Effective sanction avoidance in drug trafficking: The construction and validation of the restrictive deterrence utility scale using a sample of female drug offenders.

Drug traffickers perform many crime strategies to avoid legal sanctions. The use of any crime strategy is mainly for reducing the risk of arrest, which has been the focus of research on restrictive deterrence. This study aims to develop a Restrictive Deterrence Utility Scale (RDUS) to measure the effectiveness of crime strategies used in drug trafficking. Survey data were collected from August to October 2021, including 294 female drug offenders aged between 21 and 61 years serving sentences with a median length of around 10 years in a Southern city in Mainland China. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for scale investigation. Three valid and reliable factors for the RDUS were found: anomaly avoidance, reduction of exposure time, and the use of weapons and tools. Composite reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity of three factors were confirmed with Cronbach α being higher than 0.9, that being higher than correspondent Average Variance Extracted which all being higher than 0.5 and higher than correspondent factor correlation. The RDUS offers a helpful method for assessing the motivation for drug traffickers to persist in drug crime and for formulating appropriate interventions for drug prohibition.

Examining strategies, policies, and guidance for addressing wrong-way driving in the United States: A comprehensive national survey.

INTRODUCTION: This paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the current and emerging solutions, policies, and guidance employed by various agencies to mitigate wrong-way driving (WWD) activities in the United States. The study utilized a two-pronged approach, involving an online survey and follow-up phone interviews with respondents from state transportation agencies, tollway authorities, and law enforcement. METHODS: The initial step involved conducting an online survey to gather general insights about the existing strategies and practices used to combat WWD. The survey questionnaire, consisting of 12 questions, covered topics such as mitigation strategies/policies, guidance for selecting countermeasures, and topics/needs for national handbook. The survey was emailed to traffic and safety engineers from all 50 state transportation agencies and 59 tollway authorities across the nation. As the second step, follow-up phone interviews were conducted with respondents identified from the online survey. The interviews delved deeper into specific aspects such as crash/incident data collection methods, identification of crash-prone locations, countermeasure selection and implementation, experience with Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications, and future initiatives. RESULTS: The findings from the survey and interviews indicated an increasing awareness and adoption of best practices to combat WWD. Various states have implemented new policies and advanced technologies to deter WWD incidents. The insights gathered from the survey and interviews with different agencies are invaluable in shaping safe system approaches and guidelines for the national handbook on WWD solutions. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Overall, this study sheds light on the efforts and progress made by state transportation agencies, tollway authorities, and law enforcement in addressing the critical issue of WWD. By gathering valuable lessons and practices from the various agencies, this research lays the groundwork for developing national guidelines to reduce WWD crashes and incidents on divided highways.

Questioning penalties and road safety Policies: Are they enough to deter risky motorcyclist Behavior?

Reducing risky behaviors and traffic violations is crucial for preventing road trauma among private and commercial motorcyclists. While legal interventions such as road rules and police enforcement have been somewhat effective, there is a gap in understanding how motorcyclists perceive these deterrents and the psycho-social factors influencing their effectiveness. This research aims to explore the interplay between motorcyclists' psycho-social predispositions and their responses to legal interventions. It also compares two distinct groups of riders - private and commercial motorcyclists - within the urban environment of Da Nang, Vietnam, providing a nuanced consideration of the influence of work-related impacts on risky behavior, which can enable targeted interventions. We propose a theoretical model integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior and Deterrence Theory to analyze how psycho-social and punitive factors influence riders' traffic violations. A total of 423 delivery riders and 411 private riders in Da Nang participated in the study. The results show that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and perceptions of deterrence significantly impact riders' intentions to engage in risky behaviors, with delivery riders being particularly responsive to law enforcement and penalties. To enhance policy effectiveness, interventions should employ tailored enforcement strategies that account for the unique motivations and perceptions of each rider group. For example, increasing the visibility and consistency of law enforcement could be particularly impactful for delivery riders, who are more sensitive to immediate deterrents. Policy adjustments should also focus on reshaping riders' attitudes toward safety and adjusting their perceived control over riding situations. By tailoring interventions to effectively influence each group's behavior, we can ultimately reduce traffic incidents.

