By Ben Grunwald, John Rappaport and Michael Berg

Private security officers outnumber police by a wide margin, and the gap may be growing. As cities have claimed to defund the police, many have quietly expanded their use of private security, reallocating spending from the public to the private sector. It is difficult to know what to make of these trends, largely because we know so little about what private security looks like on the ground. On one prevalent view of the facts, a shift from public to private security would mean little more than a change of uniform, as the two labor markets are deeply intertwined. Indeed, academics, the media, popular culture, and the police themselves all tell us that private security is some amalgam of a police retirement community and a dumping ground for disgraced former cops. But if, instead, private officers differ systematically from the public police—and crossover between the sectors is limited—then substitution from policing to private security could drastically change who is providing security services.

We bring novel data to bear on these questions, presenting the largest empirical study of private security to date. We introduce an administrative dataset covering nearly 300,000 licensed private security officers in the State of Florida. By linking this dataset to similarly comprehensive information about public law enforcement, we have, for the first time, a nearly complete picture of the entire security labor market in one state. We report two principal findings. First, the public and private security markets are predominantly characterized by occupational segregation, not integration. The individuals who compose the private security sector differ markedly from the public police; they are, for example, significantly less likely to be white men. We also find that few private officers, roughly 2%, have previously worked in public policing, and even fewer will go on to policing in the future. Second, while former police make up a small share of all private security, roughly a quarter of cops who do cross over have been fired from a policing job. In fact, fired police officers are nearly as likely to land in private security as to find another policing job, and a full quarter end up in one or the other. We explore the implications of these findings, including intersections with police abolition and the future of policing, at the paper’s close.

Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Forthcoming . U of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 850. University of Chicago Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper No. 1004. Duke Law School Public Law & Legal Theory Series No. 2024-24

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

By Brian E. McKnight

FROM THE PREFACE: “In moving down through this nested hierarchy of organizational types, we reach one of the key steps at a level where the social units are distinct as unique cultural and political entities. What was peculiarly Byzantine, or peculiarly Chinese, about the perception of law-enforcement problems and responses and about the ways in which lawbreakers were treated? These attributes, which distinguish one such political entity from another, are simply parts of our definition of what it is to be Chinese or Byzantine or Roman. Such defining attributes evolve over time. The Chinese language has changed from the time of the Shang dynasty to today. However, the changes in these fundamental attributes are evolutionary, not revolutionary. Despite the ways in which it has changed, the Chinese language has remained the Chinese language..”

Cambridge University Press. 1992. 572p.

Edited by Yvonne Daly

Police Custody in Ireland brings together experts from policing studies, law, criminology, and psychology, to critically examine contemporary police custody in Ireland, what we know about it, how it operates, how it is experienced, and how it might be improved. This first-of-its-kind collection focuses exclusively on detention in Garda Síochána stations, critically examining it from human rights and best practice perspectives. It examines the physical environment of custody, police interview techniques, existing protections, rights, and entitlements, and experiences of specific communities in custody, such as children, ethnic minorities, non-English speakers, the Mincéir/Traveller community, and those with intellectual disabilities or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Police Custody in Ireland gives a snapshot of garda custody as it is now and makes important recommendations for necessary future improvements. An accessible and compelling read, this book will be of interest to those engaged in policing and criminology, as well as related areas of interest such as human rights, youth justice and disability studies.

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2024. 363p.

By Christopher M. Sun, James R. “Chip” Coldren, Jr.Keri RichardsonEmma Wohl

Law enforcement agencies continue to develop new and innovative strategies to better support and police the communities they serve, from integrating gunshot detection technologies into dispatch systems to improve response times during shootings, to collaborating with local health and social service organizations to address issues such as homelessness or substance abuse in comprehensively ways. Over the past 10 years, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), in partnership with the CNA Institute for Public Research (IPR), has supported law enforcement agencies across the country in implementing innovative policing approaches through the Strategies for Policing Innovation Initiative (SPI, formerly the Smart Policing Initiative). SPI supports not only the development and implementation of innovative policing strategies, but also the research partnerships that result in in-depth analyses and rigorous evaluations of these strategies to advance what is known about effective and efficient policing practices. This report examines SPI’s accomplishments since its inception in 2009 and explores some of the major themes across SPI initiatives in both policing and policing research, including the following:

• Reductions in violent crime

• Improved crime analysis capabilities in police agencies

• Evolution of research partnerships with SPI sites

• Collaborative partnerships with agencies, organizations, and community stakeholders

• Integration of technology into policing

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2019. 20p.

