The ecological theory of police response: a state police agency test

Johnson, Richard R.; Olschansky, Erica L.

doi:10.1080/1478601x.2010.485465

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…First, police vigor was significantly shaped by beat-level crime rates, with high–crime rate neighborhoods experiencing higher levels of police vigor in handling suspects. Although this finding is in line with the results from recent tests (e.g., Johnson & Olschansky, 2010; Sobol, 2008, 2010a), it contradicts Klinger’s proposition that crime rates are inversely related to police vigor. Indeed, patrol officers in high–crime rate beats do not take a hands-off or underenforcement approach by ignoring some, especially minor, offenses.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 46%

“…A possible result of such attitudinal propensities and time constraints, according to Klinger, is responding with less vigor compared with officers assigned to areas with less crime. The few examinations of propositions derived from Klinger’s theory have, however, produced results not congruent with Klinger’s assumptions (Johnson & Olschansky, 2010; Lawton, 2007; Sobol, 2010a). Apparently, findings from such a small number of studies are less than conclusive, calling for more empirical tests.…”

Section: Theoretical Framework Of Police Behaviormentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Indeed, less than a handful of studies have partially tested theoretical arguments proposed by Klinger, and the results have been mixed and, in some cases, contradictory to the theory tested. For example, one study (Johnson & Olschansky, 2010) found that district crime rates were inversely related to the number of vehicle stops, positively associated with the number of arrests, and weakly connected to the number of vehicle searches, traffic tickets, and misdemeanor arrests. A second study (Sobol, 2010a) found a positive relationship between district crime and vigor, but the significant connection disappeared when seriousness of the offense and other controls were entered into the analysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neighborhood Context and Police Vigor

Sobol

Sun

2013

Crime & Delinquency

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This study provides a partial test of Klinger’s ecological theory of police behavior using hierarchical linear modeling on 1,677 suspects who had encounters with police within 24 beats. The current study used data from four sources originally collected by the Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN), including systematic social observation, in-person interviews with officers, census data, and police crime records. It investigates the effects of neighborhood violent crime rates and concentrated disadvantage on officer vigor, controlling for individual-level officer characteristics and situational factors. The analyses reveal that police vigor was significantly shaped by beat-level crime rates, with high–crime rate neighborhoods experiencing higher levels of police vigor in handling suspects. The findings are not consistent with the ecological propositions set forth by Klinger. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research and theoretical development are discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 46%

Section: Theoretical Framework Of Police Behaviormentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neighborhood Context and Police Vigor

Sobol

Sun

2013

Crime & Delinquency

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“…These measures, however, were significantly related to an increase in the drug arrest rate in only one model. With respect to the drug arrest behaviour the findings here are consistent with other studies that examine the decision-making of a police officer when handling an incident (Johnson and Billings, 2010; Johnson and Olschansky, 2010; Sobol, 2010a). It should be recalled that this study used substantively smaller work areas than these scholars, yet the results are similar.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…number of vehicle stops, average number of criminal arrests, percentage of vehicle stops resulting in a ticket, percentage of misdemeanour arrests). Higher levels of enforcement were related to higher levels of calls for service (Johnson and Billings 2010; Johnson and Olschansky 2010), which is contrary to the propositions of the ecological theory. It may be that Johnson’s ‘districts’ suffered an even greater spatial problem than Sobol’s (2010a) work, because the state police districts utilised were larger than 1000 square miles.…”

Section: Literature Reviewcontrasting

confidence: 95%

A partial test of the ecological theory

Phillips

Gayadeen

Kim

et al. 2015

The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles

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Klinger (1997) advanced research on police behaviour when he developed his ecological theory as a means to predict or explain the influence of the ‘patrol district’ on police behaviour. He proposed an inverse relationship between the levels of crime and disorder in the officer’s working environment and the amount of formal legal authority used by an officer. That is, the greater the level of crime and disorder in the patrol district, the lower the amount of formal legal authority expended by the officer. Past studies framed within the ecological theory found limited support for Klinger’s notion. It is suggested that prior studies inaccurately operationalised the ‘patrol district’ variable because the study areas were too large to adequately assess his theory. This study expands on past research framed within the ecological theory by operationalising the police patrol area based on US Census ‘block groups’. Results indicate that the rate of arrests in a block group was related to higher levels of calls for service, which is contrary to what is expected with the ecological theory. It is possible that a measure of ‘patrol district’, as an officer understands it, is not the same as the measures commonly accessible to scholars.

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