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Examining Texas Police Chiefs' Perceptions about Use of Force Policies
Get PDFPolice use of force is a central component of the police role (California
Department of Justice, 2019). Therefore, it is important to have rules that govern use of
force policies and understand police chiefs’ perceptions of their agency's use of force
policies to determine what policy components influence chiefs' perspectives regarding
policy effectiveness. Prior research on police officer use of force policy perceptions have
focused mainly on line officers, and research has not examined police chief policy
perceptions (Paoline & Terrill, 2011). This study aims to add to the existing body of
research regarding use of force policies, specifically looking to fill the gap in the research
regarding Texas police chiefs views of their use of force policies.
The study had three research objectives: 1) examining common components of
Texas police agencies use of force policies, 2) police chiefs’ views on their agencies use
of force policies with respect to overall effectiveness and benefits, and 3) identifying
specific components of use of force policies that influence police chiefs’ attitudes
towards the effectiveness of those policies. A survey was sent out electronically to all
municipal (city, town, and county), school (independent school district and university)
and special jurisdiction (constable, transportation, park) law enforcement agencies in the
state of Texas. Descriptive statistics and OLS regression were used in the analysis.
Key findings revealed that only 39% of responding agencies in the state of Texas
utilized a form of use of force continuum. Additionally, as the number of force options
covered in the written policy increased, chiefs were less likely to believe that their
policies were not restrictive enough. Furthermore, it was found that as the
number of force options covered in the written policy increased, chiefs were less likely to
agree that their policies were too restrictive. Finally, as the size of the agency increased,
chiefs were less likely to believe that their policies are too restrictive.
The findings of this study provides police chiefs with an understanding of the
current landscape of use of force policies in Texas. By identifying effective policy
components, chiefs can structure their policies around proven practices. The results of
this study have the potential to inform policy development and implementation,
contributing to more effective use of force guidelines across Texa
NUBENOCEPHALUS SECUNDUS INFECTION IN FIVE SPECIES OF DAMSELFLIES (ODONATA: COENAGRIONIDAE) IN EAST TEXAS
Get PDFDamselfly parasites are diverse and highly susceptible to ectoparasites and endoparasites. Damselflies are commonly parasitized by gregarines (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida) which inhabit the gut of its host. Gregarines are ubiquitous protozoan parasites that infect aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates all over the world except for Antarctica. More than 1,600 gregarine species have been described, however, only a small percentage of invertebrates have been surveyed for apicomplexan parasites, thus the biodiversity of gregarines is underestimated. Gregarines are highly thought to be host-specific, with some studies suggesting a one-host-to-one gregarine species ratio. However, a survey of damselflies in the genus Argia found Nubenocephalus secundus infecting at least seven species. It has additionally been reported from Ischnura ramburii and an unidentified species of Nubenocephalus was reported from Ischnura hastata and Ischnura posita. The objective of this project was to survey adults of the damselflies Argia sedula, Argia translata, Argia tibialis, Enallagma civile, and Ischnura posita and measure if the Nubenocephalus infecting each of these species is N. secundus. All host species were collected among three sites in Walker County, TX: Harmon Creek and the pond at the Pineywoods Environmental Research Lab and Cook Pond. Adult damselfly populations were dissected and examined for gregarine infection from May 2022 through August 2023. Using a combined approach of observing for morphological characteristics, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) on gregarine trophozoites and a centroid clustering on sporonts, we observed that the Nubenocephalus species infecting A. sedula and A. translata is N. secundus. However, the gregarine infecting the other three damselfly species was not N. secundus but another gregarine species. Additional data collection, including the collection of oocysts, is necessary to determine which species of gregarine is infecting A. tibialis, E. civile, and I. posita
Transforming expectations: Analyzing Mexican American women's connections to culture as transferred by maternal figures
Get PDFLa familia es lo primero—Family comes first. This proverbial phrase often heard on the lips of Mexican American mothers reminds their children of the age-old expectation of familial values within Latinx culture, just as it was told to them by their mother, who was told by their mother, and so on. The mother is expected to ensure the passing down of traditions, values, and culture to the next generation, although the representative is not always the biological mother. Furthermore, traumatic lived experiences without the psychological, emotional, and mental support of a positive maternal figure can forever alter how the subsequent generation perceives their heritage and culture.
