Social unrest and community oriented policing services

Since 2014, there have been several, high-profile police-involved shootings that have captured the nation as a whole. The misunderstandings between culture, legal knowledge, and human behavior all come together to create an environment of social unrest that may lead to violence in the United States. Because we have a decentralized structure for policing services in the United States, the need for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) educational initiatives could help close the divide of knowledge in our country. With grant assistance from the COPS office, law enforcement and community members could make an impactful change in our schools to educate children on concepts related to police operations and the perceptions of police misconduct by community members. By having a proper source of information to offset misunderstandings about police and minorities perpetuated by news media and social media, our youth and community members can critically evaluate the best way for communities to be served by law enforcement.     

The social ecology of the Columbine High School shootings

The Columbine High School shooting in 1999 prompted school officials and policy-makers to create and implement programs and policies that would prevent violence in school and ensure school safety. Ten years have passed since the Columbine shooting; however, debates concerning risk factors for the shootings continue to ensue. The focus of this article is to examine the Columbine school shootings within the context of Bronfenbrenner's (1994) ecological systems analysis. We examine the most commonly identified risk factors, which operate within five systems levels: chrono-, macro-, exo-, meso-, and microsystems, and draw implications for school-based practice and policy.     

Police Accounts of Body-Worn Camera Footage In News Media

People offer accounts in response to actions that are subjected to valuative inquiry. Recordings of police actions captured on body-worn camera (BWC) video can become subject to valuative inquiry when footage is publicly released. This footage may possibly undermine police legitimacy. Managing legitimacy is a basic rationale for why police provide accounts in response to their conduct. Proponents of BWCs assert that the devices enhance legitimacy and, while police have long used accounts to justify their conduct, less is known about how body cameras affect police accountability in practice. Drawing from Scott and Lyman's accounts theory framework, this qualitative, exploratory study examines official police accounts as both outcomes of police accountability in practice and as provided in the context of news media coverage of publicly released body-worn camera footage. This allows us to ask the following questions: What types of accounts have police officials provided in news media reports in the context of publicly released BWC footage? And, more generally, what insight might an analysis of police accounts provide about accountability in relation to the implementation of BWCs? A key finding reveals that the timing of police accounts varied quite considerably, and that accounts were usually not static. The findings provide some general insight into what kinds of actions captured on body camera recordings constitute acceptable use of force by officers, even in situations when police actions resulted in death. This study also provides a small empirical window into when and how police officials provide accounts in response to publicly released body camera footage.     

“Road Warriors” on “Hair-Tragger Highways”: Cultural Resources and the Media's Construction of the 1987 Freeway Shootings Problem*

Media constructions of social problems usually rework the claims of activists and other primary claimsmakers. However, the news media acted as primary claims-makers in discovering and reporting the 1987 Los Angeles freeway violence problem. The press drew upon cultural resources in constructing this problem, applying a conventional template for social problems stories and using familiar imagery to depict freeway shootings. The social organization of claimsmaking, as well as contingencies in the histories of individual campaigns, affect the choice of cultural resources used to construct social problems.     

Research in School Shootings

Studies of school shootings have been conducted in a variety of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, and media studies. However, to date there is no unified body of knowledge about such events. In an effort to synthesize past studies, and to orient future studies in school shootings, this article (i) offers a typology for understanding the varieties of school shooting incidents, including rampages, mass murders, terrorist attacks, targeted attacks, and government shootings; (ii) examines the mass media dynamic of school shootings; and (iii) presents a synthesis of the multilevel causes suggested in the research, including those on the individual, community, and social levels. Suggestions for future studies in school shootings are explored.     

Restoring trust through transparency: Examining the effects of transparency strategies on police crisis communication in Mainland China

Employing a 2 (accepting crisis accountability vs denying crisis accountability) x 2 (high vs low information substantiality) x 2 (high vs low participation) online experiment (N = 293), this study examines how different transparency strategies influence public anger and trust in a Chinese police crisis context, offering insights on government social media crisis communication. In general, transparency is crucial for Chinese local governments, especially police agencies, in managing crises on social media. Reporting organizational crisis accountability, delivering sufficient and evidence-based messages, and enabling public discussion on social media are three transparency strategies that can help minimize public anger and rebuild public trust. Results suggest the positive effects of delivering messages in crisis situations by using transparency. Furthermore, the study points out that police organizations in China should consider the possibility of information overload and unexpectedly low overall expectations for government transparency among Chinese publics.     