Interviewing and interrogation practices and beliefs, 20 years later: A national self-report survey of American police.

OBJECTIVE: This survey examined current law enforcement beliefs and practices about interviewing and interrogation to gauge whether they have evolved given the research and training developed over the past 20 years. HYPOTHESES: We hypothesized that police beliefs and practices would have evolved along with research findings over the past 20 years. METHOD: We surveyed 526 law enforcement officers about the practices and beliefs regarding interviewing and interrogation. We asked questions about officers' beliefs about rates of true and false confessions, time spent in the interrogation room, beliefs about their ability to detect deception, training experience, practices of recording interrogations, and their self-reported use of interrogation techniques. RESULTS: Overall, when we compared our survey with Kassin et al.'s (2007) seminal survey, we found both similar results and evolving positive trends. The average interview was reportedly 1.6 hr, virtually no different from that in Kassin and colleagues' study. In addition, our sample reported that 26.2% of innocent suspects at least partially falsely confessed. Further, whereas Kassin and colleagues found that fewer than one in 10 interrogations were video recorded, we found that now more than half of interrogations are recorded in this way. CONCLUSIONS: In a geographically diverse sample of U.S. law enforcement officers, we found significant positive trends toward knowledge and practices informed by research generated over the past decades on interviewing and interrogation. Although causality could not be determined, these findings indicate an evolution of the U.S. law enforcement mindset in a more science-based direction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Law enforcement-led, pre-arrest diversion-to-treatment may reduce crime recidivism, incarceration, and overdose deaths: Program evaluation outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Substance use disorder (SUD), overdose, and drug use-related crime continue to increase in the U.S. Pre-arrest diversion-to-treatment programs may decrease crime recidivism and overdose deaths. We assessed the impact of a community-wide diversion-to-treatment initiative on crime, incarceration, and overdose. METHODS: This article reports on the prospective evaluation of a law enforcement-led, pre-arrest diversion-to-treatment program on crime, incarceration, and overdose deaths compared between participants who did not engage (non-engaged; n = 103), engaged but did not complete (non-completers; n = 60) and completed (completers; n = 100) the program. Participants included 263 adults apprehended by police officers for low-level, drug use-related crimes between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2020. The program offered eligible persons participation in a six-month program consisting of a clinical assessment, referral to addiction treatment services based on each individual's needs, connection to recovery peer support, and treatment engagement monitoring. Completers had their initial criminal charges 'voided,' while non-engaged and non-Completer participants had their original charges filed with local prosecutors. The project collected participant-level data on arrests and incarceration within 12 months before and 12 months after program enrollment and data on fatal overdose within 12 months after program enrollment. Logistic regression predicted outcomes using baseline demographics (sex, age, race, housing status) and pre-index crime arrest and incarceration indices as covariates. RESULTS: After accounting for baseline demographics and pre-enrollment arrest/incarceration history, logistic regression models found that the non-engaged and the non-Completer groups were more likely than completers to be arrested (odds ratios [ORs]: 3.9 [95 % CI, 2.0-7.7] and 3.6 [95 % CI, 1.7-7.5], respectively) and incarcerated (ORs: 10.3 [95 % CI, 5.0-20.8] and 21.0 [95 % CI, 7.9-55.7], respectively) during the 12-month follow-up. Rates of overdose deaths during the 12-month follow-up were greatest in non-engaged (6/103, 5.8 %) and non-Completer (2/60, 3.3 %) groups; completers had the lowest rate (2/100, 2.0 %), with all deaths occurring after completion of the six-month treatment/monitoring program. CONCLUSIONS: Collaboration between law enforcement, clinicians, researchers, and the broader community to divert adults who commit a low-level, drug use-related crime from criminal prosecution to addiction treatment may effectively reduce crime recidivism, incarceration, and overdose deaths.

Are you a cop?: Identifying suspicion in online chat operations with online groomers.

