Democracia e accountability: violência policial e práticas de controle sobre a Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

... DNA testing accountability report /

"... in accordance with Public Act 093-0785."

A sociological analysis of four police consultative committees in Birmingham

Consultation between the police and the community was a recommendation of Lord Scarman in his report into the Brixton riots in 1981. By 1982 the West Midlands Police Authority had established local consultative committees on each police sub-division. This thesis is a study of four Police Consultative Committees in Birmingham, using qualitative methods of attendance at committee meetings and interviews with committee members. The research was carried out between 1990 and 1992 - ten years after formal consultation was established, and aimed to examine the relationship between the micro social processes of the committees and key sociological theoretical concepts. The analysis of the four committees contextualises them within the social and political parameters of urban policing in the late 1980s. Each committee is taken as a case study to highlight the following aspects of consultation:- relations between the police and black communities; membership, representation and accountability; responding to community conflict; crime prevention agencies and networks of social control. The findings are then generalised to the sociological theoretical concepts of hegemony, legitimation, community conflict and social control. The central proposition of this thesis is that, whilst these committees are not fulfilling the role Lord Scarman envisaged for them (of involving local community representatives in policing strategies and policies), they do have important policing and political roles. It is argued that they offer a platform from which senior police officers can engage local people into supporting policing objectives without actually involving them in determining those objectives. Furthermore, such committees have political symbolism in that they enable the government to be seen to be responding to the issues of accountability and relations between the police and black communities following the urban disorders, without actually devolving any statutory powers to the community.

Local officials' preferences of performance measurements: A study of local police services

The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of local officials' preferences of performance measures under the assumption that public officials' consensus on performance measures can enhance the accountability in public service delivery. This research consists of two steps: multiple case studies and a survey. The author conducted the case studies in five general-purpose municipalities in Florida, interviewing 25 local officials, attending community meetings, and reviewing relevant local documents. Based on the case studies and the relevant literature, a survey was developed and sent to 445 local officials in 67 general-purpose municipalities in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties, Florida. The findings of the case studies and the survey suggest that local officials' preferences of performance measures are influenced by their perception of utilities of performance measures and their desire to measure the achievement of organizational goals. The author concludes that a consensus among local officials for outcome-oriented performance measures is easier to achieve if a prospective performance measurement system is designed for reporting and management purposes rather than for budgeting purposes. ^

Revisiting the Tasty raid: lesbian and gay respectability and police legitimacy

This article extends beyond analysis of homophobic police practices at the Tasty raid that took place in Melbourne in 1994 to explore the ways in which queer politics interact with constructions of ‘respectability’ in the contexts of criminalisation, policing and state protection. I argue that the successful construction of legitimate victimhood by lesbian and gay Tasty patrons (achieved largely through signifiers of middle-class respectability and the paradigm of sameness) impeded police efforts to control media narratives and secure legitimacy in the aftermath of the Tasty raid. The formal apology issued by Victoria Police in 2014 indicates that the Tasty raid was considered a significant enough stain on police reputation to warrant addressing two decades after the event itself. I consider the apology as an attempt to cleanse and redeem the institution of the negative image of police resulting from the Tasty raid. This case offers unique insights into some of the ways in which lesbians and gay men may achieve legitimacy as victims in a heteronormative context and how this might come at the cost of a structural analysis of sexuality, power and violence. It also highlights how state institutions navigate and avoid accountability to a specific and historically targeted group.

Moderation as judgement practice: Reconciling system level accountability and local level practice

Internationally, recognition of the role of assessment to inform the learning process has received much attention in recent years. Assessment for learning, not just of learning is being supported by an increasing body of literature providing strategies that teachers and their students can incorporate to support the learning process (Assessment Reform Group, 2002; Broadfoot & Black, 2004; James, 2006). Concurrently there has been an increase internationally in systemic accountability requirements of schools in terms of student results. The convergence of these two movements has resulted in some education systems promoting standards-driven reform involving authentic assessment and a re-examination of the relationship between the teacher and the student in the learning process. In this context standards are intended to be used as the basis for judgements of student achievement; while the results from assessment tasks are meant to both inform the teaching/learning process, and to report and track student progress. In such system, the role and reliability of teacher judgement takes centre stage.

Predatory police : the roles of ethics and networks as mediating factors

The institution the police force has been established to protect citizens and their property from harm and predatory opportunism. However, there have been occasions when the very people assigned to protect become part of the predatory force against society. Predatory policing occurs when the police use their powers to extort money in the form of bribes. While, the concept is receiving attention in Europe but there have not been any direct studies in Australia. To overcome this research deficit and determine the extent, if any, of predatory policing in Australia data is interrogated from four police corruption inquiries in the Australian states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. In addition, it examines the role of the type of networks used by corrupt police officers. The synthesis and application of public corruption and network literatures to the predatory policing domain provides new and relevant insights to assist those responsible for the administration of our institutions of justice. The paper concludes with a framework, drawn from the first stage of the project, to assist in the conceptualisation and monitoring of this public problem.

