1,721,177 research outputs found
Perceptions of group value: how Australian transgender people view policing
No full textIn Australia, no one really knows how widespread the Transgender community actually is since transgender people are relatively diffuse and hidden and comprise a ‘hard to get at population’. One recognised form of researching hard-to-reach populations is through online surveys. Online surveys with members of minority groups have significant advantages over other data collection methods, particularly when asking respondents about their perceptions of authoritarian in-groups such as the police. Under the theoretical framework of Social Identity Theory, and the Group-Value Model, an online survey was used to capture transgender peoples' perceptions of the police. This article determines that the gender identities of transgender participants who have had previous contact with police in their professional capacity significantly shapes negative perceptions of treatment quality from police officer
LGBTI variations in crime reporting: how sexual identity influences decisions to call the cops
Full text linkResearch shows that people vary in their willingness to report crime to police depending on the type of crime experienced, their gender, age, and their race or ethnicity. Whether or not lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) and heterosexual people vary in their willingness to report crime to the police is not well understood in the extant literature. In this article, I examine variations in LGBTI respondents' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on their intentions to report crimes to the police. Drawing on a survey of LGBTI individuals sampled from a Gay Pride community event and online LGBTI community forums (N = 329), I use quantitative statistical methods to examine whether LGBTI people's beliefs in police homophobia are also directly associated with the behavioral intention to report crime. Overall, the results indicate that LGBTI and heterosexual people differ significantly in their intention to report crime to the police, and that a belief in police homophobia strongly influences LGBTI people's intention to underreport crime to the police
Confidence and trust in police: how sexual identity difference shapes perceptions of police
No full textPrevious research indicates that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (‘LGBTI’) community and the heterosexual community vary in their perceptions of police. This study examines variations in the levels of perceptions of police in both communities, and determines whether or not an individual’s sexual identity helps to shape perceptions of police legitimacy and levels of trust in the police. Using a face-to-face survey, data were collected from 365 participants. The results show that respondents who identified themselves as LGBTI report more negative opinions than heterosexual participants regarding: police trust and police legitimacy; procedural justice; treatment quality from police; and respect from police. The research reported in this article indicates that sexual identity does impact on perceptions of policing, and can help to determine whether LGBTI people perceive the police to be legitimate. The findings have implications for theories of trust, and also build upon previous literature examining perceptions of police legitimac
Policing transgender people: discretionary police power and the ineffectual aspirations of one Australian police initiative
Full text linkPolice policy documents often articulate strategies and approaches that police organizations want to implement in their efforts to break down barriers with minority groups. However, most police policy documents are written for police audiences and not for members of the public. Police policy documents serve as a reflection of the aspirations of the agency and not necessarily the practice of the officers. Differential policing has been a salient experience for members of transgender communities because, as individuals who express gender in ways that deviate from the norm, they have experienced numerous documented cases of police mismanaged practice. In Australia, achieving police reform in the area of policing of diverse community groups has been difficult as new initiatives implemented to educate police officers about diverse groups such as transgender communities are scarce. My study sought to analyze a police policy document to assess how one police agency’s policy aspires to shape police contact/experiences with transgender people and how this document might shape intergroup identity differences between transgender people and the police. It is argued that the policy document will negatively affect police perceptions of transgender people and may enhance adverse perceptions of intergroup difference between police and transgender people. I also argue that using this document to achieve police reform in the area of policing of transgender people will be problematic as the policy document lacks substantial procedural guidelines regarding interaction with transgender people and may not favorably constrain discretionary police power
First year student resilience as a factor in retention and engagement
No full textThere is a limited literature related to the links between resilience and transition for first year students. In Criminology and Criminal Justice, students enter careers identified as high stress employment sectors, e.g. child safety, policing, and corrections and it is important to incorporate into our teaching, strategies that will build resilience for success in these challenging employment sectors. In order to do this we need to understand the resilience factors that our students bring or do not bring to the beginning of their studies. In semester one of 2010, the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice investigated the resilience attributes that first year students had brought to their studies. This project involved both pre- and post- surveys as well as focus groups and individual student interviews. The data presented here will provide a summary of our findings and highlight the strategies identified as being useful in resilience building