BACKGROUND: The increase in online enticement has led to law enforcement agencies engaging in more proactive policing through undercover chat sting operations. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify the topics and communication strategies triggering suspicion in chats between law enforcement officers and offenders and why those topics do not result in suspicion in victim-offender conversations. METHODS: We conducted a thematic analysis identifying: (1) how LEOs trigger suspicion, (2) how offenders communicate suspicion, (3) how LEOs attempt recovery from suspicion, and (4) how these triggers were present but did not trigger suspicion in victim-offender chats. We examined 20 LEO-offender chats and 20 victim-offender chats from US ICAC task forces. RESULTS: We identified four themes that triggered suspicion: risk assessment by the LEO's persona, LEO avoidance measures, details related to the offense and evidence, and proof of identity of chat participants. Offender responses to triggers revealed three themes: discomfort navigating boundaries and uncertainty, risk identification, and risk mitigation. Themes for the LEO's responses to suspicion included: risk assessment for chatters, issues with technology, appeasement, and negative emotional reactions. Finally, juxtaposing triggers onto minor-offender chats yielded four themes: explicit boundary setting, victim risk assessment, deep relationship forming and disclosures, and technology issues. CONCLUSION: This study has implications for law enforcement agencies seeking to reduce suspicion and risk assessment by offenders during internet sting operations.

Updated Estimate of the Number of Extreme Risk Protection Orders Needed to Prevent 1 Suicide.

Importance: Extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs)-also known as red flag, risk warrant, and gun violence restraining orders-authorize law enforcement, family members, and sometimes others to petition a court to remove firearms from and prevent the acquisition of new firearms by a person judged to pose an immediate danger to themselves or others. Previous estimates suggest that 1 suicide is prevented for every 10 ERPOs issued, a number needed to treat that depends critically on the counterfactual estimate of the proportion of suicidal acts by ERPO respondents that would have involved firearms in the absence of ERPOs. Objective: To empirically inform updated estimates of the number of ERPOs needed to prevent 1 suicide. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study used data from California for method-specific suicides by handgun ownership (October 18, 2004, to December 31, 2015). Handgun-owning suicide decedents in California were identified using individual-level registry data about lawful handgun ownership linked to cause-specific mortality for a cohort of more than 25 million adults. The study also used data from Connecticut for method-specific suicides among ERPO respondents who died by suicide, extracted from published data (October 1999 to June 2013). Data analysis was performed in December 2023. Exposure: Handgun ownership. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcomes were the number and distribution of suicidal acts by handgun owners in California, estimated using method-specific suicide mortality data and published case fatality ratios, and the counterfactual number and distribution of suicidal acts and deaths among ERPO respondents in Connecticut had no ERPOs been issued. Results: A total of 1216 handgun owners (mean [SD] age, 50 [18] years; 1019 male [83.8%]) died by suicide during the study period. Among male handgun owners in California, 28% of suicidal acts involved firearms, 54% involved drug poisoning, 9% involved cutting or piercing, 3% involved hanging or suffocation, 2% involved poisoning with solids and/or liquids, and the remaining 4% involved other methods. Assuming this distribution approximates the counterfactual distribution among ERPO respondents in Connecticut in the absence of ERPOs, 1 suicide death was prevented for every 22 ERPOs issued. Conclusions and Relevance: The estimates produced by this cohort study of California handgun owners suggest that ERPOs can play an important role in averting deaths among high-risk individuals.

Assessing the effect of automated speed enforcement and comprehensive measures on road safety in Rwanda.

