Digital Commons Network^™

1983, Brandon Hasbrouck

Scholarly Articles

This Piece embraces a fictional narrative to illustrate deep flaws in our legal system. It borrows its basic structure and a few choice lines from George Orwell’s classic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Like Orwell’s novel, it is set in the not-too-distant future to comment on problems already emerging in the present. The footnotes largely provide examples of some of those problems and how courts have treated them in a constitutional law context. The title (itself quite close to Orwell’s own title) is a reference to our chief civil rights statute, while the story deals with a critical threat to that …

Worst Practices: Departmental Predictors Of Police-Involved Deaths In Minnesota, 2013–2022, Joseph D. Ramlet

Capstone Projects

For decades, police departments in every part of the United States have been scrutinized for incidents of excessive and unjustified force. Some departments kill more of the citizenry than others, both with and without justification. Attention is drawn to Minnesota in the decade since the advent of the Black Lives Matter movement, through and after the murder of George Floyd and subsequent racial reckoning. Existing scholarship categorizes factors as individual and contextual, both of which are included in partial least squares regression performed on crowdsourced data and responses to Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics surveys from 29 departments in …

The Rise In Racial Tension: Metropolitan High School Administrators' Perceptions Of School Resource Officers, Joshua Stephen Mahan

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although heuristic models on safety for Black students have been proposed following the death of George Floyd (Edwards, 2021), little research to date has highlighted how Minnesota educational leaders perceive school resource officers (SROs) in schools. This phenomenological investigation explored the shared lived experiences of six Minnesota high school administrators from one school district that employed SROs. Five themes were determined in the course of data analysis, including qualified advocacy for SROs, SRO contributions to de-escalating for safer schools, SRO assistance in emergency situations, SRO caused escalation, and SRO caused racial harm. Findings from this study revealed support for SROs …

The Thinning Blue Line: Ptsd Benefits For Law Enforcement In Minnesota, Caleb Wootan

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

No abstract provided.

Causes Of Police Officer Career Apprehension Following George Floyd, Michael T. Rossler, Charles Scheer

Faculty Publications - Criminal Justice Sciences

Police workforce retention has become a persistent managerial concern. The public response to recent events of police misconduct have fueled the perception that police may be seeking other career paths following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Despite growing evidence, current research has been unable to ascertain what conditions may prompt officers to voluntarily separate from police work following Floyd’s murder, or whether the impact varies across demographic groups. Drawing upon a survey of over 600 police officers across eight police departments in the United States, the current inquiry examines what percent of officers reported reconsidering their career following …

The Automated Fourth Amendment, Maneka Sinha

Emory Law Journal

Courts routinely defer to police officer judgments in reasonable suspicion and probable cause determinations. Increasingly, though, police officers outsource these threshold judgments to new forms of technology that purport to predict and detect crime and identify those responsible. These policing technologies automate core police determinations about whether crime is occurring and who is responsible.

Criminal procedure doctrine has failed to insist on some level of scrutiny of—or skepticism about—the reliability of this technology. Through an original study analyzing numerous state and federal court opinions, this Article exposes the implications of law enforcement’s reliance on these practices given the weighty interests …

Law In Inaction: The Origins And Implications Of Chronic Drug Law Underenforcement In One Southern County, Kay L. Levine, Elizabeth Griffiths, Joshua M. Hinkle, Volkan Topalli

Faculty Articles

Common accounts of police and prosecutorial nonenforcement discretion tend to valorize individual declination choices as demonstrations of mercy and resource constraint. Simultaneously, these accounts critique blanket nonenforcement policies as being outside the bounds of executive authority. Both accounts fail to consider the origins and implications of nonenforcement decisions made by police officers and prosecutors in individual cases that, when taken together, amount to significant underenforcement of an otherwise valid law.

