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PubMed1994

Firearm suicides during confrontations with police.

We reviewed the case records of suicides in Marion County, Indiana (Indianapolis) and in surrounding counties from 1984 through 1992. Out of 1203 suicides, there were 14 in which armed, on-duty police officers were confronting, pursuing, or apprehending the subject of the death investigation. All subjects were male, and the peak age range was 30 to 34 years. The head, especially the right temple, was the usual site of the fatal wound. More than half of the incidents started as domestic disputes with a wife or girlfriend. Many of the others occurred when police officers pursued or arrested a suspect wanted for a previous felony. Ethanol was involved in less than half of the cases, and drugs were not a factor. In at least four cases, the presence of police was a factor that precipitated the suicide. The histories of the 14 cases demonstrate the potential for controversy and the challenges for forensic scientists investigating suicides during police confrontations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

The prevalence of tuberculosis infection in New South Wales police recruits, 1987-1990.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) infection and to determine the rate of conversion to a positive Mantoux test result after BCG vaccination in a subgroup of the Australian population. DESIGN: A descriptive and retrospective study. SETTING: The Police Academy, Goulburn, New South Wales. PARTICIPANTS: 4704 recruits to the New South Wales Police Service between 1987 and 1990. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rates of positive Mantoux test results before and after administration of BCG. RESULTS: Eleven per cent of Police Cadets were Mantoux positive. Of those who had never been vaccinated with BCG, 7% were positive. Statistically significant differences in Mantoux positivity were found in relation to age, sex and country of birth. There was also a significant difference in the frequency of positive Mantoux reactions between the group vaccinated with BCG at the Academy and those who were vaccinated earlier in life. CONCLUSIONS: Routine Mantoux testing of population subgroups provides a useful source of information on the prevalence of TB infection. However, without testing for the "booster phenomenon" only a minimum estimation of the infection rate can be determined. The National Health and Medical Research Council recommendation that a Mantoux reaction of 5-9 mm be considered positive in the southern States of Australia is supported. The low rate of conversion to a positive Mantoux test result after administration of BCG vaccine at the Police Academy indicates that Mantoux testing after vaccination is not useful.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

A comparative evaluation of police suicide rate validity.

The authors assessed sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of official police suicide rates and compared them to municipal workers. Deaths officially classified as suicide, accidental, and undetermined were submitted to a panel of medical examiners for validation. Six cases originally in the accident and undetermined rubric were reclassified as suicide. Official police suicide rates had less sensitivity (83.3% compared to 92.3%) of actual suicides than municipal worker rates. Police suicide rates also showed a lower negative proportion than municipal worker rates (86.2% compared to 98.7%). A generalizable sensitivity proportion equation for assessing suicide rates in other police groups is presented.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

Suicides and other deaths in police custody.

This article presents data from a study on 59 deaths in Dutch police stations in the period 1983-1993. Twenty deaths were caused by suicide, 19 by intoxications, 8 by natural causes, and 12 by other or unknown causes. The mortality rate, suicide rate, and poisoning rate in police stations were higher than in penitentiary institutions and in the general population. The morality rate was lower in large police stations than in small police stations. Identification of deviant detainees seemed less problematic than handling these deviant detainees. It is argued that exceptional detainees without serious charges should be transferred to Health Care services. Other structural preventive measures are also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Decriminalization of public drunkenness: the response of suburban police.

In 1973, Massachusetts abolished the crime of public drunkenness, with the intent that many of the persons who formerly had been arrested on this charge would now be treated at detoxification centers. We studied the effects of this law in the Boston suburbs, with an emphasis on the police response. We found that there has been a paradoxical increase in drinking-related jail cell detentions, and that the police and detoxification centers are dealing with two essentially different and unrelated populations. Police and detoxification officials agree that the suburban detoxification system is irrelevant for dealing with most of the public intoxicants whom the police have always dealt with and whom they continue to deal with.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗
PubMed1986

Mortality of a municipal worker cohort: III. Police officers.