OBJECTIVES: Daily, approximately 3,400 traffic-related deaths occur globally, with over 90% concentrated in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Notably, Rwanda has one of the highest road traffic death rates in the world (29.7 per 100,000 people) and is the first low-income country to implement a national Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) policy. The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of ASE cameras in reducing the primary outcome of road traffic deaths and secondary outcomes of serious injury crashes and fatal crashes. METHODS: The study used data on road traffic deaths, and serious injury and fatal crashes collected by the Rwanda National Police between 2010 and 2022. Interrupted time series (ITS) models were fit to quantify the association between ASE and change in road traffic crash outcomes, adjusted for COVID-19-related variables (such as the start of the pandemic, the closure of schools and bars), along with exposure variables (such as GDP and population), and other concurrent road safety measures (such as road safety campaigns). RESULTS: The ITS models show that the implementation of ASE cameras significantly reduced road traffic deaths, serious injury crashes, and fatal crashes at the provincial level. For instance, the implementation of ASE cameras in the whole of Rwanda in April 2021 was significantly associated with a 0.14 (95% CI [0.072, 0.212]) reduction in monthly death incidence, equating to a 38.16% monthly decrease compared to the period before their installation (January 2010-March 2021). CONCLUSION: This study emphasizes the significant association of ASE in Rwanda with improved road traffic crash outcomes, a result that may inform road safety policy in other LMICs. Rwanda has become the first low-income country to implement nationwide scaling of ASE in Africa, paving the way for the generation of valuable evidence on speed-related interventions. In addition to new knowledge generation, African road safety research efforts like this one are opportunities to grow academic and law enforcement cooperations while improving data systems and sources for future research benefits.

Do digital technologies reduce racially biased reporting? Evidence from NYPD administrative data.

Recent work has emphasized the disproportionate bias faced by minorities when interacting with law enforcement. However, research on the topic has been hampered by biased sampling in administrative data, namely that records of police interactions with citizens only reflect information on the civilians that police elect to investigate, and not civilians that police observe but do not investigate. In this work, we address a related bias in administrative police data which has received less empirical attention, namely reporting biases around investigations that have taken place. Further, we investigate whether digital monitoring tools help mitigate this reporting bias. To do so, we examine changes in reports of interactions between law enforcement and citizens in the wake of the New York City Police Department's replacement of analog memo books with mobile smartphones. Results from a staggered difference in differences estimation indicate a significant increase in reports of citizen stops once the new smartphones are deployed. Importantly, we observe that the rise is driven by increased reports of "unproductive" stops, stops involving non-White citizens, and stops occurring in areas characterized by a greater concentration of crime and non-White residents. These results reinforce the recent observation that prior work has likely underestimated the extent of racial bias in policing. Further, they highlight that the implementation of digital monitoring tools can mitigate the issue to some extent.

Why do users continue to contribute to darknet Child Sexual Abuse Material forums? Examining social exchange, social capital, and social learning explanations using digital forensic artifacts.

BACKGROUND: The darknet hosts an increasing number of hidden services dedicated to the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Given that by contributing CSAM to the forum members subject themselves to criminal prosecution, questions regarding the motivation for members contributing to darknet CSAM forums arise. OBJECTIVE: Building on insights gained from research into clearnet communities, here we examine the extent to which social incentives generated by the online CSAM community may explain members' posting behavior on darknet CSAM forums. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: We analyze digital forensic artifacts on the online behavior of members of a darknet CSAM forum that was shut down by law enforcement agencies in July 2015. METHODS: We apply group-based trajectory modelling (GBTM), social network analysis, and mixed-effect survival models. RESULTS: Applying GBTM three posting trajectories can be distinguished. Social network analyses finds the reply network to be more centralized than predicted by chance. Mixed-effect survival models show positive associations between the length of members' first post and the time since members' first registration on the forum and subsequent posting. Contrarily, the number of replies received appears to mitigate subsequent posting. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show posting activity on the forum to be concentrated in a minority of forum members who show posting trajectories that are both frequent and persistent. Results further suggest persistence in posting is motivated by social identity and, to a lesser extent, differential association processes.

Order Keepers or Immigration Agents? Latine Immigrant Views of Law Enforcement in Healthcare Settings.