The gendered experience the Mexican American mother-daughter dynamic is illustrated in texts such as Reyna Grande’s The Distance Between Us (2012), Erika Sánchez’s I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (2017), and Cherríe Moraga’s Native Country of the Heart (2019), each adding to the collective voice of Chicana women. To reconcile differences between family members from different generations, it is important to learn how to be accepting and understanding of cultural heritage and/or ethnic history so that one can better acknowledge its negative or positive interactions with majority groups that establish hegemonic ideology
Latino Osteopathic Medical Student Audio Series – Ariana Montes
No full textBridging Horizons: Audio Series on a medical career journey for undergraduate students with Ariana Montes There is an undisputable need to increase Hispanic diversity in medical education and healthcare. Discover the inspiring world of medicine through "Bridging Horizons," an audio series designed to empower and guide Hispanic undergraduate students on their path to medical school. Delve into the personal stories and triumphs of Hispanic medical students, giving insights into their cultural perspectives on how to start the journey to becoming a medical professional. This audio series highlights the cultural attributes of medical students and their successful stories from navigating fears and uncertainties to initiating their medical career path up to their school’s admission. "Bridging Horizons" is a platform that celebrates the resilience, achievements, and contributions of Hispanic individuals in the initial journey to becoming medical professionals. Join us in fostering a supportive community for Hispanic prospective med students, offering practical advice on engagement to break down barriers, bridge cultural gaps, and provide a roadmap for aspiring Hispanic medical professionals. Tune in for a roadmap to success, from undergraduate studies to medical school admission.SHSU College of Osteopathic Medicin
Solidarity in Transparency: The Need to Standardize Information Dissemination to Improve Police and Community Relations.
Get PDFLaw enforcement is dependent on the support of the public to function optimally. Current events have shown the world the catastrophic results that occur when the public’s trust and support in law enforcement erodes. The public needs to have their thoughts and concerns heard, and, sometimes, they want to take part in the decision-making. The public needs to be treated with dignity and respect as well. They need unbiased decisions formed on transparency and logical reasoning. Lastly, they need trustworthiness from those in authority. Those needs are the pillars that hold up the belief in fairness in procedural justice. They are the needs that maintain a healthy symbiotic relationship between law enforcement and society. Unfortunately, incidents like the Michael Brown shooting and the Uvalde School shooting have highlighted problems within agencies in providing effective informational transparency. Ferguson PD chose to remain silent, whereas officials in Uvalde repeatedly had to issue retraction statements because they inaccurately reported “facts” in their haste. There is not a unified directive for every agency when dealing with reporting information to the public and this is creating public mistrust. There should be a legislatively mandated unified guideline for police departments outlining clear timelines to disseminate specific information to the public to maintain the public’s trust. Law enforcement has been resistant to change, especially when it involves increased oversight from legislators. Departments may fear that lawmakers will abuse their powers, require too much information to be released, jeopardize the investigation, or they will make changes that will be a financial burden. Ultimately, the onus is on law enforcement to be dedicated to excellence and work in concert with legislators to find a solution.LEMI
Differences in Meeting College and Career Readiness in Mathematics as a Function of the District's Rural Setting: A Statewide Investigation
Get PDFThe purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the extent to which a rural school district setting was related to the performance on the College and Career Readiness standard in mathematics for African American boys, Hispanic boys, and girls in the State of Texas. In contrast to urban districts that tend to offer greater opportunities in advanced mathematics coursework, the relationships between a school district setting and enrollment in advanced mathematics coursework had not been explored to determine how African American boys, Hispanic boys, and girls performed in rural school districts across the state of Texas (i.e., Rural Remote, Rural Distant, and Rural Fringe).
The research design in this journal-ready dissertation was a causal comparative design. Archival data were downloaded from the Texas Academic Performance Reports using a Public Information Request for the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years. Each data file for the 1,068 public school institutions had the total number of annual graduates, the percent of graduating girls meeting college ready, the percent of graduating Hispanic boys meeting college ready, and the percent of African American boys meeting college ready in mathematics.
