaining an adequate level of personnel due to an increased rate of employee turnover, which has been shown to have a negative impact on an agency's ability to reduce both property and violent crimes. The purpose of this cross-€sectional, quantitative study was to examine job embeddedness as a predictor of turnover intentions among municipal law enforcement officers by using the human capital theory as the theoretical foundation. To collect the data, a survey link was distributed to all personnel of a large, municipal law enforcement agency in the southeastern United States; only full-€time, commissioned law enforcement personnel were included in the study, which resulted in a sample size of 107. Linear regression was used to analyze the data. Job embeddedness and turnover intentions had a statistically significant and negative correlation (r = €.656, p < .001). In addition, the bivariate linear regression model significantly predicted turnover intentions, F(11, 106) = 79.135, p < .001); job embeddedness was responsible for 42.4% (adjusted R2 = .424) of the variance in turnover intentions. When job embeddedness decreases, turnover intentions increase, and when job embeddedness increases, turnover intentions decrease. The study has implications for positive social change as it established the relationship between job embeddedness and turnover intentions among law enforcement officers. The results provide support for using the concept of job embeddedness to inform retention programs aimed at reducing voluntary turnover. Reducing voluntary turnover has the potential to maximize the ability of an agency to meet its crime control mission and to reduce costs associated with recruitment and training new employees, which will allow for more funding to go directly to the provision of services.

For decades, stress has been scientifically studied and found to have effects on the law enforcement community. Furthermore, scholars have thoroughly studied the correlation between stress and the law enforcement occupation which has been proven to affect their well-being. Although there is currently ample literature on stress and police officers, to date there has been little research on factors associated with stress and SWAT police officers. Using Lazarus and Folkman's cognitive theory of stress and coping as the foundation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how SWAT police officers cope with stress while on duty and off duty and the factors that cause them stress. Participants included 5 retired police officers who were members of a SWAT team. Moustakas' framework design of phenomenological study assisted in identifying common themes that emerged from participant interviews. Study findings indicate that the primary stressor to SWAT officers was responding to high-risk missions or operations and that law enforcement agencies generally fail to provide the resources needed to cope with stress. In addition, the main coping resources used by tactical officers were self-initiated activities such as exercise, spending time with family, and hobbies (e.g., hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and sports entertainment). The results of this study encourage positive social change by advancing recommendations to law enforcement leadership to develop coping resources for tactical officers that are specific to their unique needs. The study also increases awareness and knowledge of the coping resources that SWAT officers need and advocating for new programs and trainings aimed at reducing stress for them, which may prevent officer burnout and improve public safety response.

Most law enforcement officers experience a traumatic event within the first 3 years of duty but may not receive proper mental health training in the police academy to prepare them for a career in law enforcement, and little is understood about police academy training regarding mental health. Using secondary traumatic stress (STS) as a conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the perspective of law officers on the usefulness of academy training to prevent or manage mental health issues that may arise from law enforcement duty. Data were collected from 35 law enforcement officers in a Southern state through an online, qualitative survey. These data were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Findings indicate that both STS and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are shunned topics in the law enforcement community. Additionally, respondents perceived that reconstructing police academy training manuals to include personal stress management and increasing awareness of STS may better protect law enforcement officers and enhance community relations while providing a more sustainable police force. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to police academies to include mental health training and preparation as part of early academy training to promote better mental health among police officers and reduce the negative effects of STS and PTSD.

Distraction while using mobile technology devices such as a cell phone or tablet computer is a common occurrence within the civilian population of the United States. U.S. police officers are increasingly utilizing these types of devices within the patrol environment. However, little is known as to how distraction affects police officers while they interact with these devices in the course of their daily duties. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how officers process potential officer safety issues on patrol, while interacting with mobile technology, by questioning participants' perception of distraction. This was accomplished through a phenomenological paradigm that was framed within the concepts of unintended consequences (a subset of systems theory) and load-induced blindness (a subset of cognitive load theory). Data were collected through 10 semi-structured interviews, 2 extensive observations, and researcher-authored memos in conjunction with police officers of a medium-sized city in a western state. These data were analyzed in order to discover themes using a modified Van Kaam methodology. Results were expressed in 7 themes: conflicts with policy intent versus application, uncertainty in chain-of-command communication, reluctance to take tablets outside patrol vehicles, technology distraction's relationship to stress, presence of load-induced blindness, depressed ability to self-assess levels of distraction, and active engagement in risk-lowering strategies related to technology distraction. Implications for social change include informing police administrators and policy creators about research outcomes applicable to: modifications of policy, work-flow optimization, and technology use.

Campus law enforcement agencies are an essential component of the campus community, and the greater criminal justice system. While policing research has focused on the activities and organizational structure of municipal police, much less attention has been given to campus agencies. This study builds on existing research by examining the activities and organizational structures of campus law enforcement agencies. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to analyze the variation in emergency preparedness across campus law enforcement agencies using Meyer and Rowan's institutional theory. The research questions addressed the extent to which emergency preparedness was influenced by organizational structural, agency characteristics, wider campus characteristics, and community policing. Secondary data were collected from the 2011-2012 Bureau of Justice Statistics Survey of Campus Law Enforcement Agencies, the Office of Postsecondary Education, and the National Center for Education Statistics. Findings from multiple regression analyses indicated that agency organizational structure and agency characteristics are greater influences than campus characteristics on emergency preparedness activities than campus. Findings also showed that the number of community policing activities in which an agency engages in is the greatest predictor of emergency preparedness activities in campus law enforcement agencies. The findings have implications for social change by suggesting the integration of emergency preparedness with community policing initiatives. Collectively, this will create a holistic approach by campus law enforcement agencies.

Juvenile direct-care officers working in juvenile correctional facilities historically responded to critical and potentially aggressive incidents using nontherapeutic strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine and to understand the lived experiences of direct-care officers' use of de-escalation skills for managing violent and disruptive behaviors in juvenile correctional facilities. The findings from this study may add to the existing literature by describing juvenile correctional officers' experiences as well as to better understand their perceptions and attitude using de-escalation strategies in correctional environments. The social learning and self-efficacy theories provided the conceptual framework to examine and understand their experiences. The phenomenological design was used to examine the lived experiences of 9 juvenile direct-care officers use of de-escalation strategies to respond to disruptive and aggressive incidents within the juvenile correctional facility. The 9 direct-care officers participated in audio-recorded interviews that were transcribed and analyzed using Moustakas's phenomenological steps that identified 3 themes using de-escalation strategies: to avoid use of force and reduce liability of injuries; to resolve conflicts using their words to de-escalate the youth or the situation; and to use according to their training, perceived level of confidence, and effectiveness of de-escalation strategies. Understanding direct-care officers' perceptions of use of de-escalation may result in positive social change for fostering caring and safe living correctional environments and strengthen current training curriculums for working with aggressive and disruptive behaviors.