BACKGROUND: Police and security presence in healthcare settings have grown. There are few studies exploring perceptions of these law enforcement agents among US Latine immigrants, who can be vulnerable to immigration enforcement actions due to past and ongoing criminalization and anti-immigrant policies. OBJECTIVE: To explore Latine immigrants' perceptions of law enforcement in healthcare settings. DESIGN: Exploratory, semi-structured qualitative interviews asked participants about their perspectives of law enforcement in healthcare settings. PARTICIPANTS: English- and Spanish-speaking adult patients (n = 19) from a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Los Angeles, CA, serving predominantly low-income Latine immigrants. APPROACH: We used the framework method for analysis to establish a codebook and inform our thematic interpretation. KEY RESULTS: We identified three themes: (1) perceptions of safety offered by police officers are separated from the role of immigration officers; (2) perceptions of police officers are integrated into broader perceptions of the healthcare system; and (3) lived experiences, including immigration status, influenced valence response to officer uniforms and perceptions of officers. Most participants viewed police officers positively as maintaining order and safety, separating them from federal immigration enforcement actions, and reflecting on local, state, and organizational "sanctuary" or immigrant-friendly policies. Individuals with precarious immigration status more often saw officers as intimidating. Immigration enforcement remained a key concern. CONCLUSIONS: Differentiating police and security roles from immigration enforcement in healthcare could improve Latine immigrant trust and access. Future studies should explore perspectives of Latine immigrants in localities without sanctuary laws or organizational immigrant-friendly policies.

Law enforcement recruit fitness: Changes across the fitness spectrum.

BACKGROUND: Law enforcement is a profession of sedentary physical activity interspersed with physically demanding activity that requires high levels of fitness. It is imperative that agencies training law enforcement recruits maximise their fitness during their time at the academy. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in physical fitness during academy training. METHODS: Retrospective data for 10 academy recruit classes, totalling 715 participants, were collected from a US law enforcement agency. The change in performance on two standardised tests were used as outcome measures. Comparisons were made between percentiles utilising one-way ANOVA and a linear mixed model (LMM). RESULTS: Overall, higher percentiles were found to have smaller improvements in physical fitness than lower percentiles. The results of the LMM support this supposition, showing that lower physical fitness scores resulted in greater improvements in a generalised fitness assessment (value = -0.45, standard error 0.02, p < 0.001) and an occupational assessment (value = -0.49, standard error = 0.02, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that recruits with lower physical fitness will see greater improvements during academy training. This could be due to a ceiling effect for the more fit but may also be due to recruits of higher physical fitness being under trained during academy. Utilising ability-based training and prescribing an appropriate workload to recruits of higher fitness may improve overall recruit fitness upon graduation.

Emergency department documentation of legal intervention injuries at a Washington, DC, hospital.

BACKGROUND: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines legal intervention injuries as injuries caused by law enforcement agents in the course of official duties. Public health databases utilize International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), coding to collect these data through the "Y35" family ICD-10 code. Prior studies report deficiencies in public health recording of fatal legal intervention injuries. Few studies have characterized nonfatal injuries. This study investigates emergency department (ED) capture of legal intervention injury diagnostic coding. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on ED encounter data from January 1, 2017, to June 30, 2019, at an academic hospital in Washington, DC. Charts were identified using a keyword search program for "police." Chart abstracters reviewed the flagged charts and abstracted those that met injury definition. Primary outcomes included injury severity, patient demographics, and documented ICD-10 codes. One sample proportion testing was performed comparing sample census ED data. RESULTS: A total of 340 encounters had sufficient descriptions of legal intervention injuries. A total of 259 had descriptions consistent with the patient specifier of "suspect." Hospital coders recorded 74 charts (28.6%) with the Y35 family legal intervention injury code. A total of 212 involved a Black patient. A total of 122 patients had Medicaid and 94 were uninsured. Black patients made up a higher proportion of individuals in the "suspect identified legal intervention injury" group than the total population (0.819 vs. 0.609, p < 0.01, 95% CI 0.772-0.866). Patients with Medicaid or who were uninsured made up substantial proportions as well (0.471 vs. 0.175, p < 0.01, 95% CI 0.410-0.532 for Medicaid patients and 0.363 vs. 0.155, p < 0.01, 95% CI 0.304-0.424 for the uninsured patients). CONCLUSION: A large proportion of nonfatal legal intervention injuries remain unreported. Black and low-income patients are disproportionately affected. More research is needed but benefits from interprofessional data sharing, injury pattern awareness, and diagnostic coding guidance may improve reporting.

The effectiveness of regulations preventing alcohol-related road traffic crashes and fatalities in the European Union countries.