Descriptive statistics were calculated for all rural school district types combined and then separately. Inferential statistics were conducted, and no statistical significance were present across the three rural school district types across the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years. Observed in this investigation at least 70% of African American boys were not college ready in mathematics across all three school years in rural school settings. Of importance to this investigation, two-thirds of Hispanic boys who graduated from rural school districts in Texas were not college ready in mathematics even though the Hispanic community was the fastest growing community as reported in the 2020 US Census. Consequently, less than one-fifth of all high school female graduates in the State of Texas had not met a college ready indicator in mathematics in contrast to 55% of female graduates who were not college ready in mathematics when they graduated from one of the three rural type settings across the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years
Latino Osteopathic Medical Student Audio Series – Minerva Ramirez
No full textBridging Horizons: Audio Series on a medical career journey for undergraduate students with Minerva Ramirez. There is an undisputable need to increase Hispanic diversity in medical education and healthcare. Discover the inspiring world of medicine through "Bridging Horizons," an audio series designed to empower and guide Hispanic undergraduate students on their path to medical school. Delve into the personal stories and triumphs of Hispanic medical students, giving insights into their cultural perspectives on how to start the journey to becoming a medical professional. This audio series highlights the cultural attributes of medical students and their successful stories from navigating fears and uncertainties to initiating their medical career path up to their school’s admission. "Bridging Horizons" is a platform that celebrates the resilience, achievements, and contributions of Hispanic individuals in the initial journey to becoming medical professionals. Join us in fostering a supportive community for Hispanic prospective med students, offering practical advice on engagement to break down barriers, bridge cultural gaps, and provide a roadmap for aspiring Hispanic medical professionals. Tune in for a roadmap to success, from undergraduate studies to medical school admission.SHSU College of Osteopathic Medicin
Officer Response to Non-Emergent Calls at Schools
Get PDFIn the state of Texas and across the United States, many schools have school resource officers (SROs) assigned. The majority of those officers have been through some type of training for their positions as school-based law enforcement (SBLE) officers, in the state of Texas SBLE training is required for SROs. SBLE training teaches officers the laws and overall goals of the law enforcement presence within the school system.
When a school needs a police officer, and an SRO is present on campus, the administrators may call for help. In these cases, generally, a municipal police officer assigned to patrol is dispatched to the school. Most patrol officers are not trained in SBLE laws or goals and are responding to the school-based issue as if it is any other call. Lack of training in officers responding to school-based incidents can create a higher likelihood of the student being arrested if a crime has been committed, or a chance of the laws specific to policing schools being violated. This can cause mistrust of police on the part of the schools and the juvenile and possibly open the officer and their agency to liability.
To better serve schools and protect the rights of students, non-emergent calls at schools should only be handled by officers trained in SBLE laws and practices. SBLE training is free, available online, goes toward the training hours required by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) to maintain a peace officer license, assists in reducing the school-to-prison pipeline, and helps officers better perform their duties regarding students and administration when responding to non-emergent school related calls.LEMI
Police Agencies Should Consider Drones as First Responders
Get PDFUsing drones as first responders, formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), offers many advantages for police agencies nationwide. Drones enhance situational awareness and can access areas only previously accessible by costly police helicopters that took hours and rich finances to deploy. Drones minimize officer risk since officers can deploy them within minutes to act as the agencies' eyes and ears without placing a human officer in harm�s way. Dangerous areas and situations are communicated to responding officers and command staff, providing real-time updates that allow police agencies to make better, more informed decisions, whether a scene needs to be escalated, deescalated, or not responded to. Equipped with thermal imaging, loudspeakers, and technology once only available to the military, police drones are a force multiplier assisting in crowd control, search and rescue missions, humanitarian efforts, and low-priority calls such as traffic complaints, allowing human officers to respond to higher-priority calls. Moreover, thanks to numerous funding sources available, drones are more accessible than ever to police agencies nationwide. Drones as first responders is the concept that drone deployment should be considered first to assist police agencies in accomplishing their goals, starting when the initial call-for-service comes in, not last.LEMI
Growing Leadership from Within: Advancing a Pre-Qualifying Model in Law Enforcement
Get PDFEffective leadership in law enforcement emerges as an indispensable pillar for organizational success and succession. Law enforcement organizations across the United States face leadership development challenges directly attributed to a generic promotional model that fails to adapt to contemporary needs. Applying substantial investments in training new officers underscores the imperative of a more robust commitment to providing personnel with the essential tools for career advancement. The critical need for establishing and implementing pre-qualifying programs across command levels aids in evolving seamless succession by limiting on-the-job failures due to lack of training. Ensuring professional development, enhancing competency, and contributing to overall organizational effectiveness and accountability are essential to organizational success. The envisioned pre-qualifying program structures promotion processes assessing candidates against established leadership competencies and shows and identifies a prerequisite for promotion eligibility. Despite critics arguing about burdens on candidates and the department, emphasis on the long-term benefits asserts that these advantages outweigh temporary inconveniences and the imperative for law enforcement organizations to promote personnel to serve their communities effectively and purposefully. The conclusion recommends creating partnerships, establishing a tiered program, adopting gradual implementation strategies, designing rigorous assessment processes, implementing a practical application process, incentivizing participation, and incorporating continuous program evaluation. In summary, implementing a comprehensive pre-qualifying program represents an investment in the future of leadership in policing and organizational development.LEMI