Kevin Karpiak
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kevinkarpiak.bsky.social
Kevin Karpiak
@kevinkarpiak.bsky.social
600 followers 2K following 42 posts
Prof. @ Eastern Michigan University. Editor, of Police/Worlds book series @cornellupress.bsky.social. Interests: policing, anthropology, France, Michigan, sundry musicians
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kevinkarpiak.bsky.social
This is an actual fucking photo of a band that was (and still is) very important to me
January 9, 2025 at 6:02 PM
kevinkarpiak.bsky.social
Authors' Conclusions: citizens don't understand how hard it is to be police & how necessary it is to shoot people. Police reform efforts should therefore be less focused on changing anything about police & more about changing the public.
Conclusion In her book’s concluding remarks, Fan (2019) states that high expectations are imposed on the police, who are subjected to actions that “we would never do to other professionals who hold official power” (p. 253). What is absent from her remarks is that the public not only demands much of police officers but that a fraction of the public also assumes that they know better than officers about how police interventions should be conducted. This attitude reflects a broader trend, a “rising tide of public distrust, political polarization, and populism” (Ventriss et al., 2019: 280) that poses a threat to the foundations of democratic public administration. However, experts should evaluate complex events for professional accountability, not uninformed citizens. To improve police-community relations and address the lack of understanding of police duties, various options have been considered. These include problem-oriented policing and community policing initiatives (Breen and Johnson, 2007). According to Perez and colleagues (2021), attending a community police academy (i.e., a 1-day program aimed at educating the public about policing) could enhance trust in law enforcement and reduce citizens’ concern about the use of force and police misconduct. The results of the present study also reemphasize the importance of providing young adults with information about policing to prevent the formation of misconceptions about the powers and limitations of police officers (Bennell et al., 2021; Vardsveen and Wiener, 2022). In an era where social media highlights police interventions, it is essential to understand how education can effectively prevent these issues.
November 21, 2024 at 6:18 PM
kevinkarpiak.bsky.social
Findings: police training makes police officers not only more comfortable with the use of lethal force, but also less conformable with severe sanctions for officers who use lethal force.

Authors' translation: There is a gap between "experts" and "non-experts"
Discussion The present study collected evaluations from students in two distinct fields—policing and social sciences—regarding a specific police intervention. After watching a video vignette depicting a lethal encounter between a suspect and officers, they were asked to provide their opinions on what actions the officers should have taken, whether the officers engaged in misconduct, and what precise accountability consequences the officers should be facing. Our results coalesced around two dimensions: the growing gap between those with expertise and non-experts in comprehending police use of force, and their lack of agreement on police accountability.
November 21, 2024 at 6:18 PM
kevinkarpiak.bsky.social
Reading the article "Examining perspectives on fatal use of force: A comparative analysis of police and social sciences students’ views" from The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles.

<#rant>
Screen capture of the webpage for the article "Examining perspectives on fatal use of force: A comparative analysis of police and social sciences students’ views" from The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles. Abstract reads: "Citizen views are, at times, in opposition to professional expertise. When it comes to policing, discussions surrounding the use of force often indicate a lack of understanding from the general population. In this study, police (n = 1609) and social sciences (n = 688) students were shown a video vignette of a fatal police shooting. Findings show that police students’ attitudes towards the use of force face a significant shift during training, leading to stronger support for lethal force and greater discrepancy in opinions compared to the other students. Our results also show that non-expert adults want police officers to be sanctioned severely."
November 21, 2024 at 6:18 PM
kevinkarpiak.bsky.social
My first post: if you have access, attend my panel “Racial Vernaculars in the Civilian Oversight of Police” tomorrow afternoon connect.americananthro.org/event/aaatam...
November 20, 2024 at 3:08 AM