Etiology of School Shootings: Utilizing a Purposive,Non-Impulsive Model for Social Work Practice

Many schools have introduced violence prevention measures that aim to combat acts such as bullying and carrying weapons on school premises. Despite these attempts, students and faculty live in fear of a school shooting happening in their community. This article reviews the factors that are most prevalent in those who follow through with school violence and the most prevalent cluster of variables seen in cases of school shootings. Next, the etiology of school shootings and the stages-of-change model, applied to school violence, is discussed. The analyses are then followed by implications for social work and how to augment existing practices through practice and policy changes.     

Youth (and) Violence

Youth violence is a major concern. Everyday the news and entertainment media feeds the public a fresh supply of school shootings, stabbings at house parties and random gun violence involving young people. These narratives do not just entertain, they fundamentally alter our existence. But, should they? Are our fears warranted? This essay considers how youth violence shapes our ontology, that is, the way we view and interact with our world. Towards this end, I examine the prevalence of violence in North American society. However, before sliding into this discussion, I highlight the nuances involved in asking the question, ‘what is violence’? Next, I ask what is the aetiology or ‘causes’ of violence? This section surveys a variety of experts on the subject including: Freud, sociologists, criminologists and philosophers. I conclude by suggesting that violence is irreverent and to begin an exegesis requires that we, all of us, avow all life.     

Playing safe: Media coverage of child sexual abuse prevention strategies

This paper examines the media coverage of preventing child sexual abuse. It draws on a content analysis of all press and TV news coverage about child sexual abuse that appeared in the UK during a complete 12-month period. The findings demonstrate that the bulk of the coverage was case-based, for example focusing on the Orkney case. There was very little opportunity for broader discussion of general issues of concern, including how sexual assaults against children might be prevented. The coverage of ‘prevention’ which did exist drew on a very narrow range of debates and was disproportionately concerned with abuse outside the home (abductions by strangers, or abuse within institutions such as schools or children's homes). Discussions about prevention were dominated by reactive news stories generated by particular ‘scandals’. The coverage was also largely drawn from a small constituency of official source agencies (such as government officials, court proceedings and police statements). There were few attempts to address the broader social conditions which might facilitate or inhibit sexual violence or to examine explicitly political analyses of the problem. The paper argues for a more diverse discussion about ways of preventing sexual violence against children, especially assaults by fathers, uncles, brothers and friends of the family. This demands close attention to the ways in which the mass media operate, as well as the priorities of source agencies. The paper points to factors within news production practices which both obstruct and facilitate debate about prevention and concludes by suggesting strategies to promote this issue as a vital part of the public agenda.     

Recurrent issues in efforts to prevent homicidal youth violence in schools: expert opinions

Developmental research on social influences on adolescents can guide practices aimed to prevent homicidal youth violence. School shootings have repeatedly raised questions about the contributory role of bullying and entertainment violence, how news media publicity might produce copycat crimes, and whether stiffer criminal sanctions might have a deterrent effect. This article presents the thoughts and recommendations of a group of experts on these topics summarizing the current knowledge base. In brief, bullying reduction programs may be a useful early prevention effort. Television and video games with violent themes can encourage aggressive behavior, but these media can be used to teach more prosocial behavior as well. The potential copycat effects of highly publicized crimes might be diminished with more restrained reporting, although more research is needed. Finally, there is substantial evidence that increased criminal sanctions for youthful offenders have not had a deterrent effect.     

