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Enforcement Officers (enforcement + officer)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences60%

Kinds of Enforcement Officers

  • law enforcement officer
    		•

    Selected Abstracts

    Eleven years of occupational mortality in law enforcement: The census of fatal occupational injuries, 1992,2002,

    AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 9 2010
    Hope M. Tiesman PhD
    Abstract Background Occupational injury deaths remain high for Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs). This study describes and compares intentional and transportation-related fatality rates in US LEOs between 1992 and 2002. Methods Workplace injury deaths among LEOs from 1992 to 2002 were categorized into "Intentional," "Transportation-related," and "Other," using the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. Occupations included in this analysis were sheriffs and bailiffs, police and detectives, non-public service guards, and correctional officers. Fatality rates were compared among law enforcement occupations, cause of death, and demographics with rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results During the 11-year period, 2,280 workers died from an occupational injury, for a fatality rate of 11.8 per 100,000 across all LEO occupations. Forty-seven percent were homicides (n,=,1,072, rate 5.6 per 100,000), 36% transportation-related (n,=,815, rate 4.2 per 100,000), 11% were due to other causes (n,=,249, rate 1.3 per 100,000), and 5% were workplace suicides (n,=,122, rate 0.6 per 100,000). The proportion of fatalities by cause of death differed significantly between occupations (P,<,0.0001). Sheriffs and bailiffs experience a high risk for occupational injury death compared to other law enforcement occupations. Of the transportation-related fatalities, LEOs were operating a motor-vehicle in 58% of the incidents and 22% of the fatalities were struck by incidents. Conclusions Transportation-related deaths were nearly as common as homicides as a cause of occupational injury death among US LEOs. Struck by vehicle incidents remain an important and overlooked cause of death. This research points to opportunities for the prevention of transportation-related deaths in law enforcement. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:940,949, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

    INVESTIGATING RACIAL PROFILING BY THE MIAMI-DADE POLICE DEPARTMENT: A MULTIMETHOD APPROACH

    CRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2007
    GEOFFREY P. ALPERT
    Research Summary The perception and existence of biased policing or racial profiling is one of the most difficult issues facing contemporary American society. Citizens from minority communities have focused their concerns on the improper use of race by law enforcement officers. The current research uses a complex methodological approach to investigate claims that the Miami-Dade, Florida Police Department uses race improperly for the purposes of making traffic stops and conducting post-stop activities. The results are mixed in that the officer's aggregate actions do not show a pattern of discriminatory actions toward minority citizens when making a traffic stop, but results of post-stop activities do show some disparate treatment of minorities. Policy Implications Five specific policy recommendations are made to reduce the perception or reality of racial profiling by the police. First, police departments must have clear policies and directives explaining the proper use of race in decision making. Second, officers must be trained and educated in the overall impact of using race as a factor in deciding how to respond to a citizen. Third, the department must maintain a data-collection and analytic system to monitor the activities of their officers as it pertains to the race of the citizen. The fourth police recommendation involves the use of record checks in the field that can set in motion a process that results in the detention and arrest of citizens. Fifth, the completion of a record of interrogation for later intelligence has implications for the citizen. The use of this intelligence tool must depend on suspicion rather than on the race of the citizen. [source]

    The abuse potential of the synthetic cannabinoid nabilone

    ADDICTION, Issue 3 2010
    Mark A. Ware
    ABSTRACT Aim Nabilone is a synthetic cannabinoid prescription drug approved in Canada since 1981 to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. In recent years, off-label use of nabilone for chronic pain management has increased, and physicians have begun to express concerns about nabilone becoming a drug of abuse. This study evaluates the evidence for abuse of nabilone, which is currently ill-defined. Study design Scientific literature, popular press and internet databases were searched extensively for evidence of nabilone abuse. Focused interviews with medical professionals and law enforcement agencies across Canada were also conducted. Findings The scientific literature and popular press reviews found very little reference to nabilone abuse. Nabilone is perceived to produce more undesirable side effects, to have a longer onset of action and to be more expensive than smoked cannabis. The internet review revealed rare and isolated instances of recreational use of nabilone. The database review yielded little evidence of nabilone abuse, although nabilone seizures and thefts have occurred in Canada in the past few years, especially in Ontario. Most law enforcement officers reported no instances of nabilone abuse or diversion, and the drug has no known street value. Medical professionals reported that nabilone is not perceived to be a matter of concern with respect to its abuse potential. Conclusions Reports of nabilone abuse are extremely rare. However, follow-up of patients using nabilone for therapeutic purposes is prudent and should include assessment of tolerance and dependence. Prospective studies are also needed to definitively address the issue of nabilone abuse. [source]

    Electrical Characteristics of an Electronic Control Device Under a Physiologic Load: A Brief Report

    PACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
    DONALD M. DAWES M.D.
    Background:,Law enforcement officers use electronic control devices (ECDs), such as the TASER X26 (TASER International, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ, USA), to control resisting subjects. Some of the debate on the safety of the devices has centered on the electrical characteristics of the devices. The electrical characteristics published by TASER International have historically based on discharges into a 400 , resistor. There are no studies that the authors are aware of that report the electrical characteristics under a physiologic load. In this study, we make an initial attempt to determine the electrical characteristics of the TASER X26 during a 5-second exposure in human volunteers. Methods:,Subjects received an exposure to the dry, bare chest (top probe), and abdomen (bottom probe) with a standard TASER X26 in the probe deployment mode for 5 seconds. There were 10,11 pulse captures during the 5 seconds. Resistance was calculated using the sum of the absolute values of the instantaneous voltage measurements divided by the sum of the absolute values of the instantaneous current measurements (Ohm's Law). Results:,For the eight subjects, the mean spread between top and bottom probes was 12.1 inches (30.7 cm). The mean resistance was 602.3 ,, with a range of 470.5,691.4 ,. The resistance decreased slightly over the 5-second discharge with a mean decrease of 8.0%. The mean rectified charge per pulse was 123.0 ,C. The mean main phase charge per pulse was 110.5 ,C. The mean pulse width was 126.9 ,s. The mean voltage per pulse was 580.1 V. The mean current per pulse was 0.97 A. The average peak main phase voltage was 1899.2 V and the average peak main phase current was 3.10 A. Conclusions:,The mean tissue resistance was 602.3 , in this study. There was a decrease in resistance of 8% over the 5-second exposure. This physiologic load is different than the 400 , laboratory load used historically by the manufacturer. We recommend future characterization of these devices use a physiologic load for reporting electrical characteristics. We also recommend that all the electrical characteristics be reported. (PACE 2010; 33:330,336) [source]

    IMPLICATIONS OF TRAIT-ACTIVATION THEORY FOR EVALUATING THE CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF ASSESSMENT CENTER RATINGS

    PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2002
    STEPHANIE HAALAND
    Assessment centers have often been criticized for lacking evidence supporting the construct validity of dimension ratings. This study examines whether the poor convergence of assessment center ratings is a result of correlating ratings from exercises that differ in the extent that behavior relevant to personality traits can be observed. Using data from a promotional assessment center for law enforcement officers (n= 79), the convergence of assessment center ratings was evaluated within the context of the five factor model by comparing the average within-dimension correlation of ratings from exercises that allowed for more opportunity to observe trait-relevant behavior to the average of those involving exercises where there was less opportunity. For each personality trait, ratings from exercises judged by experts to be high in trait-activation potential displayed stronger convergence (mean r= .30) than did ratings from exercises that were low in activation potential for that trait (mean r= .15). Implications for evaluating the construct validity of assessment centers are discussed along with future directions for classifying exercises based on situational similarity. [source]