This Article fills the gap between these differing perspectives by empirically examining the hidden and habitual underenforcement of technically valid drug-free-zone (DFZ) laws in one Southern county. Data matching the …

Legalization, Medical Exemptions, And Decriminalization Of Marijuana Laws. An Exploratory Study Of Campus Police Officers’ Perceptions And Policing Practices In Response To New Marijuana Laws, Eric Kulberg

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploratory study of how campus police officers perceive and respond to the changes in marijuana laws. It focuses on campus police departments in states that have passed marijuana laws that fit into one of three categories of laws: – the legalization of marijuana, a medical exception to the use of marijuana, and the decriminalization of marijuana for possession of small amounts. Because of its exploratory nature, this research focuses on campus police departments at each state’s flagship institutions that have passed legislation that fits into one of the three categories of laws. Lipsky’s theory of street-level …

The Effect Of Police Quota Laws, Stephen Rushin, Griffin Sims Edwards

Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article examines the effect of state laws restricting the use of police quotas. Police quotas describe the establishment of a predetermined number of traffic stops, citations, or arrests that officers must make within a particular time period. Some police supervisors have historically used quotas to ensure adequate productivity by officers. However, critics argue that quotas incentivize officers to engage in unnecessary, and in some cases, unconstitutional, coercive behavior. Numerous states across the country have enacted laws banning or limiting the use of police quotas.

This Article analyzes a dataset of traffic and pedestrian stops from eleven law enforcement agencies …

Examining The Experiences Of Dei Practitioners: A Look At The Racial Disparity In Policing Of Black People And The Subsequent Need For Adaptive Leadership, Lashawn Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, Black people in the U.S. have had to navigate structural and institutional racism. This is especially true for the system of policing, which evolved from pre-emancipation slave patrols. Though law enforcement agencies have made strides in the past 160 years, Black people continue to be targeted and killed by police at a disproportionate rate. Evidence shows that DEI training initiatives within policing often fail to reduce this racial disparity that exists in policing. Yet, improved training outcomes surrounding racial relations continues to be a priority. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of …

Shifting Blame And Gendered Differences: A News Media Study Of The Characterization Of Police Sexual Violence, Brittany Nieman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis offers a critical analysis of media representations of police sexual violence cases in Canada. This paper looks to fill the gap on media representations of police sexual violence cases and to contribute to long standing literature on gendered issues in policing. Symbolic interactionism, framing theory, and critical feminist ideologies make up the theoretical background for this work. Using Altheide and Schneiders (2012) Qualitative Document Analysis Process, a media analysis was conducted on 104 Canadian news articles revolving around police sexual violence cases occurring on Canadian policing services. This study primarily revealed a dichotomy in representations of the complainant …

A Descriptive Study Of The Perception Of Emerging Adults Aged 18-25 Years Toward Police Efficacy And Image In The United States, Jude Louis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of emerging adults toward police efficacy and image. The study was descriptive, used quantitative methodology, and utilized a non-experimental design. Close-ended questions were used in an online format to survey emerging adults aged 18-25 years in the United States. The data was collected using the SurveyMonkey Audience, which was relatively cost-effective, able to gather information from the target audience within a short period of time, and efficient with any sample size. The study occurred over two months in 2024. Emerging adults in the United States aged 18-25 years irrespective of …

The History Of Systemic Racism In The Texas Rangers, John E. Jordan Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

White people dominated North American society from the first settlement of North America through the twentieth century and their own cultural norms dictated their actions, both good and bad. The Texas Rangers and other police officers in Texas played a major role in the discrimination of people of color, particularly the Hispanic population. Systemic racism is found in the militarizing of the police and how they interacted with people of color.

Understanding The Cultural Perceptions And Beliefs Of Law Enforcement About Officer Wellness: A Focused Ethnography, Carrie Hintz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Law enforcement is recognized as one of the most stressful and high-risk occupations in the world. This study explored the cultural perceptions, beliefs, and values of law enforcement officers (LEOs) about their wellness. Methodology: This focused ethnography included observations and individual interviews of LEOs in the state of Nevada, USA. Leininger’s four phases of qualitative data analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: Thirty-one LEOs participated, representing 7 law enforcement agencies. Three themes were identified: 1) the badge is omnipresent in officers' lives, affecting every aspect of their world; 2) a balanced approach to officer health is important; …

How The 2020 Protests Raises The Issues Of Policing Tactics, Brianna Knibbs

Capstones

With the 2020 Racial protests spreading all across the United States in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the issues of police tactics used against protesters have raised a lot of questions on how it plays a role into the systematic police racism. In addition to the challenges for those who try to sue police departments.

