Mustafa Demir

This study examined the effectiveness of post-9/11 U.S. counterterrorism policies in preventing terror attacks and reducing casualties against American targets within and outside the United States. Monthly data on terrorism incidents from July 1981 through December 2020 were obtained from the Global Terrorism Database ( N = 462). The results of monthly interrupted time-series analyses showed that within the United States, after the 9/11 attacks, the number of attacks, the number of successful attacks, and the successful attack rate statistically significantly decreased in the first month following 9/11; then, no significant increase was observed in the trend of those outcomes. Outside the United States, after the 9/11 attacks, the trend of the number of successful attacks, the number of victims, the number of nonfatal victims, and the victim rate statistically significantly decreased. The results suggest that post-9/11 U.S. counterterrorism policies are effective both domestically and internationally. These findings and their policy implications are discussed.

Purpose: This study examined whether officers’ perceptions of the effect of BWCs on procedural justice, police lawfulness, police legitimacy, compliance with police and law, and cooperation with police differed by type of law enforcement agency.Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected from a survey administered to 152 police officers from State Police, City Police, University Police, and Sheriff’s Office.Findings: The multivariate analyses found that City Police officers hold significantly more positive perceptions than University Police (on police legitimacy and cooperation with police), State Police (except for police lawfulness, on all other outcomes), and Sheriffs’ Office officers (on procedural justice and police legitimacy). Additionally, Sheriffs’ Office officers hold significantly more positive perceptions than University Police (on police legitimacy, cooperation with police, and compliance with police) and State Police (on police legitimacy, cooperation with police, compliance with police and law). No significant difference was found between University Police and State Police officers.Originality/value: This is the first study that examines whether officers’ perceptions of the outcomes differ by type of law enforcement agency.

The study examined the effect of perceived use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on procedural justice, police lawfulness, police legitimacy, specific compliance, general compliance, cooperation with police, and satisfaction with police. Data for the study were obtained from a survey administered to randomly selected undergraduate students (N = 617). Independent samples t-test for bivariate analysis and structural equation modeling for unmediated and mediated analyses were conducted. The respondents believed that BWCs would significantly improve procedural justice, police lawfulness, and satisfaction with police; however, they were significantly less likely to believe that BWCs would increase cooperation and general compliance. Perceived use of BWCs, however, did not have a significant effect on police legitimacy and specific compliance. The results of the mediation analyses showed that the effect of perceived use of BWCs on compliance, cooperation, and satisfaction was mediated through procedural justice and police legitimacy. BWCs improve citizen perceptions of procedural justice, police lawfulness, and satisfaction with police, and procedural justice and police legitimacy mediate the effect of BWCs on compliance and cooperation.

COVID-19 may affect police activities (i.e., traffic stops, arrests, and use of force) due to public compliance with COVID-19 restrictions, changes in individuals’ daily activities, and health threats posed by COVID-19. The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of COVID-19 on police activities and the trends in these activities in Burlington, Vermont. The data that measured arrests, traffic stops, and use of force were obtained from the Burlington Police Department website and covered the period from December 10, 2018 through June 14, 2021. Then, the daily time-series data for arrest rate, use of force rate, and traffic stop rate were created (N = 918; 459 days pre-COVID-19 and 459 days during COVID-19). The results showed that COVID-19 statistically significantly decreased traffic stops and arrests, but not use of force on the day immediately following the implementation of the COVID-19 restrictions and then remained stable over time. However, no significant change was detected in the trends of arrests, traffic stops, and use of force before and during the COVID-19 period. COVID-19 had a significant immediate and lasting effect on traffic stops and arrests, but not use of force.

The research on predictors of successful terrorism incidents is scarce and warrants more scholarly attention to minimize the number of successful terrorist attacks. This study examined whether suicide attack, region, weapon type, attack type, target/victim type, and type of terrorist organization are predictors of successful terrorism incidents. The data contained global terrorism incidents that occurred between 1970 and 2019 and were obtained from the Global Terrorism Database (N = 154,289). The results of multivariate analyses obtained from the binary logistic regression test showed that successful terrorism is less likely to occur in North America but, when such attacks do occur, they are more likely to involve facility/infrastructure as the attack type and a firearm as the weapon type; target private citizens and property; and be committed by religious terrorist organizations. The findings of the study and its policy implications are discussed.