By Al Stein-Seroussi

Anonymous tip lines (sometimes referred to as Anonymous Reporting Systems or ARS) have been recommended as promising and viable approaches to prevent school violence (e.g., Schwartz et al., 2016) and are becoming a popular mechanism for school systems to elicit information from students about potentially harmful events that may occur on school campuses (Planty et al., 2018). A recent national review found that 51% of middle and high schools reported having tip lines (Planty et al., 2020) and that 15 states have codified the use of tip lines through state legislation (Gourdet et al, 2021). The tip lines allow students to report suspicious behaviors they observe or become aware of (e.g., weapons in schools and planned school attacks), health and mental health concerns about their peers or themselves (e.g., depression or suicidal ideation), and other threats to the safety and well-being of students (e.g., bullying, cyberbullying, and physical fights). The idea is that providing students with an anonymous or confidential tool to report potentially harmful events to trusted adults, will lead to the prevention of the events before they occur or the mitigation of events that are already occurring. Tip lines include three primary components believed to be critical for school and community safety: 1) a mechanism for reporting behaviors that have been observed by others; 2) a mechanism for sharing that information within the confines of the law; and 3) encouragement for reporting (Amman et al., 2017; Vossekuil et al., 2002).

Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE). 2003, 82pg

By Anthony Morgan,  Timothy Cubitt,  Isabella Voce

• Using data from a large national survey of online Australians, we examined the presence of risk and protective factors for cognitive and behavioural radicalisation among individuals who participated in an anti-authority protest since early 2020.

• Anti-authority protesters exhibited more risk factors and fewer protective factors for cognitive and behavioural radicalisation than other respondents, including people who had protested in support of other issues or movements. They were also more likely to justify violence in support of their cause and willing to support or participate in violent or unlawful behaviour on behalf of their group.

• These findings show that people who participated in anti-authority protests were more vulnerable to radicalisation compared with other protestors and non-protestors. The results have implications for responding to protest movements that promote anti-government sentiment, that spread disinformation and that are exploited by malicious actors.

• AIC Research Report 31

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2024. 62p.

By Vicki Sentas, Louise Boon-Kuo  & Justin R. Ellis

The violent and contested overpolicing of LGBTQI+ communities at Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has a long and visible history which has been amplified through intensified drug policing over the last two decades. This article scrutinises police practices during Sydney WorldPride events in February and March 2023, which included Mardi Gras events. It draws on a unique data set drawn from the NSW Police Force and an independent legal observer initiative, ‘Fair Play’, that provided support for policed people at WorldPride. We ask: What do police practices tell us about the exercise of police power over LGBTQI+ people at WorldPride? Our study found intensive and aggressive high-visibility policing characterised by invasive questioning and drug detection dog patrols, and humiliating and potentially unlawful searches. The impacts illustrate how policing criminalises and gatekeeps belonging to sexual and gender-diverse communities.

Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 1–17.2024.

By Loch K. Johnson

Recent years have seen numerous books about the looming threat posed to Western society by biological and chemical terrorism, by narcoterrorists, and by the unpredictable leaders of rogue nations. Some of these works have been alarmist. Some have been sensible and measured. But none has been by Loch Johnson.

Johnson, author of the acclaimed Secret Agencies and "an experienced overseer of intelligence" (Foreign Affairs), here examines the present state and future challenges of American strategic intelligence. Written in his trademark style--dubbed "highly readable" by Publishers Weekly--and drawing on dozens of personal interviews and contacts, Johnson takes advantage of his insider access to explore how America today aspires to achieve nothing less than "global transparency," ferreting out information on potential dangers in every corner of the world.

And yet the American security establishment, for all its formidable resources, technology, and networks, currently remains a loose federation of individual fortresses, rather than a well integrated "community" of agencies working together to provide the President with accurate information on foreign threats and opportunities. Intelligence failure, like the misidentified Chinese embassy in Belgrade accidentally bombed by a NATO pilot, is the inevitable outcome when the nation's thirteen secret agencies steadfastly resist the need for central coordination.

