The Discipline and Punish Podcast

On this episode, Professor Don Kurtz and I discuss the role of storytelling in law enforcement. How do the gendered stories officers tell influence police culture and the rest of society? We also discuss the uncertainty of post-Coronavirus higher education and the utility of gallows humor.
Perhaps the most interesting social worker in the world - he once had an awkward pause with a client just to see what it felt like. He can break down defense mechanisms with a look, or thirty hours of behavior modifications - either way Don Kurtz became an assistant professor of social work at Kansas State in the summer of 2008. His research interests include juvenile justice, probation outcomes, youth violence, family aggression, and the link between gender and violence. His research is published in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Feminist Criminology, Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, and Western Criminology Review. Prior to completing his doctorate, Don was employed as a social worker in a juvenile probation office and he has many years of direct practice experience in the criminal justice system.
Tom Baker has been a PhD student in UMSL's Criminology and Criminal Justice program since 2017. Tom received his BA in Political Science from Arizona State University and worked as a police officer for approximately nine years. His research interests include police culture, use of force, and qualitative research methods. https://www.umsl.edu/ccj/Graduate%20S...
WORK DISCUSSED
Kurtz, D. L., & Upton, L. L. (2018). The gender in stories: How war stories and police narratives shape masculine police culture. Women & criminal justice, 28(4), 282-300.

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In this episode, Professor Joe Hamm discusses the role of public trust in policing. We talk about the current national crisis, what needs to happen before the process of building trust in policing can even begin, why it is so important, and his research on the subject.

Joe Hamm is Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Environmental Science at Michigan State University. A psychologist by training, his work lies at the nexus of government and the public where he investigates what trust is, how best to appropriately measure it, and its connection to "outcomes" like cooperation and compliance. Joe’s work spans a number of governmental contexts, seeking to use research on trust in trustees like the police, courts, water infrastructure managers, natural resource authorities, and a variety of state and federal entities to develop a cross-boundary social science of trust.

Joe works closely with a variety of criminal justice and environmental organizations, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Trust Research and Psychology, Public Policy, and the Law. His teaching responsibilities include CJ 905 (Law and Society), CJ 908 (The Cross-Boundary Social Science of Trust in the Institutional Context), and ESP 804 (Environmental Applications and Analysis). Joe also supervises the School of Criminal Justice’s doctoral traineeship in the State Courts and Society.
https://cj.msu.edu/directory/hamm-joseph.html
Twitter: @istudytrust

Tom Baker in a 2018 Tillman Scholar and has been a PhD student in UMSL's Criminology and Criminal Justice program since 2017. Tom received his BA in Political Science from Arizona State University and worked as a police officer for approximately nine years. His research interests include police culture, use of force, and qualitative research methods. https://pattillmanfoundation.org/meet-our-scholars/thomas-baker/
Twitter: @thomasowenbaker

Research Discussed:
Hamm, J. A., Trinkner, R., & Carr, J. D. (2017). Fair process, trust, and cooperation: Moving toward an integrated framework of police legitimacy. Criminal justice and behavior, 44(9), 1183-1212.

Abstract:
Positive public perceptions are a critical pillar of the criminal justice system, but the literature addressing them often fails to offer clear advice regarding the important constructs or the relationships among them. The research reported here sought to take an important step toward this clarity by recruiting a national convenience sample to complete an online survey about the police in the respondent’s community, which included measures of the process-based model of legitimacy and the classic model of trust. Our results suggest that although both are predictive, the models can be integrated in a way that allows the strengths of each model to address the weaknesses of the other. We therefore present this model as a first step toward an Integrated Framework of Police Legitimacy that can meaningfully incorporate much of the existing scholarship and provide clearer guidance for those who seek to address these constructs in research and practice.

