Police University College

Kun kiinniottotilanteessa poliisi esittää kohdehenkilölle toimintaehdotuksen nousta poliisiauton kuljetustilaan, ehdotukset ovat pääosin imperatiivimuotoisia. Toisinaan niihin yhdistyy kuitenkin kohteliaisuusilmaisu ole hyvä. Tarkastelemme näitä prototyyppisen direktiivin (imp) ja kohteliaisuusilmaisun ole hyvä (oh) yhteenliittymiä oh-direktiivikonstruktioina keskittyen niiden muotoon ja käyttöön järjestyksenpitopuheessa. Konstruktio voi saada jonkin kolmesta muotorakenteesta: ensimmäisessä imperatiivilausetta seuraa kohteliaisuusilmaisu (imp+oh), toisessa lauseiden järjestys on päinvastainen (oh+imp) ja kolmannessa ne on lisäksi yhdistetty rinnastuskonjunktiolla ja (oh+ja+imp). Esitämme, että oh-direktiivikonstruktiot projisoivat poliisivetoisen projektin odotuksenmukaista etenemistä. Kun poliisi olettaa kohdehenkilön nousevan autoon ongelmattomasti, oh-direktiivikonstruktio toimii direktiiville tyypillisesti etujäsenenä, jota seuraa kohdehenkilön välitön direktiivinmukainen toiminta. Kun kohdehenkilö puolestaan kyseenalaistaa poliisivetoisen toimintalinjan, konstruktio esiintyy reaktiona kohdehenkilön viivyttelyyn. Erityisesti muotorakenne oh+ja+imp näyttäytyy keinona ylläpitää poliisivetoista toimintalinjaa kohdehenkilön autonomiaa uhkaamatta. Tulokset tuovat uutta tietoa poliisin puheesta sekä vahvistavat käsitystä siitä, että kielen rakenteet eivät itsessään ole kohteliaita tai epäkohteliaita. Aineisto on kerätty Poliisit-tv-ohjelman kymmeneltä ensimmäiseltä tuotantokaudelta. Tarkastelun teoreettisen ytimen muodostaa vuorovaikutuslingvistiikka, ja menetelmät nojaavat keskustelunanalyysiin sekä multimodaaliseen vuorovaikutuksen analyysiin.

Abstract In this article we conduct a multimodal conversation analysis of the use of OH directive constructions where police officers instruct citizens to step into a police van as the final phase of an apprehension. To perform the task, officers typically formulate a directive turn that uses an imperative clause (IMP), but in the examples analysed in this article, it is combined with ole hyvä (OH) — ‘please’. In the case of these OH directive constructions, the preferred next action by the citizen is to step into the van, which may either take place unproblematically or require verbal and embodied upgrading from the officers. We show that the sequential position of the OH directive construction can be (1) the first-pair part of a sequence initiated in a series of collaborative actions, (2) an upgrade to a previous directive in the effort to maintain a police-led project during a prolonged directive sequence, or (3) a response to a citizen’s turn which has bypassed the police’s directive. From the embodied action perspective, we suggest that the OH directive constructions allow the police to divide their attention between the van and the citizen, thus providing a strong orientation for the citizen to step into the van themselves.

Police officers demonstrate increased risk of physical and mental health conditions due to repeated and prolonged exposure to stressful occupational conditions. Occupational stress is broken into two types: operational stress, related to the content of field duties (e.g., physical demands); and organizational stress, related to cultural and structural contexts (e.g., interpersonal relationships). Applied police research focuses on physiological activation in operational tasks as a mechanism explaining health risk and non-optimal performance outcomes. However, recent survey-based studies indicate numerous organizational stressors associated with self-reported mental health symptoms. The question of whether organizational stressors elicit significant physiological activity remains unknown. The current proof-of-concept field study tests the hypothesis that police managers will display significant physiological reactivity before, during, and after engaging in reality-based scenarios representative of stressful police management tasks developed from evidence-based pedagogical approaches. A sample of 25 training police managers (7 female, M = 16 +/- 5.3 years of experience) completed 5 reality-based scenarios, including resolving a heated conflict between colleagues, delivering negative feedback to a subordinate, and critical incident command. Significant increases in heart rate relative to rest were observed during all tasks, and in anticipation of several tasks. Greater increases in reactive heart rate were associated with longer recovery times. Sex differences and relationships between objective biological and subjective psychological measures of stress are discussed. The current findings demonstrate significant physiological responses to organizational stressors similar to levels observed during operational tasks, despite the absence of physical or aerobic exertion. Implications for police health and training are discussed.