Ranging widely and boldly over such controversial topics as the intelligence role of the United Nations (which Johnson believes should be expanded) and whether assassination should be a part of America's foreign policy (an option he rejects for fear that the U.S. would then be cast not only as global policeman but also as global godfather), Loch K. Johnson here maps out a critical and prescriptive vision of the future of American intelligence.

New York; London: NYU Press, 2002. 298p.

By Luis A. Fernandez , Amory Starr and Christian Scholl

Recently, a wall was built in eastern Germany. Made of steel and cement blocks, topped with razor barbed wire, and reinforced with video monitors and movement sensors, this wall was not put up to protect a prison or a military base, but rather to guard a three-day meeting of the finance ministers of the Group of Eight (G8). The wall manifested a level of security that is increasingly commonplace at meetings regarding the global economy. The authors of Shutting Down the Streets have directly observed and participated in more than 20 mass actions against global in North America and Europe, beginning with the watershed 1999 WTO meetings in Seattle and including the 2007 G8 protests in Heiligendamm. Shutting Down the Streets is the first book to conceptualize the social control of dissent in the era of alter globalization. Based on direct observation of more than 20 global summits, the book demonstrates that social control is not only global, but also preemptive, and that it relegates dissent to the realm of criminality. The charge is insurrection, but the accused have no weapons. The authors document in detail how social control forecloses the spaces through which social movements nurture the development of dissent and effect disruptive challenges.

New York; London: NYU Press, 2011. 224p.

By Susan Dewey and Patty Kelly

Mónica waits in the Anti-Venereal Medical Service of the Zona Galactica, the legal, state-run brothel where she works in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico. Surrounded by other sex workers, she clutches the Sanitary Control Cards that deem her registered with the city, disease-free, and able to work. On the other side of the world, Min stands singing karaoke with one of her regular clients, warily eyeing the door lest a raid by the anti-trafficking Public Security Bureau disrupt their evening by placing one or both of them in jail.

Whether in Mexico or China, sex work-related public policy varies considerably from one community to the next. A range of policies dictate what is permissible, many of them intending to keep sex workers themselves healthy and free from harm. Yet often, policies with particular goals end up having completely different consequences.

Policing Pleasure examines cross-cultural public policies related to sex work, bringing together ethnographic studies from around the world—from South Africa to India—to offer a nuanced critique of national and municipal approaches to regulating sex work. Contributors offer new theoretical and methodological perspectives that move beyond already well-established debates between “abolitionists” and “sex workers’ rights advocates” to document both the intention of public policies on sex work and their actual impact upon those who sell sex, those who buy sex, and public health more generally.

New York; London: NYU Press, 2011. 240p.

By William Garriott

In its steady march across the United States, methamphetamine has become, to quote former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, “the most dangerous drug in America.” As a result, there has been a concerted effort at the local level to root out the methamphetamine problem by identifying the people at its source—those known or suspected to be involved with methamphetamine. Government-sponsored anti-methamphetamine legislation has enhanced these local efforts, formally and informally encouraging rural residents to identify meth offenders in their communities.
Policing Methamphetamine shows what happens in everyday life—and to everyday life—when methamphetamine becomes an object of collective concern. Drawing on interviews with users, police officers, judges, and parents and friends of addicts in one West Virginia town, William Garriott finds that this overriding effort to confront the problem changed the character of the community as well as the role of law in creating and maintaining social order. Ultimately, this work addresses the impact of methamphetamine and, more generally, the war on drugs, on everyday life in the United States.

New York; London: NYU Press, 2011. 201p.

By Rochisha Shukla, Bryce Peterson, KiDeuk Kim

The Urban Institute and our partners—CNA Corporation, Correctional Leaders Association, the American Correctional Association, and criminal justice consultants John Shaffer and Joe Russo—conducted a needs assessment to (1) understand the scope and severity of contraband cell phones in prisons across the country, (2) identify which interdiction technologies and strategies agencies are using, and (3) assess the knowledge gaps related to correctional practice and contraband interdiction.