Injustice In The Field? A Look At Field Booking Arrests In A Southeastern City, Deena A. Isom, Kaitlen E. Hubbard, Hiuxuan Li

International Journal on Responsibility

Issuing citations in lieu of arrests, or field booking arrests, is touted as beneficial by reducing the costs for the criminal legal system; reducing the burdens placed on individuals by avoiding arrest records, possible pretrial detention, and financial obligations; bettering community relationships with officers; increasing officer safety and efficiency; and reducing jail overcrowding. Yet, there are still substantial concerns that the practice may be disproportionately utilized and lead to net-widening. Using data obtained from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, we assess a snapshot of field booking arrests in a Southeastern city. Specifically, we assess if there are racial …

The Impact Of De-Escalation And Mental Illness Trainings On Civilian Complaints, Deaths, And Injuries Across United States' Police Departments In 2005, Annabeth Fox

Master of Science in Criminal Justice Theses & (Pre-2016) Policy Research Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine the potential impacts that mandatory police trainings, such as de-escalation tactics and use of force trainings, have on the number of suspects who are injured, shot and killed, and citizen complaints of unnecessary force used by police officers. An examination on training programs specifically aimed at responding to incidents involving people with mental illnesses will determine if the use of these trainings results in fewer suspect injuries and reported unnecessary force incidents. It is thus hypothesized that the mandatory enforcement of these mental health trainings within police departments will result in fewer …

Restrictive Pursuit Policies And Rising Violent Crime, Ryan Kelly

Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Leadership

Consequences can be a driving factor for why citizens follow laws in the United States. Financial and physical freedom is valued. Citizen’s behavior may change if police officers threaten to take these things away for breaking laws. Policymakers today are working to restrict when law enforcement officers can chase criminals for breaking the law. Suppose the ability of law enforcement to hold criminals accountable is restricted. Would this not lead a reasonable person to believe that criminals may think they are free to commit crimes? This paper will cover current trends in violent crime in both the United States and …

Where Do We Go From Here? Reconsidering Crowd Management And Control In The Wake Of The George Floyd Era Of Protests., Nicholas Steiger

Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Leadership

This research evaluated police response to protests and considered crowd management and control in the wake of the George Floyd era of protests. The research reviewed the history of crowd management and control and evaluated new methods to increase police legitimacy. It proposed the adoption of the Elaborated Social Identity Model of crowd control and provided agencies with additional recommendations that may increase ethical decision-making. It proposed that forming multi-jurisdictional mobile field force teams for crowd management and control will increase the professionalism of the police and help ensure the rights and safety of those participating in First Amendment activities. …

Police Brutality & Unions: Collective Bargaining Is The Problem, Not Law Enforcement, Falco Anthony Muscante Ii

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

When Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, and when Jason Van Dyke fired sixteen rounds at Laquan McDonald who was walking away from the responding officers, were Chauvin and Van Dyke acting exclusively of their own volition, or were their actions indicative of a deeper, systemic issue? Nearly 60% of law enforcement officers enjoy collective bargaining protections from their police unions, but these protections create a lack of accountability.

Police unions can bargain collectively with police departments because of state legislation, which typically allow for negotiation over matters affecting wages, hours, and terms and …

From Larceny And Concealed Births, To Indecent Assault And Attempted Suicide: An Analysis Of Rural Crimes Committed In Three Small Irish Villages Between 1941-1943, Clay Darcy

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

This article explores an under-researched area within Irish criminology: rural crime during the 1940s. It analyses a volume of recorded rural crimes that were committed in an area encompassing three small Irish rural villages between the years 1941-1943. Set against the backdrop of World War II and Ireland’s state of emergency, many crimes committed were larceny, relatively minor in nature and related to “culprits” living in, or perhaps trying to survive the hardships of war, poverty and rationing. However, other crimes, such as embezzlement, indecent assault, concealment of birth, attempted suicide and sacrilege also feature within the volume. Examining these …