Very little is known about the long-term health risks associated with the high stress police officer occupation. We report here on a retrospective cohort of 2,376 ever-employed white male police officers employed between January 1950 and October 1979. Vital status was obtained for 96%, the officers accumulating a total of 39,462 person-years. Six-hundred sixty-one deaths were observed. Total mortality from all causes was comparable to that of the overall U.S. white male population (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 106). Significantly increased mortality was seen for all malignant neoplasms combined (SMR = 127), cancer of the esophagus (SMR = 286), and cancer of the colon (SMR = 180). Significantly lower than expected mortality was seen for infectious diseases (SMR = 26), respiratory diseases (SMR = 64), and accidents (SMR = 60). Internal cohort comparisons revealed that policeman exhibited significantly higher mortality from suicide compared to all other municipal employees (rate ratio = 2.9). Analysis of mortality by length of service as a police officer showed that those employed 10-19 years were at significantly increased risk of digestive cancers and cancers of the colon and lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues and decreased risk for all diseases of the circulatory system. Policeman employed more than 40 years had significantly elevated SMRs for all causes, all malignant neoplasms combined, digestive cancers, cancers of the bladder and lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues, and arteriosclerotic heart disease. Risk of mortality from arteriosclerotic heart disease tended to increase with increasing years employed. These findings are discussed in light of the police stress literature. The hypotheses generated in this study must be tested through study of the role of important confounders including reactions to stress on the job.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Citizen participation in police crisis intervention activities.

A naturalistic experiment tested the proposition that police time could be saved in nondangerous crisis intervention calls through the use of citizen participants. Results showed that police officers who used citizen intervention spent less time per call than officers who did not. However, police time was not saved in family disturbance calls. Family disturbance control group calls were rated by police as having a higher degree of physical danger present than other calls.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Police training in domestic crises: a suburban approach.

This paper discusses an intervention method that was presented to develop joint police-mental health programs with seven suburban police departments. A seminar on family crisis intervention was instituted. The program method and goals are described and the result of numerous new requests by police for mental health consultation are discussed. Results suggest that a training approach different from urban programs is needed and wanted by suburban police. The initiative for developing such programs clearly falls on the shoulders of community mental health practitioners.

Crisis Intervention↗
PubMed2002

A non-policing honey bee colony (Apis mellifera capensis).

In the Cape honey bee Apis mellifera capensis, workers lay female eggs without mating by thelytokous parthenogenesis. As a result, workers are as related to worker-laid eggs as they are to queen-laid eggs and therefore worker policing is expected to be lower, or even absent. This was tested by transferring worker- and queen-laid eggs into three queenright A. m. capensis discriminator colonies and monitoring their removal. Our results show that worker policing is variable in A. m. capensis and that in one colony worker-laid eggs were not removed. This is the first report of a non-policing queenright honey bee colony. DNA microsatellite and morphometric analysis suggests that the racial composition of the three discriminator colonies was different. The variation in policing rates could be explained by differences in degrees of hybridisation between A. m. capensis and A. m. scutellata, although a larger survey is needed to confirm this.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Is pain sensitivity associated with occupational fears in police recruits?

Gross (Behaviour Research and Therapy, 30, 7-13, 1992a) showed that the fear of pain (pain sensitivity) could be distinguished from dental fears and health concerns. Furthermore, the Pain Sensitivity Index (PSI) correlated significantly with pain expectations, and pain expectations correlated significantly with dental avoidance behaviour. However, Gross noted that the psychometric properties of the PSI had not been fully determined. The present study examined the factor structure of an expanded version of the PSI with a sample of 212 police recruits. A single factor accounted for 52.1% of the variance and the reliability coefficient (alpha = 0.89) indicates that the PSI possesses a high degree of internal reliability. Subsequently, it was hypothesized that pain sensitivity correlates positively with fears relating to police tasks which are characterized by pain expectancies, such as the fear of being assaulted during operational police work. In support of the hypothesis, pain sensitivity correlated highest with situations involving pain. The pain sensitivity construct may help to explain individual differences in fear reactions to situations where pain could be experienced, such as operational police duties or dental attendances.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Taking samples under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