Assessing Adolescents Who Threaten Homicide in Schools

Psychoanalytic and psychiatric perspectives on children who threaten to kill others are reviewed in the context of the need for an interdisciplinary approach to the problem. Converging technologies derived from a Psychoanalytically informed social systems model are compared to law enforcement approaches, Psychoanalytic understanding of the individual dynamics of the child, and empirical research a conduct disordered adolescents. The interdisciplinary orientation of a broadly trained community psychoanalyst allows a unique contribution when trying to distinguish adolescents who make a threat from those who pose a threat. Case vignettes are used to illustrate the hypotheses. This article is reprinted with permission of The American Society of Psychoanalysis, Volume 62, Number 3, pp. 213–235 (2002). Two of the authors (SWT & FCS), participated in a conference held by the federal Bureau of Investigation in July 1999, in which 18 schools where there had been homicides as well as thwarted attacks were invited to a weeklong conference with many national experts and FBI profilers. Well over 100 individuals attended the meeting, including school principals, counselors, deans of students, district attorneys, and members of the police force in a think tank setting to understand the psychology of school violence and, in particular of the child who commits or threatens homicide in school called by the FBI a “school shooter”.     

The politics of flies: mocking news in Chinese cyberspace

Utilizing an illustrative case, this article examines readers' satirical comments on online news in Chinese cyberspace, revealing that using the news as a prop, netizens joke about social inequality and injustice, and parody sham and official stereotyped and hollow messages. Furthermore, by raising questions and exploring possible answers collectively, netizens unveil the absurdity of social policies and the hypocrisy, greed, and corruption of government officials. Hence, netizens' satirical comments focus a spotlight on social problems. This article argues that satirical comments enrich news and expand its content, thereby giving the news an aura, making ordinary news extraordinary, and making possible political and radical readings of seemingly apolitical and neutral news.     

How schools of social work perceive and are responding to juvenile violence: a national survey

Following a trend of decreasing youth violence crimes in the 1990s, incidents of multiple victim shootings on school campuses by juvenile perpetrators brought renewed focus on the youth violence problem. Tougher criminal justice policies indicated a change in purpose of the juvenile justice system from rehabilitation to punishment and accountability. Effects of this change on the well being of youth should be a concern of social work, especially given the large number of students choosing school social work as their focus. This study surveyed all schools of social work in the continental US, Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico about their perceptions of youth violence and the methods they are using to educate their students about the problem. Findings indicated a wide diversity of perceptions and methods used to address the problem. Suggestions for incorporating juvenile violence into the curriculum and giving students interested in working with this population experience are offered.     

"THE NEWS MEDIA, THE PROBLEM FRAME, AND THE PRODUCTION OF FEAR"

The role of the news media in promoting a public discourse of fear is examined. A conceptual model is offered that is based on recent developments in communication formats and frames. The emphasis is on the impact of media forms and frames for guiding the selection and presentation of reports emphasizing fear (e.g., crime, drugs, violence). A "problem frame' compatible with format and entertainment needs is used by the news media as a secular version of a morality play. This promotes messages that resonate fear. The role of the problem frame is described as part of the process for promoting widespread messages stressing fear and danger. Materials from a qualitative content analysis approach, "tracking discourse,' of selected news media illustrate how the focus and content of "fear' shifts over a period of time. Conceptual and methodological implications of this approach are discussed.
The sociological imagination…consists of the capacity to shift from one perspective to another, and in the process to build up an adequate view of a total society and its components.
C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination .     

Relationship building and message planning: An exploration of media challenges and strategies used during school crises at the P-12 level

Schools at the P-12 level increasingly face crises related to school shootings, violence, and other tragedies. Understanding the communication challenges schools face is paramount to assisting schools with communication before, during, and after crisis events. The current study focuses on the challenges created by media interest in such crises and the strategies implemented to overcome these challenges and provide responsible information to stakeholders. Interviews conducted with 21 school crisis teams at the P-12 level revealed that sensationalism, seeking alternative routes to information, and framing were key challenges in working with the media. In light of these challenges, administrators focused on creating media plans, building relationships with the media, being accurate but guarded, and communicating reassurance and reunification. Implications are discussed for school districts nationally.     