Constitutional Law—Filling The Gap: The Need For Legislative Action To Protect The Right To Record Police In The Age Of Citizen Journalism, Madalyn J. Goolsby

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Breaking Down Bias: A Comparative Analysis Of General Public And Police Officer Attitudes Toward Mental Illness And Officer Decision-Making In Mental Health Crises, Therese L. Todd

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Police responses to persons with mental illness (PMIs) compared to those without appear to be more likely to result in negative outcomes, underscoring the importance of understanding these interactions and the factors that may influence them. Relatively little research has examined officer attitudes toward mental illness, and no study has examined implicit bias toward mental illness among police officers or how police culture may impact outcomes in mental health crises. The present study sought to: 1) measure explicit and implicit bias toward PMIs among the general public and police officers to understand how these constructs may vary among these populations; …

Exploring And Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Greeley’S Mental Health Co-Responder Program And “Squad 1”, Mikelle Angiuli

Master's Theses

Law enforcement officers are often the de facto emergency response for mental health crises despite having little to no mental health training. With nearly 20% of U.S. adults reporting experiencing a mental illness and recent police reform movements bringing attention to alternative policing practices and policies, there is arguably a need for comprehensive mental health treatment and emergency response in the U.S. (Mental Health America, n.d.). The cities of Greeley and Evans, Colorado have implemented a mental health co-responder program that involves individual mental health clinicians and a mental health ambulance, Squad 1, responding alongside police on mental health calls …

The Future Of Deep Fakes: Analyzing The Potential Future Consequences Of The Widespread Use Of Deepfakes On The Policing Sector, Maryam Salem Alshamsi

Theses

In today’s world there is a growing uncertainty in terms of the truthfulness of what we see and hear. People digest a great amount of information throughout the day using their devices, yet the quality and credibility of content is in question. People question if we are experiencing and perceiving the same reality at this point. This issue is not novel, however, it has progressed and developed to a level of realism that deceives people and affect their comprehension of information. Rapid technological advancement has raised the concern of what is referred to as “Deepfakes”, a machine learning technique that …

The Racialized History Of Vice Policing, India Thusi

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Vice policing targets the consumption and commercialization of certain pleasures that have been criminalized in the United States—such as the purchase of narcotics and sexual services. One might assume that vice policing is concerned with eliminating these vices. However, in reality, this form of policing has not been centered on protecting and preserving the moral integrity of the policed communities by eradicating vice. Instead, the history of vice policing provides an example of the racialized nature of policing in the United States. Vice policing has been focused on (1) maintaining racial segregation, (2) containing vice in marginalized communities, and (3) …

Qualified Immunity And The Unintentional, Or Intentional, Chill On Free Speech, Madison Heiney

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

To The Court Of Last Resort: A Prosecutorial Roadmap In The Aftermath Of State Violence In Chile And Colombia, David F. Scollan

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

A great deal of academic research and writing has been done on the most glaring examples of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But, only a small cadre of authors have endeavored to identify the ‘lower limit’ of when state action qualifies as these heinous acts. This Note strives to add to that area of legal scholarship aimed at bringing instances of in-country state perpetrated violence out from the behind the veil of sovereign police action and into the spotlight to call them what they are: crimes worthy of international condemnation and punishment. Specifically, this Note unpacks two spasms of …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Police Decertification, Lacey Roughton

Theses and Dissertations

The decertification of police officers is an important mechanism for law enforcement accountability for those who engage in misconduct, however, we have limited knowledge on the processes and outcomes of this form of police accountability. By using a convergent mixed methods design, the purpose of this study was to understand the process in which police decertification occurs and factors that influence decertification decisions in a Southern state. The data for this study included decertification case evidence packets, observational data from decertification hearings, and in-depth qualitative interviews with commissioners involved in police officer decertification case decisions. The findings from this study …

Was Atwater V. Lago Vista Decided Correctly? The Fourth Amendment's Shadow And Simulacra Of Police Brutality And The American Dream, Charles Lincoln

Barry Law Review

No abstract provided.