INTRODUCTION: This article addresses the impact of policy measures on the number of alcohol-related crashes and fatalities in European Union countries. In particular, it assesses (1) whether mild or severe penalty measures should be used to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities caused by alcohol; and (2) whether alcoholic beverages should be treated differently or proportionally to their alcohol content. METHODS: This study analyzed the number of alcohol-related crashes and fatalities in 24 European Union countries between 2002 and 2014. The methodology involved fixed-effects panel models, models with instrumental variables, the Hausman-Taylor model, and seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR). SUR improve the results of coefficient estimates when the data are not complete. RESULTS: The results of the SUR indicated that vehicle impoundment, community service, and alcolocks correlate with lower crashes, while detention correlates with lower fatalities. Furthermore, a higher alcohol content in beverages is positively associated with fatalities and negatively associated with the number of crashes. CONCLUSIONS: Mild and harsh measures for preventing alcohol-related crashes and fatalities differ in effectiveness; therefore, they should be used simultaneously. Blood alcohol concentration limits were found to be an ineffective tool for preventing crashes and fatalities under the influence of alcohol. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The regulatory restrictions on different types of alcohol should be stricter for hard alcohol (especially spirits) and lower for low-alcohol beverages, such as beer, if fewer fatalities are preferred to fewer crashes.

Determining the Changes in Law Enforcement Recruit Aerobic Fitness Using the 2.4-km Run and 20-m Multistage Fitness Test. Does the Type of Test Matter?

ABSTRACT: Campbell, P, Maupin, D, Lockie, RG, Dawes, JJ, Simas, V, Canetti, E, Schram, B, and Orr, R. Determining the changes in law enforcement recruit aerobic fitness using the 2.4-km run and 20-m multistage fitness test. Does the type of test matter? J Strength Cond Res 38(6): 1111-1117, 2024-Aerobic fitness is linked with academy graduation, employment, and the long-term health of law enforcement officers and is often used as a training outcome. However, different tests can be used, and aerobic improvements may differ according to the test used. The aim of this study was to determine whether recruits improved to a greater extent in 1 aerobic test compared with the other. Retrospective data from 5 law enforcement recruit cohorts (males = 741; females = 353) who underwent 18 weeks of academy training were analyzed. Initial 20-m multistage fitness test (20MSFT) and 2.4-km run assessments were completed during weeks 4 and 5 of training, with final testing completed during weeks 16 and 17, respectively. A repeated-measures analysis of variance ( p < 0.05) with a Bonferroni post hoc analysis determined changes in aerobic fitness in the 20MSFT and 2.4-km run between male and female recruits. A mean difference of 9.27 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 14.8-10.9; d = 0.63; p < 0.001) shuttle increase in 20MSFT performance and 20.1 (95% CI 16.0-24.2; d = 0.49; p < 0.001) second improvement in 2.4-km run time were demonstrated when averaged across sex, yielding a larger performance improvement for the 20MSFT compared with the 2.4-km run. Conversely, there was a smaller magnitude of change in aerobic fitness between male recruits and female recruits for the 20MSFT ( d = 0.47) compared with the 2.4-km run ( d = 0.50). The findings indicate that current academy training results in improvements to aerobic fitness and to a greater magnitude in the 20MSFT compared with the 2.4-km run. These results may affect policy considerations for law enforcement agencies regarding aerobic test selection.

Mixed methods evaluation of a jail diversion program: Impact on arrests and functioning.

This mixed methods study had two aims: (1) to examine the effectiveness of a jail diversion program in reducing recidivism and promoting educational and employment outcomes; and (2) to qualitatively explore mechanisms through which the program was effective. Participants were 17 individuals arrested for drug offenses who participated in an intensive, law enforcement-based jail diversion program, and 17 individuals in a comparison group. Arrests were extracted from police records, and education and employment were extracted from program data. Four intervention participants completed qualitative interviews. Arrest rates in the intervention group decreased significantly postintervention, and arrest rates in the intervention group were numerically lower than those in the comparison group. Participants experienced significant increases in employment and driver's license status. Participants also identified mechanisms through which the program was effective. This jail diversion program shows promise in reducing recidivism and promoting adaptive functioning. Jail diversion programs that include mentorship, peer support, and removal of barriers to success may be particularly effective.