Curvilinear relationships between the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, and work engagement : a police service case study

The current study aims to investigate the non-linear relationship between the JD-R model and work engagement. Previous research has identified linear relationships between these constructs; however there are strong theoretical arguments for testing curvilinear relationships (e.g., Warr, 1987). Data were collected via a self-report online survey from officers of one Australian police service (N = 2,626). Results demonstrated a curvilinear relationship between job demands and job resources and engagement. Gender (as a control variable) was also found to be a significant predictor of work engagement. The results indicated that male police officers experienced significantly higher job demands and colleague support than female officers. However, female police officers reported significantly higher levels of work engagement than male officers. This study emphasises the need to test curvilinear relationships, as well as simple linear associations, when measuring psychological health.

Work engagement and its antecedents in high-risk occupations : a police service case study

Introduction: Work engagement is a recent application of positive psychology and refers to a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption. Despite theoretical assumptions, there is little published research on work engagement, due primarily to its recent emergence as a psychological construct. Furthermore, examining work engagement among high-stress occupations, such as police, is useful because police officers are generally characterized as having a high level of work engagement. Previous research has identified job resources (e.g. social support) as antecedents of work engagement. However detailed evaluation of job demands as an antecedent of work engagement within high-stress occupations has been scarce. Thus our second aim was to test job demands (i.e. monitoring demands and problem-solving demands) and job resources (i.e. time control, method control, supervisory support, colleague support, and friend and family support) as antecedents of work engagement among police officers. Method: Data were collected via a self-report online survey from one Australian state police service (n = 1,419). Due to the high number of hypothesized antecedent variables, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was employed rather than structural equation modelling. Results: Work engagement reported by police officers was high. Female officers had significantly higher levels of work engagement than male officers, while officers at mid-level ranks (sergeant) reported the lowest levels of work engagement. Job resources (method control, supervisor support and colleague support) were significant antecedents of three dimensions of work engagement. Only monitoring demands were significant antecedent of the absorption. Conclusion: Having healthy and engaged police officers is important for community security and economic growth. This study identified some common factors which influence work engagement experienced by police officers. However, we also note that excessive work engagement can yield negative outcomes such as psychological distress.

Strains as Mediators between Job Characteristics and Work-Related Outcomes in Police Officers

The relationship between job characteristics (e.g., job demands, social support) and work-related outcomes (e.g., turnover intentions, job performance) is assumed to be mediated by strains (e.g., work-related well-being, psychological strain). However, evidence suggests this association will be stronger for work-related strains than broader measures of overall psychological well-being. The primary aim of this study was to identify whether work and non-work related strains differ significantly in their ability to mediate between job characteristics and work-related outcomes. Perceptions of job characteristics, strain, turnover intentions and job performance were collected via a self-report survey from 2,588 Australian police officers. All job characteristics (job demands, job control, supervisor support and colleague support) were significant predictors of both job performance and turnover intentions, with the exception of job demands, which was not a significant predictor of turnover intentions. Both work and non-work related strains were significant predictors of turnover intentions and job performance. Strains were collectively significant in mediating between job characteristics and work-related outcomes, except in the case of job demands and job performance. The indirect effects of job characteristics on work-related outcomes were primarily through officers’ work-related enthusiasm. The relative importance of work-related enthusiasm in mediating between job characteristics and work-related outcomes offers some support for previous research suggesting stronger associations between work-related constructs. Future research should examine whether there are substantial differences in the explanatory power of work-related enthusiasm and a popular related construct, work engagement.

Public accountability : the perceived usefulness of School Annual reports

Annual reports are an important component of New Zealand schools’ public accountability. Through the annual report the governance body informs stakeholders about school aims, objectives, achievements, use of resources, and financial performance. We examine the perceived usefulness of the annual report in the discharge of public accountability. We find that 15% of the recipients (mainly parents/caregivers) do not read the annual report because they trust in the school to do the right thing or rely on others to monitor school activities. We find that the annual report is used for a variety of purposes including to determine if the school has conducted its activities effectively and achieved stated objectives and goals; to examine student achievements; to assess financial accountability and performance; and to make decisions about the school as a suitable environment for their child/children. We find that other forms of communication such as school newsletters, parent-teacher interviews, children and other parents are more important sources of information about the school than the annual report.

Frameworks in regulating company directors : rethinking the philosophical foundations to enhance accountability

Sets out a system of corporate governance regulation, aimed at combining legal and social methods of governing director behaviour and at creating a framework flexible enough to accommodate different business and ethical cultures. Outlines the theoretical basis of corporate governance and the broad responsibilities of directors, and discusses the extent to which they can and should be regulated. Discusses the constitution of a regulatory framework encompassing law, soft law and best practice, and ethics.