This article reviews the changes that have been made in England and Wales by Part IV of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to the powers conferred on the police by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to take and to retain for statistical purposes intimate and non-intimate samples from suspects. These changes follow recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice which reported in 1993. They signal a significant increase both in police powers and in the future work of the police surgeon.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Emotional responses to child sexual abuse: a comparison between police and social workers in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE: Research on specific emotional responses of professionals to child sexual abuse (CSA), other than the overwhelming feeling, is currently lacking in the child welfare literature. This study examines the initial responses to CSA of police and social workers in Hong Kong. METHOD: Based on their recall of the first child sexual abuse incident, 28 police officers and 86 social workers from 10 training sessions on child sexual abuse in Hong Kong indicated how strong they felt about their emotions in 10 categories of 37 responses. RESULTS: Among the 37 emotional responses, police and social workers showed significant differences in only seven responses: (1) embarrassment with the perpetrator; (2) ambivalence about rescuing the child or preserving the family; (3) fear of being inadequate in handling the situation; (4) titillation in response to our involuntary physiological responses to words and descriptions of sex acts; (5) feelings of revenge because the behavior was bad or immoral; (6) empathy with the child's condition; and (7) ambivalence about helping or punishing the perpetrator. In both groups, "anger at the perpetrator" and "empathy with the child's condition" were the most strongly felt emotions. CONCLUSIONS: Although these two professional groups were not significantly different in most of the emotional responses to their first child sexual abuse incidents, police were more likely to have ambivalent and revenge feelings, while social workers were more likely to have discomfort feelings. Limitations of this research project include sampling procedure, self-report biases, and effect of training.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

A workload survey of police surgeons in Darlington, UK showing recent changes and detailed work patterns in 1998.

This paper gives an accurate picture of the police surgeon workload in the town of Darlington for the year 1998, and is compared with a similar workload survey done 5 years ago in 1993. The number of cases seen in 1998 shows an increase of 142% compared with 5 years ago, and various explanations are given as to the possible causes of this significant change. The pattern of call-outs for the time of day and the busiest nights of the week clearly shows the peak demands for our services in the evenings and especially Friday and Saturday nights. The breakdown showing the reason for attendance indicates the significant rise in drug addicts seen with associated drug-driving assessments. Examination for CS spray are compared with a correspondingly small number of baton injuries and injuries to police officers. This type of information could be used to introduce police surgeon recruits to the pattern of work that awaits them. Planning and budget implications could be more accurately predicted, and the figures could be used to compare with other areas for those police surgeons who also keep records.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

The medical management in police custody of alcohol dependent detained persons.

The author devised a simple postal questionnaire which was sent to all of the UK members of the Association of Police Surgeons, requesting information about their management in police custody of alcohol dependent persons detained by the police. The questionnaire and the results are presented. The results are analysed. The detention by the police of alcohol dependent patients is dangerous as these patients are at risk of sudden death. Some of the relevant literature is considered and then a suggested management scheme for such a situation is proposed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Police officers' perceptions of eyewitness performance in forensic investigations.

Few contemporary data support the assertion that eyewitnesses are important in police investigations. In the present study, 159 UK police officers were surveyed regarding their perceptions of eyewitnesses and eyewitness performance. The respondents indicated that eyewitnesses usually provide the central leads in criminal investigations; however, the police officers also believed that eyewitnesses rarely provide sufficient information, especially descriptive details as opposed to action details. Nevertheless, the officers believed that eyewitnesses are rarely incorrect. A sizable minority reported that witnesses rarely come forward to the police and that those who do are often reluctant to testify in court. Many officers indicated that they do not have enough time to conduct good eyewitness interviews.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Policing pubs: what happens to crime?

The aim of this study was to test the effect of heightened police enforcement of the NSW Liquor and Registered Clubs Acts on overall criminal offences and, specifically, the number of assaults. Ten police patrols were included in the study. Five of these patrols were allocated to the experimental condition and five were allocated to the control condition. Beat police in the experimental controls conducted frequent but random visits to predesignated licensed premises over a 2-month period. Police in the control patrols maintained their normal duties. Numbers of offences in the experimental and control patrols were then compared for 2 months before the intervention, for the 2-month intervention phase and for 2 months post-intervention. Results of the study indicated a significant increase in the number of offences in the experimental patrols during the intervention phase. Reasons for this increase are discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1991

Factors related to elderly crime victims' satisfaction with police service: the impact of Milwaukee's "Gray Squad".

This study tests the hypothesis that specialized police services for the elderly affect the way the elderly view the police in general. Older victims dealt with by elderly victimization specialists were more satisfied with the efforts of local police than crime victims who had not received specialized services. This latter finding has important implications for training police officers to deal effectively with elderly victims of crime.

Aged↗