Policing Strategies and Perspectives, Yesterday and Today

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

This thematic panel weaves together historical and contemporary strategies and perspectives underpinning policing in the United States. Panelists will present five papers on such topics as a historical case study examining the training strategies employed by prominent 20th century police reformer O. W. Wilson during his tenure as chief of police in Wichita, Kansas (1928-1939). Another paper reports the results of a study examining how students, faculty, and staff members and campus police, develop collective efficacy based on a campus police agency’s community policing model, and how these shared beliefs influence their overall perceptions of campus safety. A third paper examines the history of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs within police agencies. The paper discusses the importance for DEI initiatives to bring police to a point of reflective practice and self-awareness. Using data from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas Sentencing Commission, the fourth paper examines the impact of past police interaction and prosecution on future sentencing outcomes. The final paper examines misinformation by both social media and the regular news cycle, including misinformation presented by police in the aftermath of police violence. Descriptive vignettes of police misinformation are presented and discussed.

Sub Unit

• Area VI. The Criminal Justice System / 41. Police Strategies, Interventions, and Evaluations

Individual Presentations

• Police Training: Learning from O.W. Wilson in Wichita (1928-1939) - Michael L. Birzer, Wichita State University

• A Collaborative Campus Community Policing Model: A Case Study in Building Collective Efficacy - Hassan Ramzah, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Law Enforcement Practitioners Views on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Lemuel Moore, Derby, Kansas Police Department

• The Impact of Past Police Interaction and Prosecution on Future Sentencing Outcomes - John M. Grube, Kansas Sentencing Commission

• Identity Fusion, Misinformation and Police Legitimacy - Melissa Swauncy-Coleman, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Neil Shortland, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Discussant

• Michael L. Birzer, Wichita State University