Triad influence on the detection of crime in Hong Kong.

We use bootstrap data envelopment analysis, adjusting for endogeneity, to examine police efficiency in detecting crime in Hong Kong. We address the following: (i) is there a correlation between the detection of crime and triad influence? (ii) does the level of triad influence affect the efficiency in translating inputs (police strength) into outputs (crime detection)? and (iii) how can the allocation of policing resources be adjusted to improve crime detection? We find that nighty-eight percent of Hong Kong police districts in our sample were found to be inefficient in the detection of crime. Variation was found across districts regarding the detection of violent, property and other crimes. Most inefficiencies and potential improvements in the detection of crime were found in the categories violent and other crimes. We demonstrate how less efficient police districts can modify police resourcing decisions to better detect certain crime types while maintaining current levels of resourcing. Finally, we highlight how the method we outline improves efficiency estimation by adjusting for endogeneity and measuring the conditional efficiency of each district (i.e. the efficiency of crime detection taking the instrumental variables (e.g. influence of triads) into consideration). The use of frontier models to assist in evaluating policing performance can lead to improved efficiency, transparency, and accountability in law enforcement, ultimately resulting in better public safety outcomes and publicly funded resource allocation.

Knowledge and Perspectives of Developmental Language Disorders: The Pilot Development of a Survey of Professionals Working in Law Enforcement.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to pilot test a survey of professionals within the justice system about their knowledge and perceptions of developmental language disorders (DLDs) and to gather initial data supporting their knowledge and perceptions. METHOD: One hundred thirty-six adults in Texas with law enforcement jobs, primarily police officers, participated in this study. Participants completed a survey consisting of 78 questions about their background, experiences with DLD, and beliefs about communication. Additionally, 42 adults who did not work in law enforcement completed the survey twice to establish the initial measures of survey reliability. RESULTS: This survey demonstrated sufficient test-retest reliability with adults not in law enforcement, and results indicated the emergence of two subscales within the survey. Law enforcement professionals appeared to have limited knowledge of DLD, and many linked language-related behaviors with credibility. A majority did agree with giving accommodations to individuals who struggle with language and reported interest in receiving training to recognize and accommodate DLD. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrates a need for collaboration between speech-language pathologists and law enforcement professionals and provides data for a survey that could be used across professional groups in the justice system to measure knowledge and perspectives of DLDs. This work represents an initial step in an iterative process of survey development for law enforcement professionals. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25033718.

A comparative analysis of accident modification functions for traffic law enforcement.

Traffic law enforcement is a road safety measure whose effects on accidents or injuries is best described by means of a function rather than a point estimate. An informative function should comprise both increases and decreases in enforcement. Currently available accident modification functions cannot serve this need. A fruitful approach to developing accident modification functions covering both increases and decreases in enforcement is differences-in-differences estimates based on multivariate accident prediction models. The paper explains how to develop such estimates and illustrates them. The interpretation of the results of empirical studies can be informed by a game-theoretic model of the effects of enforcement, previously published in Accident Analysis and Prevention (Bjørnskau and Elvik 1992, 507-520).

Planning traffic surveillance in Spain: How to optimize the management of police resources to reduce road fatalities.

Although traffic police enforcement is widely recognized as a key action in the road safety field, it can be a costly policy to implement. In addition, governments often impose budget constraints that can limit the resources available for activities such as law enforcement and surveillance. To evaluate the impact of human traffic control resources planning on traffic fatalities on Spanish NUTS-3 regions interurban roads, this paper uses an econometric model to investigate the performance of police enforcement intensity by focusing on two crucial traffic law infractions (i.e., speeding and drunk driving). After controlling for a range of economic, demographic, climate, and risk exposure variables, results highlight the relevance of visible, human, and in-person traffic law enforcement through regular vehicle patrols for reducing traffic crashes, with a non-significant effect of automatic enforcement. Our findings have important implications for traffic police resource management regarding the effective maintenance of patrol cars and plans to digitalize and automatize police administrative tasks and procedures.