Keywords policing, legitimacy, trust, procedural fairness, trustworthiness

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www.thomasowenbaker.com for podcasts, LIVE streams, writing, and more.
In this episode, Ashley N. Jackson from Washington University-St. Louis and I discuss the psychological impacts of police violence on adolescent Black boys. We talk about the history of race in the U.S., how it intersects police violence, "the talk", and Jackson's research.
About Ashley N. Jackson:
https://sites.wustl.edu/ajackson/
In 2009, I earned a BS in Administration of Justice from George Mason University and an AM (MSW) from the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration in 2011. During the 2017-2018 cycle, I earned a Fulbright Research grant to conduct research in Cali, Colombia where I explored how local NGOs support vulnerable communities impacted by armed conflict and violence.
Prior to moving to Colombia, I worked at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) in New York in program development, advocacy and research on a variety of criminal justice issues. Specifically, I provided support to communities across the country addressing public safety issues. I also conducted mixed-methods research on youth experiences while incarcerated and during their transition back into the community and the impact of police contact on youth and families in New York City.
I currently study historical and contemporary patterns of police violence, its effects on psychological well-being and racial socialization among communities of color.
I love cats, traveling (when we could!), and baking.
Tom Baker has been a PhD student in UMSL's Criminology and Criminal Justice program since 2017. Tom received his BA in Political Science from Arizona State University and worked as a police officer for approximately nine years. His research interests include police culture, use of force, and qualitative research methods.
Article Discussed:
Jackson, A. N., Butler-Barnes, S. T., Stafford, J. D., Robinson, H., & Allen, P. C. (2020). “Can I Live”: Black American Adolescent Boys’ Reports of Police Abuse and the Role of Religiosity on Mental Health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(12), 4330.
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/12/4330?type=check_update&version=1&fbclid=IwAR1jFFVTBy07sy6RIR0vB2-zxL9SDr-etLt8rkF15B4qeihXO3y0h_l3Tik
Abstract:
"State sanctioned violence aimed at Black individuals and communities is an issue that has pervaded American history and society since before the establishment of the United States. For Black males, anticipating and preparing for involuntary police contact, unfortunately, is an inevitable part of life. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of reports of police abuse on mental health and perceived racial out-group perceptions and the protective role of religiosity among a nationally representative sample of Black American adolescent boys (Mage = 14.98). Linear multiple regression was used to determine the interactive effects of subjective religiosity and reported police abuse on Black American adolescent boys. Higher reports of subjective religiosity were associated with lower depressive symptomatology. Reports of police abuse were associated with lower public regard beliefs (belief that society views Black Americans less favorably). Results highlight the impact experiencing police abuse has on Black adolescent boys and we conclude with implications, areas for future research and intervention points."

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Please visit www.thomasowenbaker.com for more podcasts, videos, streams, and writing.

On this episode, Guy Hamilton-Smith and I discuss sex crimes, his experience as a victim and an offender, the origins of the #metoo movement, how the U.S. manages sex related offenses, obstacles to achieving justice for victims of sex crimes, and how to improve the system.

Bio: Hamilton-Smith advocates for better mechanisms of accountability in our society. Victims are often and easily forgotten and neglected by our justice system. To compensate, the state offers more punishment as opposed to holding more wrongdoers to account. Such a bargain has not seen more accountability for those who cause harm, nor more equity for victims, but only a relatively unchecked expansion of state authority which has been purchased with a disregard for constitutional principles and human rights. While perhaps most would be fine with such a sacrifice if it meant we built safer communities, evidence indicates that this is not the case.

Reach Guy:
Twitter @G_Padraic

Website: https://guyhamiltonsmith.com/

Article Discussed:

Hamilton-Smith, G. (2020). The Agony & the Ecstasy of# MeToo: The Hidden Costs of Reliance on Carceral Politics. Sw. L. Rev., 49, 93.

Abstract:

Many have considered the conversation sparked by #MeToo as a necessary and overdue interrogation of not only the spectre of common sexual harms in American society, but also the inadequacy of traditional mechanisms of accountability. Against this backdrop, smaller-scale flashpoints have erupted over perceived inadequacy of punishment, such as the successful campaign to recall California judge Aaron Persky from the bench over what many saw as leniency in the widely-publicized case of People v. Turner. This paper analyzes the complex relationship between #MeToo and the carceral state. In arguably the most punitive nation on the planet— particularly when considering the breadth and scope of public post- conviction registries—I argue that seeking to address broad and systemic failures of accountability by advocating for more severe punishment paradoxically undermines the larger goals of #MetToo to the extent that those goals are concerned with effectively challenging systems that perpetuate sexual harms. An approach that harmonizes efforts to prevent sexual harms and bring those who cause harm to account without endorsement of carceral politics is explored.

Link to article: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338194844_The_Agony_The_Ecstasy_Of_Metoo_The_Hidden_Costs_Of_Reliance_On_Carceral_Politics

Tom Baker has been a PhD student in UMSL's Criminology and Criminal Justice program since 2017. Tom received his BA in Political Science from Arizona State University and worked as a police officer for approximately nine years. His research interests include police culture, use of force, and qualitative research methods.

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On this episode, Green Beret, Tillman Scholar, and Harvard Law graduate Logan Leslie and I discuss the fuzzy line between domestic law enforcement and the military. We talk about the veteran experience and how the Global War on Terrorism influences U.S. policing. We also discuss how to control police use of force and also touch on his recent experience working the protests in Atlanta with his National Guard unit.

Per the Tillman Foundation:

Logan Leslie is an honors graduate of Harvard College and has served for over 12 years in the United States Army as a scout and as a Special Forces Combat Diver. Enlisting on his 17th birthday, Logan has over 26 months of combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Currently, a JD/MBA student at Harvard, Logan is a Tillman Scholar, an InSITE entrepreneurship fellow, and the founder and co-president of the Free Enterprise Club at the Harvard Business School. While a student, Logan spent summers at the private equity firm Crestview Partners, Hedge Fund Solutions at the Blackstone Group, and at the Boston Consulting Group. He continues to serve as a Special Forces team member in the Army National Guard.

Passionate about veterans’ education issues, Logan has volunteered extensively to help enlisted veterans achieve academic excellence in order to continue to serve their communities after leaving the military. Logan currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his alluring wife, two enchanting daughters, and one unruly puppy.

He also created a venture capital firm dedicated to empowering veterans:

https://www.nrockusa.com/

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