Recently in Law Enforcement Category

Source: United States Government Accountability Office, GAO-10-5, October 29, 2009

In 1976, Congress established the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program, which is administered by the Department of Justice (Justice) and provides lump-sum payments to eligible public safety officers and their survivors after a line-of-duty death or permanent and total disability. The program also provides educational benefits to an eligible officer's spouse and children. GAO was asked to determine (1) the extent to which claimants receive PSOB program benefits and how long the claims process takes, (2) any issues raised by state and local agencies and others who assist claimants in seeking benefits, and (3) the extent to which the PSOB program follows recognized government standards and guidelines for effective program management. To address these objectives, we reviewed PSOB claims that were opened during fiscal years 2006 to 2008 for all three types of claims, reviewed relevant agency documents, and interviewed PSOB program officials, representatives of advocacy organizations, and state and local officials in five selected states. GAO found that all education claims and over three-quarters of death claims opened in fiscal years 2006 through 2008 were closed and approved as of April 2009, while only about 31 percent of disability claims initiated during that period had determinations. The majority of disability claims remained pending because they took significantly longer to process than other claims--while education and death claims were generally processed in under a year, disability claims took between 17 and 26 months. State and local officials GAO interviewed were generally concerned about their lack of awareness of certain PSOB program benefits, challenges with establishing eligibility, and the perceived long wait time for benefits. Specifically, officials were generally more aware of death than disability and education benefits.

Source: K. D. Hassell, S. G. Brandl, Police Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Reform efforts in many police departments have diversified the workforce, especially with regard to race, sex, and sexual orientation. Research, however, has demonstrated that the assimilation of these officers has not been problem-free. Using data collected from a large, municipal police department, this article examines the workplace experiences of patrol officers and a potential consequence of those experiences: stress. We find that being female and being a racial/ethnic minority brings with it substantially different experiences on the job compared to male and White officers. Our findings also confirm previous research that workplace climate has an effect on workplace stress.

Source: Richard C. Diete, Death Penalty Information Center, October 2009

From the press release:
A report released today by the Death Penalty Information Center concludes that states are wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on the death penalty, draining state budgets during the economic crisis and diverting funds from more effective anti-violence programs. A nationwide poll of police chiefs conducted by RT Strategies, released with the report, found that they ranked the death penalty last among their priorities for crime-fighting, do not believe the death penalty deters murder, and rate it as the least efficient use of limited taxpayer dollars.
See also:
Executive Summary

Source: Anita Khashu, Police Foundation, April 2009

From the abstract:
While local law enforcement agencies collaborate with federal immigration authorities in a wide range of activities, most of this project's discussions focused on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) program of deputizing local and state police to perform immigration enforcement activities. Police executives have felt torn between a desire to be helpful and cooperative with federal immigration authorities and a concern that their participation in immigration enforcement efforts will undo the gains they have achieved through community oriented policing practices, which are directed at gaining the trust and cooperation of all members of the communities they serve.

This project revealed local law enforcement concerns about the impact of local police immigration enforcement on the relationship between immigrant communities and police and the probability of reduced cooperation of witnesses and victims of crime, thereby having a negative overall impact on public safety. They were also concerned about increased victimization and exploitation of immigrants, a possible increase in police misconduct, the impact on law enforcement budgets and resources, the high possibility of error given the complexity of immigration law, the possibility of racial profiling and other civil lawsuits, and the effect on immigrant access to other municipal services.

The report includes research on the rights of undocumented immigrants and the legal framework for the enforcement of immigration laws, demographics, immigration and criminality, evaluation of federal efforts to collaborate with local police on immigration enforcement (287(g) program), a national survey of law enforcement executives on immigration issues and local policing, the experience of undocumented youth, and a survey of law enforcement executives attending the foundation conference about their views on local immigration enforcement issues.

Finally, the report outlines local law enforcement views on the costs and benefits of immigration enforcement by local police and includes recommendations and policy positions that developed from project activities.

