A new study found that police officers view body camera monitoring as less fair when cameras automatically turn on and when artificial intelligence reviews the footage, rather than having manual control and human supervisors doing the reviews. Officers feel most uncomfortable when they can't control when recording starts and when the footage review process is taken out of their direct supervisors' hands. These findings matter because officer resistance to automated body camera systems could undermine their effectiveness in improving police accountability and transparency.
Police officers use profanity like "fuck" for various professional purposes—from asserting authority to building team bonds—but current department policies either don't address this language use or regulate it poorly. A study of nearly 1,500 police and HR executives found that context matters greatly: the appropriateness of officer profanity depends on who it's directed at and whether it's meant to be harmful. These findings suggest police departments need more nuanced policies that distinguish between professional and inappropriate uses of strong language rather than blanket bans or no rules at all.
Police officers are already using AI writing tools like ChatGPT to help write reports, but many departments lack clear policies about this practice. Poor report writing by officers can undermine criminal cases and expose police departments to lawsuits, so AI assistance could potentially improve report quality and reduce these risks. The research suggests that police departments need to develop guidelines for how officers can safely and effectively use these AI tools rather than ignoring their widespread informal use.
Researchers studying rare but serious events like police shootings or misconduct cases often struggle to determine how large their studies need to be to detect meaningful patterns, because traditional statistical methods don't work well for infrequent occurrences. This study developed a new simulation approach and a "power lift" metric that helps researchers calculate the right sample sizes when studying these rare events using more appropriate statistical models. This advancement gives policing researchers better tools to design studies that can reliably detect important trends and effects in critical but uncommon incidents, leading to more robust evidence for policy decisions.
A 2018 study claimed that police killings of unarmed Black Americans harm the mental health of Black people living in the same state, but a new analysis found this conclusion was based on flawed statistical methods. When researchers corrected these problems and removed the influence of a tiny number of unusual survey responses (less than 1% of the data), the original finding disappeared entirely. This matters because it challenges a widely-cited piece of evidence about how police violence affects Black communities and highlights how sensitive some research conclusions can be to statistical choices.
Researchers analyzed seven years of data from Salt Lake City police to understand what factors most affect how quickly officers respond to emergency calls. They found that having adequate police staffing levels matters far more than other factors like call volume or the amount of proactive police work being done. This finding provides important evidence for police departments trying to balance their budgets and staffing decisions while maintaining effective emergency response times for the public.
Researchers surveyed over 1,300 police chiefs and sheriffs to understand what influences their support for civilian oversight boards that monitor police conduct. They found that police leaders are more likely to support oversight when other police departments have adopted it, but they largely ignore public opinion—even though the public overwhelmingly supports civilian oversight. This suggests that police reform efforts may be more successful when they can point to other agencies that have already implemented oversight rather than relying solely on public pressure.
Researchers analyzed emergency calls in seven U.S. cities and found that domestic violence calls to both police (about 1,030 more calls) and emergency hotlines (about 1,671 more calls) increased significantly during 2020 when COVID-19 stay-at-home orders kept people confined to their homes. This finding matters for police departments because it shows how external crises can suddenly change the types and volume of calls officers must respond to, requiring departments to adjust their resources and response strategies. The study also demonstrates how police can work more effectively with domestic violence organizations by sharing data to better track and respond to these crimes in their communities.