Friday, May 20, 2016

FWS Student Highlights: Natasha Taliferro

I am working with former OSCAR Program Coordinator and current GMU student, Denise Naizare, on her Ph.D research involving police­community relations. On a weekly basis, I read and analyze academic articles in the field of criminology that discuss police relations, community relations and how it is defined, and community­policing programs. Additionally, after I read and analyze the academic articles, I produce a literature brief or review on articles that are most relevant to the research being conducted and critique the articles and ideas expressed in the articles against other scholars in the field.
One thing I discovered this week is the way in which community­police relations is discussed in the United States. It seems that the majority of community­police relations focus around race­relations and socio­economic status; however, scholarship in the field fail to address how multi­faceted a community is, and how multi­faceted an individual is. It goes without saying that an individual's identity within a community can belong to multiple micro­communities; however, current literature fails to address how micro­communities can aid in community policing, especially in urban settings where "street code" is prevalent.
The research that I am assisting with is related to my long­term goals because I am studying the field of international relations with an interest in culture, and especially Eastern Asian culture. The articles that I have seen gives me a criminology­focused lense into community relations, a relationship that eventually affects domestic and international policies. Furthermore, I have a minor in the criminology­based Intelligence Analysis, and researching community­based relations can allow me to draw from such research if I decide to pursue an analyst career based in threat­analysis.