Washington, DC: Urban Institute. 2024, 22pg

By Mami Kajita; Daisuke Murakami, Seiji Kajita, Georgia Ribeiro, Genilson Zeferino, and Claudio Beato  

Optimizing urban resources, such as ride-sharing and logistics, improve efficiency by reducing waiting times and costs. Similarly, effective allocation of security resources enhances crime deterrence effect. However, measuring the net impact of security policy campaigns remains challenging due to the influence of various external factors. This study introduces a method using high-resolution GPS data from patrol activities to measure crime deterrence effects. We examined the impact of optimized patrol routes on crime prediction in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, over two months, observing a 68.5% reduction in crime compared to the previous period. Analysis of the GPS data revealed a spatial propagation of the deterrent effect to areas distant from the patrol locations. Our findings indicate that unique spatial-temporal patterns of the deterrent effects detected through sensor technology can be reduced into its net impact, potentially helping decision-makers to choose more informed options in security policies.

Unpublished paper. 2024, 17pg

By Rafael A. Mangual

  After a long period of continuous violent-crime declines throughout the U.S.—spanning from the mid-1990s through the early 2010s—many American cities are now seeing significant increases in violence. Nationally, in 2015 and 2016, murders rose nearly 11% and 8%, respectively. The national homicide rate declined slightly in 2017 and 2018, before ticking upward in 2019. In 2020, the nation saw its largest single-year spike in homicides in at least 100 years—which was followed by another increase in murders in 2021, according to CDC data and FBI estimates. In the last few years, a number of cities have seen murders hit an all-time high. In addition to homicides, the risk of other types of violent victimizations rose significantly, as well. While various analyses estimated a slight decline in homicides for the country in 2022, many American cities still find themselves dealing with levels of violence far higher than they were a decade ago. While violent crime—particularly murder—is the most serious due in large part to its social costs, there have also been worrying increases in crimes such as retail theft, carjacking, and auto theft, as well as in other visible signs of disorder in public spaces (from open-air drug use and public urination to illegal street racing and large-scale looting and riots). Although several contributing factors are likely, this general deterioration in public safety and order was unquestionably preceded and accompanied by a virtually unidirectional shift toward leniency and away from accountability in the policing, prosecutorial, and criminal-justice policy spaces. That shift is evidenced by, among other things, three major trends in enforcement: • A 25% decline in the number of those imprisoned during 2011–2212 • A 15% decline in the number of those held in jail during 2010–211 • A 26% decline in the number of arrests effected by law-enforcement officers during 2009–1914 Notable contributing factors to the decline in enforcement include: • A sharp uptick in public scrutiny and interventions—in the form of investigations and legal action taken by state attorneys general and the federal Department of Justice—against local law-enforcement agencies • The worsening of an ongoing police recruitment and retention crisis, particularly in large urban departments • The electoral success of the so-called progressive prosecutor movement, which, by 2022, had won seats in 75 jurisdictions, representing more than 72 million U.S. residents • Perhaps most important, the adoption of a slew of criminal-justice and policing reform measures at all levels of government Those who are skeptical of the criminal-justice reform movement have devoted most of their efforts to arguing against the movement’s excesses and explaining why it would be unwise to enact certain measures. Less effort has been devoted to the extremely important task of articulating a positive agenda for regaining what has been lost on the safety and order front. This paper seeks to add to that positive agenda for safety by proposing three model policies that, if adopted, would help, directly and indirectly, stem the tide of rising crime and violence, primarily by maximizing the benefits that attend the incapacitation of serious criminals (especially repeat offenders) and by encouraging the collection and public reporting of data that can inform the public about the downside risks that are glossed over by decarceration and depolicing activists ....

New York: Manhattan Institute. 2023, 19pg

By Danilo Souza, Mateus Maciel

In the context of increasing violence, public security reforms are commonly advocated as a solution to the problem despite the lack of empirical evidence. We address this question by evaluating the effect of the Pacto pela Vida program, a comprehensive reform on the public security of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. We document a reduction of 16 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants following the program implementation. We show that a reduction in crimes occurring on the streets and associated with young males and firearm availability are likely to have contributed to the program’s effect.

