The Society of Captives

Review(s) of: The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, 2009. London, UK: Allen Lane (an Imprint of Penguin Books). 331 pp.

The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better [Book Review]

Law enforcement agencies have rapidly adopted BWCs in the last decade with the hope that they might improve police conduct, accountability, and transparency, especially regarding use of force. Overall, there remains substantial uncertainty about whether BWCs can reduce officer use of force, but the variation in effects suggests there may be conditions in which BWC could be effective. BWCs also do not seem to affect other police and citizen behaviors in a consistent manner, including officers’ self‐initiated activities or arrest behaviors, dispatched calls for service, or assaults and resistance against police officers. BWCs can reduce the number of citizen complaints against police officers, but it is unclear whether this finding signals an improvement in the quality of police–citizen interactions or a change in reporting. Research has not directly addressed whether BWCs can strengthen police accountability systems or police–citizen relationships.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cl2.1043

Body‐worn cameras’ effects on police officers and citizen behavior: A systematic review

Research of inmate social order is a once-vibrant area that receded just as American incarceration rates climbed and the country's carceral contexts dramatically changed This study reengages inmate society with an abductive mixed methods investigation of informal status within a contemporary men's prison unit The authors collect narrative and social network data from 133 male inmates housed in a unit of a Pennsylvania medium-security prison Analyses of inmate narratives suggest that unit "old heads" provide collective goods in the form of mentoring and role modeling that foster a positive and stable peer environment This hypothesis is then tested with Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) of peer nomination data The ERGM results complement the qualitative analysis and suggest that older inmates and those who have been on the unit longer are perceived by their peers as powerful and influential Both analytical strategies point to the maturity of aging and the acquisition of local knowledge as important for attaining informal status in the unit In sum, this mixed methods case study extends theoretical insights of classic prison ethnographies, adds quantifiable results capable of future replication, and points to a growing population of older inmates as important for contemporary prison social organization

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0003122417710462

Where "Old Heads" Prevail: Inmate Hierarchy in a Men's Prison Unit.

The Propaganda Model

The current study addressed the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and perpetration of physical intimate partner violence, examining the possible mediating effect of antisocial traits and behaviors, as well as the differences in these relationships between men and women. Data came from the International Dating Violence Study. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of 13,659 university students from 68 sites and 32 countries using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicated that CSA was significantly associated with perpetration of physical intimate partner violence for both men and women. The slope of the relationships, however, varied across sites for women. Antisocial traits and behaviors fully mediated the relationship between CSA and perpetration of physical intimate partner violence for women but only partially mediated this relationship for men. Increased focus needs to be paid to gender differences on the effect of CSA on the development of antisocial traits and behaviors, the relationship between these factors and perpetration of intimate partner violence, and the variation of these relationships across nations.

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Antisocial Traits and Behaviors: A Gendered Examination of the Factors Associated With Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence

Examine how the amount and makeup of police-initiated activities changed after the introduction of body-worn cameras (BWCs). From May 21 to November 22, 2016, patrol officers and sergeants from the Milwaukee Police Department were involved in a randomized controlled trial. Through a stratified random sampling procedure, half the officers (n = 252) were assigned BWCs, while officers from the control group (n = 252) continued business as usual. The counts of proactive activities, which included a total count of self-initiated events, as well as traffic stops, business checks, subject stops, and park and walks, were examined using random-effects negative binominal panel regression analyses. The models included a unique measure of contamination to assess its impact on officers’ proactivity. BWCs had no impact on the total amount of officer-initiated activities, traffic stops, or business checks. Officers with BWCs conducted approximately 8% fewer subject stops and 23% more park and walks than those in the control group. In all models, contamination levels were significantly, positively associated with the number of proactive activities that were conducted; however, the size of this effect was very small. Results suggest that BWC-wearing officers may be less likely to engage in proactive activities that are highly discretionary and that could potentially lead to confrontations with community members. As departments continue to develop BWC programs or fine-tune their existing BWC policies, more research is needed to understand the degree to which BWCs affect officers’ behaviors and interactions with the public.

/pdf/how-do-body-worn-cameras-affect-the-amount-and-makeup-of-13u87edv73.pdf

How do body-worn cameras affect the amount and makeup of police-initiated activities? A randomized controlled trial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Despite a shared interest in escapes from correctional custody by policy makers, facility administrators, media, and the public, there is a dearth of empirical research on this event. Our study synthesizes prior research, distinguishing between inmate-, incident-, and facility-level variables. We introduce the Correctional Incident Database, which employs a novel approach for collecting escape data. Finally, we describe a sample of 611 inmates involved in 503 escape incidents from 398 facilities. Our findings indicate that escapes from jail are a frequent, yet overlooked, phenomenon. The results also challenge the (mis)perception that escapes are often sensational and violent events.

Escapes From Correctional Custody A New Examination of an Old Phenomenon

Trends and Implications of Graying Prisoners in the Federal Prison System

Police body-worn cameras (BWCs) can help improve transparency, accountability, and policing behaviors. This study extends prior BWC research by using a panel analysis design with a measure of treat...

Do the Effects of Police Body-Worn Cameras on Use of Force and Complaints Change Over Time? Results From a Panel Analysis in the Milwaukee Police Department:

Bryce Peterson

Papers

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Antisocial Traits and Behaviors: A Gendered Examination of the Factors Associated With Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence

How do body-worn cameras affect the amount and makeup of police-initiated activities? A randomized controlled trial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Escapes From Correctional Custody A New Examination of an Old Phenomenon

Trends and Implications of Graying Prisoners in the Federal Prison System

Do the Effects of Police Body-Worn Cameras on Use of Force and Complaints Change Over Time? Results From a Panel Analysis in the Milwaukee Police Department: