Police Investigators’ Attitudes Toward Victims of Crime: A Quantitative Study Marcy Hehnly

? How my research began and why I chose to focus on attitudes of citizens towards victims of crime.

Statement of the Problem There is limited research on the attitudes of specialized unit investigators toward victims they interact with while attempting to solve crime. Based on the fact that there exists limited research, there is a need to understand why investigators react toward victims in the manner in which they do. Statement of the Problem

This research set out to prove or disprove that there may or may not exist a relationship between the investigating officer and the victim of a violent crime which can be influenced by the investigators professional experiences of behavioral observations, perceptions of victims of these crime types, the overall treatment of crime victims, and their job knowledge regarding crime victim behaviors. Specifically, it sought to predict if an investigator’s age and work experience positively or negatively affected the personal observations of a victim, personal experience with a victim, perceptions of a victim, and determine if these two factors influenced what they know about their job. Behavioral observations by investigator Perceptions received by investigator Overall treatment of crime victims Job knowledge of investigator Purpose of the Study

What is the relationship between an investigators work experience, age, and their personal observations of a victim(s)? What is the relationship between an investigators work experience, age, and personal perceptions of a victim(s)? What is the relationship between an investigators work experience, age, and their victim encounters/treatment? What is the relationship between an investigators work experience, age and his/her self-knowledge? Research Questions

Significance of the Study By recognizing and understanding if there were significant explanations toward the relationship between investigators and citizens, communities as a whole could function more cohesively, thus explaining why it was important for further research in this area. Additionally, by conducting research of investigating officers, agencies were better able to determine if they need to professionalize and provide more training to their officers to meet the goals of not only the agency but the partnership which exists with community members. Community cohesiveness fostering better relationships with citizens/law enforcement Agencies can assess their effectiveness Significance of the Study

Assumptions of the Research There are both positive and negative perceptions received by investigators of violent crimes which affect their overall attitude of the case and assisting the victim of the crime. These attitudes are recognized to have come from the socialization process and experiences of past victim interviews. This can also come in the form of many other police stressors to include overall organizational stress, the public’s views of law enforcement, and the day to day interactions with citizens. Socialization is the key to understanding the relationship between the victim and the investigator. Past interviews Organizational stressors Publics view about law enforcement Interactions day to day with citizens Assumptions of the Research

Assumptions of the Research It was further assumed that investigators will be stakeholders within the study so that others are better able to understand their perceptions and to show how they themselves as well as victims had the propensity to influence the overall case thus answering the questions to the best of their ability and truthfully. I felt I was giving a voice to law enforcement to defend their reputation. Assumptions of the Research

Limitations of Research The number of participants that had the potential to participate in the research was limited based on the size of the investigatory units of each police agency, more specifically those who currently worked within the domestic violence, rape, robbery and/or aggravated assault units. Limitations of Research

Theoretical Framework The social conflict theory recognizes how relationships exist within groups of people, social relations, and the way individuals interpret social situations. This is recognized in police, victim, and suspect relationships as well as police to police relationships. Through this theoretical foundation, research recognizes that criminal investigations have influencing factors on the investigators’ behaviors which in many instances is a level of prestige and cultural norms within law enforcement as a whole. In recognizing these biases, investigations and interrogations can produce both positive and negative results. Investigations pose both positive and negative effects when conducting interviews/interrogations. These groups can have a conflict of their subcultures norms. Theoretical Framework

Theoretical Framework The social structure theory focuses on established patterns of relationships among groups of people. This theory recognizes the propensity to treat others differently based on created subcultures or understood expectations of one another. Within law enforcement subcultures researchers have recognized that there exist varying attitudes among the same type of subculture. It also recognizes that many different groups are all connected in some form or fashion, thus showing that in fact police and victims of crime do have some type of relationship with one another. Patterns of relationships exist between victims and investigators. Again, they can be both positive and negative be we are all part of one large community with a need to be cohesive. Theoretical Framework

The researcher used quantitative analysis to study specialized unit investigators’ attitudes toward victims of crime through surveys. Justification: When attempting to gain data from a larger population which can be representative of a group, quantitative analysis and methodology are considered the most practiced method through the use of surveys. Research Design

The sample population was originally supposed to come from 7 metropolitan Atlanta Police Departments which were considered large in the state of Georgia; however, only 6 agencies participated in the final survey distribution. All agencies had 125 certified officers or more. For this particular research, it was the goal of the researcher to obtain a minimum of 90 respondents. Research Design

Research was conducted in investigatory units which work aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and domestic violence cases. The survey which was distributed to all participants was originally created and used by Dr. Karl Ask (2011) in his research within the Journal of Interpersonal Violence titled “Police officers’ and prosecutors’ beliefs about crime victim behaviors.” Research Design

Measures Section 1- demographics Section 2- employment status Section 3- personal observations Section 4- personal perceptions Section 5- victim encounters/treatment Section 6- self-knowledge of investigator Section 1: Demographics= gender, age Section 2: Employment status= employment years, amount of encounters with victims Section 3: Personal observations by investigator= emotions of victims expressed, victim blame, male v female expression of emotions Section 4: Personal perceptions= willingness to give information, expressions opposite of expectation, negative/positive emotions, inability to explain details, delayed reactions, victim/perpetrator relationship, traumatization, conveying information Section 5: Victim encounters/treatment = how the investigator treats victim (importance), time associated in contact with victim Section 6: investigators understanding of the psychological responses by victim, knowledge compared to coworkers, need for additional training, specialized training regarding victimization Measures

Data Collection Procedures Meeting with department head/instructions Distribution of cover letters, surveys, consent forms, drop box Pick up date announced as well as posted on the side of the drop box Anonymity Data Collection Procedures

By using multiple linear regression, the researcher was able to “see what impact multiple variables have on an outcome.” By running multiple linear regressions on the collected data, the researcher could predict whether a person's age or work experience would impact (Positively or Negatively) his or her personal observation of a victim, predicted whether a person's age or work experience impacted (Positively or Negatively) his or her personal perceptions of a victim, predicted whether a person's age or work experience impacted (Positively or Negatively) his or her encounters with a victim, and predicted whether a person's age or work experience correlated with how much they knew about their job. Data Analysis

The overall potential sample consisted of 197 possible participants. The respondents included a total of 143 investigators’ who met the guidelines to participate in the study which reflected a 72.58% return rate of the surveys distributed. As the surveys were returned, it was easily recognized that although many worked in a specific crime type unit, they, in fact worked multiple crime types. 119 participants worked all crime types while only 24 worked less than 4 crime types. Another observable fact potentially indicated the investigators were able to provide additional information based on their overall diversity of handling various types of crimes outside of their specialization. Sample

Hypothesis #1: The relationship between an investigator’s work experience and age will be associated with less bias based on their personal observations. Hypothesis #2: The relationship between an investigator’s work experience and age will be associated with less bias during an investigation based on personal perceptions of a victim. Hypothesis

Hypothesis #3: The relationship between an investigator’s work experience and age will be associated with less bias during an investigation based on their victim encounters and treatment. Hypothesis #4: The relationship between an investigator’s work experience and age will be associated with less bias during an investigation based on his/her self-knowledge. Hypothesis

Null hypothesis: There was no difference between an investigator’s work experience and age in terms of their personal observations of a victim, their personal perceptions of a victim, their victim encounters and treatment, and the investigator’s self-knowledge of victim interactions. Hypothesis

The youngest investigator was 26 years old while the oldest was 56 years old; the average age of an officer being 38 and a half years old. The shortest amount of time an investigator had been working in an investigatory capacity totaled 2 years while the longest time was 28 years. The average amount of time an investigator worked within an investigatory unit was approximately 12.7 years. Results

An investigator’s age and work experience did not demonstrate a significant relationship toward the overall personal observation of a crime victim. Age and work experience also were not viewed as a significant factor in an investigator’s personal perceptions showing bias towards a crime victim. An investigator’s age and work experience also did not reflect biases towards victims of crime as they related to victim encounters and treatment. Last, age and work experience of investigator’s did not influence biases towards victims of crimes based on their self-knowledge of crime victims; thus, showing they are receiving adequate training in their specialization. Results

The results of this research study showed that law enforcement investigators’ working in specialized crime units did not show significant proportions of variance within their investigations towards victims of criminal activity and remained neutral throughout the course of their duties. This varies from studies within law enforcement in that the creditability of witnesses could influence how an investigator handles a case when the victim presents actions of lying and deceit within the investigation of a crime. Results

Upon receipt of the current research surveys being returned, the results showed that investigators’ have a genuine concern for those they come in contact with and negate previous studies which show general biases towards the public. This survey varied in the results from Ask (2010) based on his comparison of prosecutors and law enforcement. This survey did not include prosecutors; therefore, it is not surprising that the results were different. Results

Regardless of the victims background, race, gender, or other factors such as socioeconomic status these investigators treated the victim as a person and handled the case in a nonbiased fashion to see the case to a resolution. In showing this and recognizing various social structures and conflict theories, the research showed that regardless of cultural norms between groups of people, law enforcement investigators treat their victims fairly and equally. It also showed that socially, these two groups of people can form a relationship together that can be positive versus a stigma of having a negative relationship with community members. Results

Data was not gained in regards to comparing sizes of law enforcement agencies, an investigators race or their gender. Additionally, more data can be gained by conducting surveys of individual crime types instead of multiple which could potentially show varied differences among types of investigations. Results

One limitation of the study was that one law enforcement agency failed to respond to the survey distribution which eliminated additional information that could have been used within this this study to further assist in answering the research questions. The lack of participation by this agency decreased the sample population by 30 surveys. Limitations

Another limitation is that although the request to participate was specific to investigators, the survey may have led participants to believe they were answering questions that spanned across their entire career versus only their time within an investigatory unit. Limitations

Recommendations for Further Research Further research should be considered in the area of comparing gender as they relate to handling victims of crime to see if there are differences among investigator’s and citizens. Additionally, it is recommended that research be conducted on individual crime types instead of several on one questionnaire. It is also recommended that practitioners examine more closely the self-knowledge section to determine the overall training that is provided to investigators and recognize if there is a need for furtherance of education within organizations. Recommendations for Further Research

Recommendations for Further Research Lastly, continued research could also focus on comparing non-violent crimes to that of violent crimes to see if there is a relationship between the crime types and how victims respond. Recommendations for Further Research