Psychology: Policing
Psychology: Policing
“Trends in Police Research: A Cross-sectional Analysis of 2002 Literature” discusses the topics that dominated studies focusing on policing in the year 2002. The study entails a detailed literature review that evaluates research studies by other authors (Beckman et al., 2002). The researchers preferentially selected research papers authored in English and published in reputable criminal justice magazines and periodicals (Beckman et al., 2002).
The main topics that the authors examine include police strategies, especially in regards to community policing and theories associated day-to-day police activities as well as law and order. Police media relations were a new field that researchers focused on in 2002. Other topics that the researchers explored for the first time include corruption, terror, and technology, among others (Beckman et al., 2002). Other topics that are widely examined in the studies include
Attitudes and behaviour of police
Accountability and misconduct of police
Satisfaction of citizens with police services
According to Beckman et al., the methodologies employed in police research, are descriptive research, survey research, and outcome research.
Notably, the researchers noted that there was little or no difference with trends studied in the year 2000 (Beckman et al., 2002). Furthermore, Beckman et al. speculated that the topics that researchers examined depended on their sources of funding, which suggests a bias. This conclusion implies that there are fields in policing that are widely ignored due to lack of adequate financing. However, the researchers focused only on studies published in English. Therefore, studies in other languages might have explored these areas (Beckman et al., 2002). Therefore, it is impossible to determine whether there is a bias in the topics that are selected by police researchers or not. Moreover, the authors not mentioned the importance and applicability of the findings within the police force. Given that policing is a vital service, it is important to outline the usefulness of the studies carried out (Beckman et al., 2002).
Questions and Answers
What are some of the areas that future trends in police research will focus on?
Some of the future trends in police research studies will focus on intelligence-led policing and predictive policing.
Should financing be a major issue in police research?
No. Financing should not be a serious in research studies focusing on different issues affecting the police. Ideally, the state and national government should allocate adequate financial resources to fund such studies.
Reference
Beckman et al. (2002). Trends in police research: A cross-sectional analysis of the 2002 literature. Police Practice and Research, Vol. 6, No. 3, July 2005, pp. 295–320