Abstract This and the next chapter review the wider repercussions of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe in the context of domestic violence (DV) where couples and families had to spend their entire days with each other. Individual stress levels were exacerbated by fears of unemployment, health concerns and worries about societal changes. Media reports and experts predicted a massive increase of domestic violence occurrence plus concerns about access to victim services.Using their working connections to law enforcement agencies, victim and health service in the eight participating countries, IMPRODOVA researchers assembled available data collections, expert opinions and other sources to demonstrate the lockdown effects on domestic violence incidence. A table demonstrates increases, stagnation and decreases in different frontline responder categories.Violence occurrence during lockdowns and associated risk factors can be identified on an individual level, for example, mental health and money problems; on an organisational level, for example, on the part of medical practitioners dealing with domestic violence victims; and on a wider societal level. These are explicated in the third chapter.KeywordsCOVID-19 lockdown effectsUnemploymentStress levelsHealth concernsSocietal changeLaw enforcementVictim servicesMedia reportingDomestic violence occurrenceFrontline responderRestraining ordersEmergency callsHotline callsShelter referralsAwareness campaignsPress releases‘Safe space’ in supermarkets and pharmaciesDigitalisationIsolationConfinementTelephone crisis servicesMedical sectorPublic awarenessFace-to-face contacts

Complexity and uncertainty are framing the modern world, whilst also affecting issues on security and sustainability. There is a need to prepare for known threats and identified risks, but also to improve the ability to cope in situations that are difficult to recognize or describe beforehand. What is at stake—both at the organizational and individual level—is the ability to make sense of uncertain and ambiguous situations. Analyzing two empirical cases, this study aims to shed light on the abilities of experts, who have acted in very challenging situations, in which deviating from established procedures and abandoning politeness have been necessary to respond effectively. The first case deals with a threat of serious violence faced by a police officer. The second case focuses on the actions of an executive fire officer during a rescue operation after an explosion at a shopping mall. This paper concludes by arguing that pre-established procedures require experts to reflect on their usability in exceptional situations as relying on them could also have detrimental effects.

ABSTRACT In the literature and in modern training programmes, empathy is considered important for the process of building rapport. Yet there is no distinct definition of empathy in the context of the police interview, and how to display empathy is poorly operationalized. In addition, there have been different attempts to measure empathy. The aim of the current study is to explore how detectives display empathy through the observation of four video-recorded police interviews of traumatized young victims of the 2011 Utøya terror attack in Norway and research interviews with the detectives who conducted the police interviews. The detectives demonstrated understanding and interest, and empathy was displayed both verbally and non-verbally. Furthermore, the interviews were characterized by cooperation. Due to the lack of consensus on empathy in police interviews, the study raises the question of what kind of empathy should be displayed in police interviews and whether empathy should be replaced with more appropriate concepts in police training.

Social media strategy—like any strategy—for safety and security organizations should be based on up-to-date situational awareness, i.e., knowledge of the various security needs of citizens and communities. It is therefore important to evaluate the underlying generative mechanisms behind the security problems such as low levels of trust or lack of intercultural skills within the police. This chapter discusses Service Design Concepts for policing in social media. It aims at offering police forces and their partners a better understanding of local needs and suggests the service design canvas as a tool for improving policing services. The service design canvas could assist in constructing the social media strategy, to build safety and security not only for but with the communities and citizens.

Scholars and investigators of child sexual abuse (CSA) have long pointed out that some CSA allegations may be unfounded. However, no population-based estimates of the occurrence of false allegations have previously been undertaken. The present study presents the first population-based prevalence estimates of unfounded allegations of CSA. We analyzed two data collections: first, a representative sample of adolescents (N = 11,364; aged 12 or 15 years), and second, a representative sample of adults (N = 2484, mean age 34 years). Experiences of CSA were reported by 2.4% of adolescents and 8.9% of adults. Unfounded suspicions of CSA (e.g. someone falsely believing CSA had taken place) were reported by 1.5% of adolescents and 1.9% of adults. Of the unfounded suspicions, 14.5 and 9.1%, for adolescents and adults, respectively, had been reported to the authorities. The prevalence of CSA seems to decrease while more and more allegations reach the authorities. Whereas a low threshold for reporting suspicions of CSA to authorities is in the interest of protecting as many actual CSA victims as possible, more research is needed to separate unfounded versus founded allegations to minimize the risk of erroneous conclusions in investigations of CSA.