Police perceptions of prejudice: how police awareness training influences the capacity of police to assess prejudiced motivated crime
No full textPrejudice motivated crime (PMC) is defined as crimes motivated by bias, prejudice or hatred towards members of particular groups, communities and individuals. To understand how police awareness training facilitates or constrains the capacity of police officers to appropriately classify and respond to PMC, data were collected from a population of Police Recruits (PRs) and Protective Service Officers (PSOs) (N = 1609) to ascertain their perceptions of PMC pre and post PMC awareness training. These were used in a logistic regression model to identify factors explaining whether PRs and PSOs would identify a vignette/scenario as a PMC. We found PRs and PSOs were more likely to correctly identify a PMC scenario than a control scenario, but only 61% as likely to identify an incident as PMC post PMC awareness training after accounting for other variables. We argue that awareness training programs need to be more aligned to the specific needs of policing in diverse societies. <br/
Policing diversity: examining police resistance to training reforms for transgender people in Australia
No full textUsing field notes collected from participant observation of Australian police officers training to work with the transgender community, the current research builds upon previous work examining Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 2010) to explain how one training program implemented to educate police about transgender people challenges police culture. This research determines that police culture, training procedures, and stereotypes of gender are equally influential on police perceptions of all transgender people. Overall, the results indicate that negative police perceptions towards police training reforms strengthen in-group identity of police, and negative out-group perceptions of transgender people
(Mis)perceptions of ethnic group size and consequences for community expectations and cooperation with law enforcement
No full textThe changing composition of race and ethnic group size has been noted for Western nations over the last 15 years. Analysis of this change has linked fear of crime and attitudes towards immigrants and prejudice. Changes in ethnic composition are associated with movement of white residents out of traditionally white communities, rising ethnic tension as the ethnic mix shifts, and a heightened sense of injustice regarding the justice system. (Mis)perceptions of ethnic groups size shape attitudes towards minority groups, as well as policy, practice, and individual behaviour in the context of the community. This study seeks to understand the extent of such misperceptions in the Australian context and whether misperceptions of race and ethnic composition are associated with beliefs and attitudes towards formal and informal social control. Utilizing Blalock’s (1967) racial threat hypothesis, this study analyses whether perceived relative ethnic group size is associated with self-reported willingness to cooperate with police as a way to minimize perceived threat. Findings suggest that respondents overestimate the size of minority populations while underestimating the majority white composition, and that these misperceived distortions in ethnic group size have consequences for informal and formal social control
Hidden Identities: perceptions of sexual-identity in Beijing
No full textThis article draws upon responses given by volunteers who work in the ‘Beijing LGBT Centre’ regarding perceptions of sexual-identity, and how Chinese culture affects hidden or open sexual identities of Chinese lesbian and gay people in this region. The insights gained from those working carefully to create social change offers an important and original contribution to the field of gay and lesbian studies in China. The findings indicate the volunteers at the Beijing LGBT Centre are frustrated by the lack of acceptance of non-heterosexual relationships among Chinese culture and society, and by the disregard of lesbian gay and bisexual (LGB) people by the Chinese government. The findings also illustrate stigmatisation of homosexuality in China is enacted in structural terms (such as in the lack of policy, legislation and positive endorsement by governmental and socio-political organisations), public expression (such as negative attitudes, beliefs or reactions towards LGB people) and internalised repression (through fear of stigmatisation, and subsequent abuse due to negative societal attitudes and discrimination). Influenced by the Chinese tradition of conforming to group values, the findings from this study show that volunteers at the Beijing LBGT Centre believe LGB people in China are generally hesitant to disclose their sexual identities, and reject the idea that there had been a collective shift in Chinese culture regarding increased acceptance of LGB people. It also finds volunteers at the LGBT Centre in Beijing blame Chinese culture for its lack of acceptance of non-heterosexual relationships, and state stigmatisation of homosexuality in China is due to deep-rooted cultural homophobia
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