Purpose Research on portrayals of police in the news media often examines cases of wrongdoing, such as corruption or police brutality. The purpose of this study is to determine how these negative depictions of law enforcement may lead to divergent effects compared to positive depictions. Furthermore, this study examines how such depictions may influence attitudes toward police reform. Design/methodology/approach The study features a 2 (Police Depiction: Protector or Aggressor) × 2 (Suspect/Victim Race: White or Black) experimental design. A sample of 200 college students was collected in the fall of 2021, shortly after the rise of the Defund the Police movement. Guided by empathetic concern and priming theory, we seek to understand how emotion can mediate the relationship between news exposure and attitudes toward the Defund the Police movement. Findings The findings demonstrate that news depicting an officer stopping a school shooting led to greater empathetic concern for the officer than news depicting an incident of police brutality. This increased officer empathetic concern was associated with more negative attitudes toward defunding the police. Originality/value This study provides one of the first investigations into the relative effects of positive and negative news depictions of police. The findings build on recent scholarship to disentangle the effect of emotion on public attitudes toward police.
Purpose This study investigates the research landscape with respect to virtual assets that are involved in financial crime, with a focus on terrorism financing and money laundering. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a bibliometric analysis of 796 peer-reviewed articles retrieved from the Scopus Database (2000–2024). Bibliometrics and VOSviewer software will be used to visualize and quantify the characteristics of the literature. These quantitative data are made sense of through a Theory, Context, Characteristics and Methodology (TCCM) framework and are useful for organizing the review and identifying the strategic gaps within the existing body of knowledge. Findings The bibliometric analysis of the data revealed that the number of publications about virtual assets and crimes related to them has significantly increased since 2017. The first level of clusters that developed consisted of regulatory structures, forensics on blockchain technology, digital evidence and the implications of policy based on cryptocurrency and financial crime. A TCCM framework was used in this analysis to identify gaps in the existing bibliography regarding theoretical foundations, context-related issues (such as cross-border enforcement) and methods of investigating these two topics. Originality/value This hybrid-review contribution serves as a starting point to help stakeholders (researchers, practitioners and policymakers) understand existing trends in the literature related to virtual assets and financial crime, as well as a structured plan for future work. Furthermore, the review reveals an immediate need to better integrate forensic science in collaboration with developing stronger and more comprehensive investigative practices in addressing the financial crime facilitated through cryptocurrency technologies.
Purpose This study seeks to understand what type of offender is targeted when the police make concerted efforts to bring fugitives to justice. Design/methodology/approach In this study, we consider the offending population targeted by a standalone fugitive unit in a local police department – the Boston Police Department’s (BPD) Fugitive Apprehension Unit (FAU). Descriptive methods were used to detail features of arrest warrants and characteristics of involved persons (perpetrators and victims). Bivariate regression analyses were used to explore whether case severity differs based on case referral source. Findings Examination of 1,706 warrant-related arrests made by the FAU from 2014 to 2021 revealed that 87% of apprehended subjects had an active felony charge and 66% committed a violent crime, including 21% aggravated assault, 11% robbery and 9% murder. Bivariate analyses revealed that cases sourced from districts or other units within BPD were more likely to involve a violent crime and less likely to involve a drug offense compared to cases where the FAU assisted outside law enforcement agencies. Practical implications This study provides evidence that dedicated units offer a promising approach for targeting serious and violent fugitives, and findings can be used to inform resource allocation decisions and help shape public perceptions of police legitimacy. Originality/value Scant research has considered the type of offenders targeted by proactive efforts to arrest wanted persons. This study provides an assessment of a standalone unit within a major US police department dedicated to pursuing and apprehending serious and violent fugitives.
Purpose We sought to explore if stigma directed towards police tactical (TAC) officers' can contribute to organizational stress and shape workplace relationships. Further, we studied how stigmatizing attributes can have implications on mental wellness among TAC officers. Design/methodology/approach We draw on 117 semi-structured qualitative interviews with a geographically diverse sample of TAC officers' across Canada to examine their experiences and perceptions of stigma within police organizations. Findings Our findings suggest the intersection of police organizational culture, masculinities and stigma, a theory based on stereotypes, shape how TAC officers are implicitly and explicitly perceived and treated. TAC stigmas are framed within infrahumanizing tropes that mark and devalue TAC officers based on their perceived physicality, gendered traits, attitudes and behaviours. Police leadership, organizational culture and popularized media can also reify these stigmas, having potential implications on TAC officer uptake in police service-based psychological resources and help-seeking. Originality/value Our study contributes to emerging scholarship on TAC officer occupational stress by identifying how stigma is an under examined source of organizational job-context stress likely shaping TAC officers' experiences of psychological strain.
Purpose Hiring and screening processes shape who enters law enforcement, yet little is known about how agencies prioritize these requirements and publicly communicate them on their websites. As a result, it remains unclear how candidate suitability is defined in practice and how standards vary across agencies. This study examines hiring requirements, screening practices, and selection procedures across a sample of US law enforcement agencies. Design/methodology/approach Archival data were collected from the official websites of 730 law enforcement agencies selected through stratified random sampling. Hiring information was coded across six domains: background investigations, mandatory requirements, disqualifying factors, assessment tests, character evaluations and recruitment incentives. These indicators were aggregated into a transparency index that measures how agencies communicate their recruitment and screening practices online. Transparency levels were then compared by agency type, size and geographic region. Findings Transparency varies considerably across agencies. Larger agencies, municipal police departments and agencies in the Western United States tend to provide more detailed and comprehensive information about hiring requirements and screening procedures on their websites. Together, these findings suggest significant variations in recruitment practices and procedures across the country. Originality/value This study offers one of the first large-scale examinations of how U.S. law enforcement agencies present their hiring and screening practices online. Because agency websites often serve as the first point of contact for prospective applicants, the findings provide insight into how agencies communicate hiring expectations and screening procedures and reveal substantial variation in the hiring information available across organizational contexts.