Unpublished paper. 2024, 11pg

By Justice Policy Institute

A nearly decade-long failure of the Bowser Administration to fund and implement evidence-based strategies to prevent violence and strengthen communities has contributed to the context for increased crime and violence. Missed Opportunities: Why Inaction on Preventative Measures Undermines Public Safety in Washington, DC uncovers recent trend of a lack of leadership on proactive public safety strategies, instability in key executive agencies, and little coordination of efforts by government officials that have left the District ill-prepared to respond to alarming increases in some crimes. The brief offers a series of recommendations for District leadership:

• Improve the coordination between agencies working to prevent and address violent crime;

• Focus comprehensive resources on the specific people at the center of violence;

• Implement a holistic public health approach to violence prevention and intervention and invest in supports and services in communities;

• Fund efforts to build community trust and efficacy in policing; and

• Evaluate and sustain effective programs and initiatives

Washington, DC: Justice Policy Institute, 2023. 16p.

By David Weisburd, Cody W. Telep , Heather Vovak , Taryn Zastrowa , Anthony A. Braga , and Brandon Turchan  

  Can police be trained to treat people in fair and respectful ways, and if so, will this influence evaluations of the police and crime? To answer these questions, we randomly allocated 120 crime hot spots to a procedural justice (PJ) and standard condition (SC) in three cities. Twenty-eight officers were randomly assigned to the conditions. The PJ condition officers received an intensive 5-d training course in the components of PJ (giving voice, showing neutrality, treating people with respect, and evidencing trustworthy motives). We used police self-report surveys to assess whether the training influenced attitudes, systematic social observations to examine impacts on police behavior in the field, and arrests to assess law enforcement actions. We conducted pre and post household surveys to assess resident attitudes toward the police. Impacts on crime were measured using crime incident and citizen-initiated crime call data. The training led to increased knowledge about PJ and more procedurally just behavior in the field as compared with the SC condition. At the same time, PJ officers made many fewer arrests than SC officers. Residents of the PJ hot spots were significantly less likely to perceive police as harassing or using unnecessary force, though we did not find significant differences between the PJ and SC hot spots in perceptions of PJ and police legitimacy. We found a significant relative 14% decline in crime incidents in the PJ hot spots during the experiment.  

Missouri: PNAS, 2022. 6p.

By Ben Struhl, Alexander Gard-Murray

Many American communities are wrestling with how to reform their approach to public safety in the wake of police killings, particularly of Black men. There are many ideas for what the right reforms might be, ranging from minor policy tweaks to wholesale replacement of departments. To help communities as they sort through these ideas, we review real experiences with policing reform, highlighting wherever possible the best scientific evidence on the subject.  

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Crime and Justice Policy Lab, 2022. 23p.

By  Peter Leasure, Hunter M. Boehme, and Robert J. Kaminski

Police traffic stops for minor violations have gained considerable attention among scholars and advocates, and some research has found evidence of racial disparities in who is stopped for certain traffic violations. Recognizing the potential for racial disparities and other issues, various jurisdictions have sought to limit traffic stops. On January 14, 2022, the Seattle (Washington) Police Chief Adrian Diaz stated that the Seattle Police Department (SPD) would discontinue stopping individuals for various traffic violations. While these policies were enacted in part to reduce racial disparities and other outcomes that may flow from such stops, some have argued that limiting stops may lead to increased crime rates and traffic accidents due to the reduced investigatory reach of law enforcement. Another possibility is that some crimes, which may have been discovered during a routine traffic stop, could go undetected after a jurisdiction implements a traffic stop restriction policy. The current study explored whether the Seattle traffic stop restriction policy resulted in a decrease in the number of driving under the influence (DUI) and drug crime incidents. The results did not show statistically or substantively significant declines in the number of DUI or drug crime incidents in Seattle after the implementation of the traffic stop restriction policy. Replication is recommended before strong conclusions are drawn.

Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. May 2023, 52pg

By Peter Leasure

This study, co-produced by the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center and the York College of Pennsylvania School of Behavioral Sciences and Education Criminology and Criminal Justice Department, evaluated the impact of York City’s Group Violence Initiative on firearm incidents, violent crime incidents, and recidivism. The results of the primary model did not support the hypothesis that the intervention reduced firearm incidents in York City. The results of the primary model also did not support the hypothesis that the intervention reduced violent crime incidents in York City. However, potential violations of assumptions for time series designs and inconsistent regression results did not support strong conclusions regarding the effect of the intervention on the rate of firearm incidents and violent crime incidents. The recidivism rate for individuals involved in call-in meetings was 83.33%. Data recording procedures and data quality meaningfully improved over the course of the project. These improvements allow York City to be well-positioned for future evaluation projects and data-driven policy shifts.

Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. September 2023, 66pg