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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

An Examination Of Police Response To Individuals Suffering With Mental Illness, Aliss Copsey May 2024

An Examination Of Police Response To Individuals Suffering With Mental Illness, Aliss Copsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine police officer response to individuals suffering with mental illness. There had been little prior research that used qualitative methods and explored police officers in rural areas. Several research questions were explored, including stigmatizing beliefs held by police officers toward individuals with mental illness, perceived levels of preparedness, challenges experienced by police officers, improvements officers wish to see implemented, and the impact of Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) training. This study gathered data through semi-structured interviews with 19 police officers who worked in East Tennessee in order to address the research questions. The results …


Exploring Police K-9 Deaths, Their Causes, And Possible Remedies, John Wise Jan 2024

Exploring Police K-9 Deaths, Their Causes, And Possible Remedies, John Wise

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Police K-9s face daily dangers due to their work. Data collected by the Officer Down Memorial Page from 2000-2023 on K-9 deaths (N = 405) shows that of K-9s that die in the line of duty, many fall victim to heat stroke. Research was conducted comparing heat stroke to all other causes of death. Through an exploration into the history of mankind’s use of working dogs, the unique capabilities of both dogs and K-9 specific dog breeds and applying Routine Activity Theory and Lifestyle Routine Activity Theory to police K-9s, this study’s objective is to bring awareness to, and …


A Comparison Of The Mental Health Of Police Officers And Correctional Officers In Rural Appalachia, Sierra Thomas Dec 2022

A Comparison Of The Mental Health Of Police Officers And Correctional Officers In Rural Appalachia, Sierra Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of mental health among police officers and correctional officers within rural Appalachia. The main goal of this research was to better understand how the occupational demands of working in the criminal justice field can impact one’s mental health over time. Several research questions were explored, including the prevalence of various mental health problems, associated stressors, the structure of support among officers, and the perceptions of mental health treatment services. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 21 police and correctional officers located in rural Appalachia. Results provided a better understanding of …


(Un)Qualified Immunity: An Analysis On Qualified Immunity And Civilian Sentiments, Guy Hodge Ii Jan 2021

(Un)Qualified Immunity: An Analysis On Qualified Immunity And Civilian Sentiments, Guy Hodge Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent events involving the deaths of unarmed, African American citizens have brought forth an increased attention to the application of qualified immunity to law enforcement. This study aims to gain a civilian perspective on qualified immunity. Qualified immunity, as defined by the Supreme Court case Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982), grants government officials performing discretionary functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Through a national-level survey, this study captures an overall favorability of qualified immunity as well as …


Policing Farm Crime: An Exploratory Study Of Agricultural Crime Units, Brianna Lynn Dec 2020

Policing Farm Crime: An Exploratory Study Of Agricultural Crime Units, Brianna Lynn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the practices, perceptions, and operations of agricultural crime units. To date, there has been little research conducted on policing agricultural crimes and no known research on units specializing in investigating them. The study utilizes data gathered from qualitative interviews with agricultural crime investigators across several states to fill this gap in the literature. The results allow for an examination of the fundamental practices of agricultural units, their perceptions and their experiences. In addition, they point to several implications for both policy and practice that may serve to guide our efforts to combat …


An Evaluation Of Georgia Southern University Public Safety Department's Community Policing Program: A Residence Hall Partnership Program, Charles P. Bowen Jan 2020

An Evaluation Of Georgia Southern University Public Safety Department's Community Policing Program: A Residence Hall Partnership Program, Charles P. Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Residence Hall Partnership Program (R.H.P.P.) is the first major department wide community policing effort by the Georgia Southern police department. This study is an evaluation of that program’s first year of implementation. The evaluation process consists of a series of two mostly quantitative surveys of the residence hall students and officers of the Georgia Southern police department. The first survey was distributed at the beginning of the program during the Fall 2019 semester, the follow-up survey at the end of the Spring 2020 semester. The theories being examined are that community policing programs will improve student’s perceptions of police, …


An Exploratory Study Of Duty-Related Stress Among Conservation Officers, Logan Ledford Dec 2019

An Exploratory Study Of Duty-Related Stress Among Conservation Officers, Logan Ledford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research relating to police stress has typically focused on officers working in urban areas, neglecting their rural counterparts. This is especially true of conservation officers, who are tasked with enforcing laws in state parks and other recreational areas. To date, only a handful of studies have sought to better understand their experiences and perceptions. The current study seeks to further our understanding of conservation officer stress in three unique ways: (1) via applying McCreary and Thompson’s (2006) operational police stress scale (PSQ-Op) to the population, (2) determining whether officer characteristics (e.g., age, education, length of service) affect perceived stress, and …


Furthering Understanding Of Forensic Units: A Detailed Examination Of Knoxville Police Department's Crime Scene Unit., Cassandra Christina Rausch Dec 2018

Furthering Understanding Of Forensic Units: A Detailed Examination Of Knoxville Police Department's Crime Scene Unit., Cassandra Christina Rausch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the past three decades, the criminal justice system has decidedly employed new technologies for the purposes of establishing guilt or innocence. Forensic science, with its synthesis of scientific methodology and investigative considerations of law enforcement, ushered in the development of DNA profiling and forever changed the process of crime scene investigation.This shift in focus also led to a shift in the individuals involved in investigation, producing the widespread formation of stand-alone crime scene units. Utilizing both civilian and sworn employees of a law enforcement agency, these units became responsible for the documentation, collection, and preservation of evidence that would …


Correlates And Causes Of Violence Against Police Officers: A Criminal Events Analysis, Michele Covington Jan 2010

Correlates And Causes Of Violence Against Police Officers: A Criminal Events Analysis, Michele Covington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Violence against police officers is a major problem in America. Previous studies on violence and police officers have usually focused on violence by police officers, not violence against police officers. This study is the first of its kind as it examines violence against police officers from a comprehensive, criminal events perspective with detailed use of force/officer violence data collected by the Orlando Police Department. Individual officer characteristics, individual offender characteristics, situational variables, and geographical factors are considered. Logistic regression results indicate that use of force incidents are more likely to involve battery against one or more police officers when multiple …