The racialized patterns of police violence: The critical importance of research as praxis

The tragic killing of George Floyd at the hands of the police resulted in hundreds of thousands of protestors marching in the streets demanding change. The call for change criticized the killing of Blacks by law enforcement and challenged White supremacy as an institution of social control and racial violence. A key component of the marches and protests was a message to the residents of the United States: “Black Lives Matter.” As society grapples with a reckoning, researchers studying police violence for the past 6 decades have been empirically and theoretically debating the reasons why use of force by law enforcement continues to have a higher proportion of Black and Brown victims compared to Whites. Although the research on fatal police killings was studied by only a small number of individuals prior to 2014, after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri the research in different areas of the country increased rapidly as did the forms of analysis and research disciplines making their own contributions. The Washington Post and Guardian news agencies established that deaths at the hands of the police were occurring for at least 900 to 1100 individual deaths per year for which firearms resulted in the greatest cause of death. As US government agencies failed to produce a national data source on police involved killings, the media took a leading role in providing greater national understanding. The authors examine what role academic researchers contribute to the discussion for solutions, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds. As protestors march, lawyers sue and defend, and politicians create new forms of legislation, researchers need to play a more important role initiating critical studies, making sense of the data, and providing a theoretical framework for which police violence can be understood. This article will provide an overview of the literature on racialized police violence, point out key patterns involving racial and ethnic disparities, and emphasize how researchers can play a more important role in advocating for change.     

Can social workers and police be partners when dealing with bikie-gang related domestic violence and sexual assault?

Welfare and criminal justice systems manifest different goals, cultures, values and working methods. In Australia, the welfare sector has a culture of empowerment and concern for victims’ rights, within which social workers focus on social justice and social change. In contrast, the criminal justice sector (police) is patriarchal and para-military in structure, focusing on enforcing and maintaining community order and safety. These differences can create tension when social workers and police need to work as partners in response to violence against women, in particular violence against women from bikie gangs. This article addresses the issue of partnerships between social workers and police when working with abused bikie-gang women. It presents the findings of recent research into social work practice with such women in South Australia, in conjunction with a brief exploration of the international literature on social work and police cultures, and partnerships. It concludes that whilst there is a great need for genuine collaboration and partnership between social workers and police in the complex context of domestic violence with links to organised crime, the cultures and mandates of these different professions make this difficult.     

Crime in the Movies: Investigating the Efficacy of Measures of Both Sex and Gender for Predicting Victimization and Offending in Film

In the wake of several recent school shootings claims have been made that teens, particularly males, learn violence from the media. This paper investigates depictions of criminals and victims in film, specifically in reference to the gendered nature of violent crime, utilizing a content analysis of popular domestic movies in 1996. We develop a gender measure that is separate and distinct from sex in order to test the relationship between both variables and movie offending and victimization. In our sample, masculinity was significantly related to both movie offending and victimization, but sex was not. This pattern of results indicate that the media may be influential in establishing values that accept violence as one means to accomplish masculinity.     

Social media advocacy and gun violence: Applying the engagement model to nonprofit organizations’ communication efforts

Applying the model of engagement, this study tests the effectiveness of social media advocacy strategies, framing, and mobilizing information related to nonprofit organizations’ communication about the issue of gun violence. An online experiment revealed successful social media advocacy strategies within the engagement model. Two key components of social media advocacy were identified: (1) public relations practitioners’ roles in shaping messages and mobilizing publics; (2) the important role of marginalized groups and individuals in issue amplification.     

The Norwegian police and victims of elder abuse in close and familial relationships

Over recent decades, domestic violence or family violence, violence against women and child abuse has received much attention in the media, in political discourse and in social research. However, abuse of older adults arouses limited interest. In government action against domestic violence and in police guidance manuals, the elderly receive little attention. The aim of this article is primarily to demonstrate how the police attempt to prevent elder abuse in close relationships, especially in parent-child relationships. This article highlights some contradictions between the need of the police to produce criminal cases (often contrary to the interests of the victims) on the one hand, and the police's duty to prevent further abuse on the other. Research has documented that help and prevention measures in question make the situation even worse for the victims they are meant to help.