See also:
- Press Release
- Executive Summary
- Narratives

Source: Joseph Adler, HR News, Vol. 75 no. 8, August 2009
(subscription required) (scroll down)

HR 413, The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act was introduced in the United States House of Representatives in the 111th. Congress ( January 9, 2009) by Representative Dale Kildee (D. Mich.) and Representative John Duncan Jr. (R. Tenn.) and assigned to the Committee on Education and Labor. As of early July 2009, HR 413 had 117 cosponsors. In the previous 110th Congress, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Act passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 314-97 but stalled in the Senate in a procedural maneuver. If enacted in its current form, the legislation would establish federal government oversight over a major portion of state and local human resource practices, specifically the conduct of labor relations for public safety officers. HR 413 overrides current state and local government laws,
policies and practices, and instead establishes a uniform standard across the country on how governments could approach public safety collective bargaining. Additionally the legislation proposes to expand the jurisdiction of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) by
vesting it with the power to administer the Act and to determine whether existing state and local government bargaining laws meet the threshold set by HR 413.

Source: Roddrick Colvin, Police Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 1, March 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Building on existing race- and sex-based research into the law enforcement workplace, this study examines differential treatment of lesbian and gay officers. A survey of 66 police officers revealed that lesbian and gay officers not only face barriers to equal employment opportunities similar to those faced by women and other minorities in law enforcement but also perceive some workplace benefits as lesbian or gay officers. The research suggests that police departments have made good strides in opening the law enforcement workforce but continue to face ongoing challenges in creating fair, diverse, and representative work environments for lesbian and gay officers. Policy implications as well as the organizational effects of both barriers and opportunities identified are discussed.

Source: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Research Bulletin, July 2009

After falling to their lowest level in nearly five decades in 2008, line-of-duty deaths among U.S. law enforcement officers rose 20 percent during the first six months of 2009. Still, officer fatalities remain low when compared with mid-year totals in recent history.

Source: Sam Mitrani, Labor, Volume 6, Number 2, Summer 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
In the article "Reforming Repression: Labor, Anarchy, and Reform in the Shaping of the Chicago Police Department, 1879-1888," Sam Mitrani examines the dramatic strengthening of the Chicago Police Department in the 1880s. Beginning in 1879, Mayor Carter Harrison pulled the department back from its least popular activities, such as enforcing temperance regulations and breaking strikes, to increase the legitimacy of the force. This was part of Harrison's policy of class collaboration aimed at calming the tension in the city after the strike and riot of 1877. His administration also hired hundreds of new officers and funded an extensive police telegraph system. Meanwhile, the city's workers were organizing in new unions, anarchist organizations were growing, and the city's business leaders were preparing for new clashes by organizing themselves in a citizens' association and an organization known as the Commercial Club. When a new strike wave began in 1885 and his class collaborationist policies ceased to ensure civic peace, Harrison deployed the newly strengthened force against strikers and their anarchist allies, with telling effect. After the Haymarket bombing and the repression of the anarchists in 1886, the police department further consolidated and reinforced itself with increased support from the city's business leaders and their organizations. The article concludes that the Chicago Police Department was largely built in this era in reaction to the labor movement. The department's main task was to contain that movement and protect "order" as defined by businessmen.

Source: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2009

The Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project, coordinated by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, is an unprecedented, national effort to help local, state, and federal policymakers and criminal justice and mental health professionals improve the response to people with mental illnesses who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

The landmark Consensus Project Report, which was written by Justice Center staff and representatives of leading criminal justice and mental health organizations, was released in June 2002. Since then, Justice Center staff working on the Consensus Project have supported the implementation of practical, flexible criminal justice/mental health strategies through on-site technical assistance; the dissemination of information about programs, research, and policy developments in the field; continued development of policy recommendations; and educational presentations.
See also:
- The Law Enforcement Response to People with Mental Illnesses: A Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice

Source: American City and County, March 13, 2009

Of the $787 billion in federal aid included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) will distribute $2.76 billion through several grant programs. The largest program, OJP's Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG), will receive $2 billion from ARRA that will go to help local governments prevent crime and improve the criminal justice system. JAG funding is distributed according to a formula of population and crime statistics. Read the entire article here.