Salus Journal

The Impact that COVID-19 had on the Capacity and Capability of the Police

Garth den Heyer — 2023-07-18

In early 2020, Coronavirus (COVID-19) became a pandemic and a worldwide health crisis. In response, governments implemented a number of restrictions, including lockdowns, social distancing, and the requirement to wear face masks. These restrictions were enforced by the police. This article examines the impact that the pandemic had on the capability and capacity of the police in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The examination indicates that COVID-19 had a significantly impacted on both the New Zealand Police and the police in the United Kingdom, but in different ways. The police in the United Kingdom were more affected by the number of sworn staff who were incapacitated by the virus, whereas the police in New Zealand were affected more by the number of incapacitated civilian staff. New Zealand also experienced an increase in reported crime, while the United Kingdom experienced decreases in most crimes, except for anti-social behaviour, organised crime, and cyber-related offences, which all increased.

Nature and Patterns of Kidnapping for Ransom in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Ayomide Augustine Ilori — 2023-07-18

Despite the criminalisation of kidnapping in Nigeria by the Nigerian criminal codes and an Anti-Kidnapping Act, Ekiti State continues to experience kidnapping schemes for ransom that have raised concerns among its residents. Using the routine activity theory, purposive sampling method, and qualitative findings, this study found that kidnappers in Ekiti State have similar criminal histories and are not highly organised criminals. The victims of kidnappings are varied, including kidnappers’ family members, civil servants, business owners, and clergy. Therefore, it is recommended that affluent families and high-profile individuals in Ekiti State maintain a low profile and avoid disclosing their whereabouts to untrusted family members, acquaintances, or strangers. Residents of Ekiti State should invest in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) measures for their homes and work or business places to prevent kidnappings. Additionally, the Nigerian Police Force should establish a surveillance and response unit to combat kidnapping in Ekiti State. The state government should also procure state security infrastructure and recognise local security outfits to supplement the efforts of the Nigerian Police Force in addressing kidnapping for ransom in Ekiti State.

Military against Gendarmerie: Contingency Planning for a Police-led Coup d’état to Control or Overthrow a Democratically elected Government in Canada

Chris Madsen — 2023-08-31

Militaries and police are often key actors in attempts to seize power by coup d’état. Using a hypothetical scenario of a police-led coup d’état in Canada, this article assesses the likely military response to a gendarmerie trying to overthrow a legitimate democratic government. After reviewing the existing literature on police-led coups d’état, it explores the legal authorities and primacy of civilian control in the Canadian context, relative capabilities conferring an overwhelming advantage to the Canadian military, and a straight fight between specialised tactical units within the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Such fictional exercises in contingency planning possess educational value for teaching military professionals about the national security challenges in domestic operations.

Les forces armées et la police sont souvent des acteurs clés dans les tentatives de prise de pouvoir par coup d’état. À l’aide d’un scenario hypothétique d’un coup d’état dirigé par la police au Canada, cet article évalue la réponse militaire probable à la gendarmerie tentant de renverser un gouvernement démocratique légitime. Après avoir passé en revue la littérature existante sur les coups d’état dirigés par la police, l’article explore les autorités légales et la primauté du contrôle civil dans le contexte canadien, les capacités relatives conférant un avantage écrasant aux militaires canadiens et la lutte directe entre des unités tactiques spécialisées au sein des Forces armées canadiennes et de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada. De tels exercices fictifs de planification d’urgence ont une valeur éducative pour enseigner aux professionnels militaires les défis de la sécurité nationale dans les opérations nationales.

The ‘dark figure of homicide’:

Amber McKinley — 2023-09-21

Unreported Australian homicides have not been discussed in Australian publications for over 20 years. Unreported homicides or the dark figure of homicide are homicides that go unreported by official sources hiding them from investigators and tracking. Although unreported homicides are difficult to quantify, this article demonstrates that there is a great likelihood of Australia’s annual homicide numbers are actually higher than recorded. This qualitative research highlights specific crime typologies that have possible hidden deceased victims within them due to the complexities of the specific crimes. This research is the first of its kind in contemporary Australia and offers specific new categories for future research.

De-escalation in Everyday Police Operations

Lorei Clemens — 2023-09-22

Police action involves conflicts or even the use of force each day. Police officers may encounter conflict situations with citizens during routine patrols. In such situations, the aim of professional police action is to de-escalate and only use force if this can no longer be avoided. Communication is the primary operational resource in de-escalation. De-escalation means any behavior (verbal and non-verbal communication, tactical measures, etc.) that avoids allowing conflicts to degenerate into the use of greater force (waging the conflict with force). In addition, it halts or reverses the development of escalating situations and includes all measures capable of achieving this. Many de-escalation techniques and strategies can be applied to everyday police operations. Nonetheless, little empirical data exists on de-escalation options and training courses for learning and practicing de-escalation techniques. The outcome of an evaluation of de-escalation techniques for police practice is presented in this article, which shows that besides awareness of appropriate measures, additional factors also seem important for ensuring effective de-escalation.

Children, Care and Crime: Trauma and Transformation

Suz Rock — 2023-09-24