University of Wisconsin–Madison

Category: Police and Law

Psychometric Properties of the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire‐Short Form Among Law Enforcement Officers

Posted on

Aggressive Behavior (2024) Authors: Michael Christopher, Marissa Ferry, Akeesha Simmons, Alicia Vasquez, Brooke Reynolds, Daniel Grupe Abstract: Repeatedly capturing national headlines, excessive law enforcement officer (LEO) use of force in critical incident encounters is one of the most divisive human rights issues in the United States. Valid and reliable measures of potential precursors to LEO excessive use …

The “Best of Both Worlds”: Building a Community-Academic Partnership for Research with Legal System-Impacted Individuals

Posted on

American Journal of Community (2025) Authors: Talia R. Cohen, Karen Reece, Aaron Hicks, Deborah Mejchar, Carmen Alonso, Anthony Cooper, Michael R. Koenigs, Daniel W. Grupe Abstract: Equitable community‐academic research partnerships provide an innovative way to advance health outcomes among criminal legal system‐impacted individuals. The extant literature lacks accounts that detail the process for developing such partnerships, particularly in …

The “Best of Both Worlds”: Building a Community-Academic Partnership for Research with Legal System-Impacted Individuals

Posted on

American Journal of Community Psychology (2025) Authors: Talia Cohen, Karen Reece, Aaron Hicks, Deborah Mejchar, Carmen Alonso, Anthony Cooper, Michael Koenigs, Daniel Grupe Abstract: Equitable community-academic research partnerships provide an innovative way to advance health outcomes among criminal legal system-impacted individuals. The extant literature lacks accounts that detail the process for developing such partnerships, particularly …

The Disruptive Power of Policy Erasure: How State Legislators and School Boards Fail to Take up Trans-affirming Policies While Leaning into Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies

Posted on

Educational Policy (2024) Authors: Mollie McQuillan, Benjamin Lebovitz, and LaShanda Harbin Abstract: Since 2017, hostile anti-LGBTQ+ educational bills rapidly expanded. Using traditional and critical policy analysis across three Midwestern states, we examine (1) whether state and local policymakers (n = 60) adopted trans-inclusive protections aligned with the 2017 federal Whitaker ruling, (2) the spread and scope of state and local educational …

“Establishing Policy Is Just Step One of Twenty”: How Educational Policy Protections, District Practices, and Leadership Matter to Trans PK–12 School Workers

Posted on

Teachers College Record (2024) Authors: Mollie McQuillan, Lee Iskander, Mario Suárez, and Harper Keenan Abstract: While trans adults in the U.S. and Canada report higher levels of discrimination and harassment than cisgender adults, but the existing literature lacks comprehensive descriptions of trans school workers’ believes about what would improve working conditions, satisfaction, and safety. We interrogate …

“Sometimes It’s Hard to Do the Right Thing”: The Gender-Inclusivity Leadership Spectrum of How PK–12 Administrators Understand Gender Diversity Laws, Policies, and Implementation

Posted on

American Educational Research Journal (2025) Authors: Mollie McQuillan, Janel Anderson, and Lydia Gandy-Fastovich Abstract: PK–12 district-level administrators have been asked to navigate an increasingly complex policy landscape concerning gender-diversity reforms. We apply sensemaking theory to examine administrators’ understanding of legal and policy protections for trans and gender diverse (TGD) students. Using 36 interviews with administrators and …

Can Racial Diversity Attenuate Racial Discrimination in Service Interactions? Evidence from Cite-And-Release Decisions Within Police Departments

Posted on

Organizational Science (2023) Author: Jirs Meuris Abstract: Despite the belief that racial diversity in organizations will attenuate racial discrimination in service interactions, the extant literature suggests that it may often exacerbate discrimination by generating intergroup conflict. In this paper, I propose that the influence of racial diversity on racial discrimination in service interactions will depend …

Immigrant’s Death at the Border: Do They Influence White and Latinx Americans’ Belief in the American Dream?

Posted on

Analysis of Social Issues and Public Policy (2024) Authors: Alexa Vega Rivas, Ella Ben Hagai, and Christine Starr Abstract: In this study, we test a clashing narrative approach to conflict, which argues that political conflict is based on opposing narratives that negate one another. We focus on the role of two master narratives central to political …

Contemplative Practices and the Movement Toward a More Just Criminal Legal System

Posted on

Orthopsychiatry (2024) Authors: Daniel Grupe, Sophia Diamantis, Carmen Alonso Abstract: What is the role of contemplative practices in the movement toward a more “just” criminal legal system? Over the past 8 years, we have explored this question through parallel lines of research and practice with police officers and incarcerated individuals who, despite very different relationships …

Study suggests that implicit-bias focused diversity training for police unlikely to change behavior

Posted on

In a study published in 2023 in Psychological Science, Calvin Lai and Jaclyn Lisnek evaluated a diversity training program with nearly 3,800 participating officers in 251 trainings. The one-day program was conducted by a well-regarded outside organization and focused mainly on implicit bias. Based on self-reports from the training participants, the study authors found that …