Expanding the measurement of police integrity

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Hickman ◽  
Alex R. Piquero ◽  
Zachary A. Powell ◽  
Jack Greene
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Occupational Culture ◽  
Level Variation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Behaviors ◽  
Perceived Seriousness ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Police Integrity

Purpose– Klockarset al.use scenario methodology to measure perceived seriousness, level of discipline warranted, and willingness to report fellow officers engaged in various negative behaviors. These data are used to characterize the occupational culture of integrity in a given agency, relative to other agencies. What remains unclear is whether these agency-level findings mask important meso- and micro-level variation in the data (i.e. at the precinct/district and officer levels) that may contribute to a more complete understanding of an agency’s culture of integrity. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– This study replicates and extends Klockarset al.’s work using data from a survey administered to 499 Philadelphia police officers, with the goal of both validating their methodological approach and exploring the need for multi-level theory in the study of police integrity. In addition to comparing the results from Philadelphia to those obtained by Klockarset al., the authors test for differences across officer demographics, and explore variance in the willingness to report various behaviors at both the officer- and district-levels.Findings– Results indicate that bivariate relationships between officer-level demographics and willingness to report fellow officers are negated when controlling for theoretically relevant attitudinal variables such as cynicism and, consistent with Klockarset al., perceived seriousness of the underlying behavior. In addition, there is significant district-level variation in the average willingness to report fellow officers, and this variation can be explained by both organizational and environmental variables. On balance, the findings provide support for a multi-level approach to the study of police integrity.Originality/value– While the Klockarset al.approach addresses macro-level variation in police integrity, this study contributes important findings at the meso- and micro-levels.

Police integrity in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 563-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangzhen Wu ◽  
David A. Makin ◽  
Yongtao Li ◽  
Francis D. Boateng ◽  
Gassan Abess
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Excessive Force ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Code Of Silence ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Police System ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Police Integrity ◽  
Chinese Police

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the contours of police integrity among Chinese police officers. Specifically, this study explores how Chinese police evaluate integrity based on official policy governing interactions, discipline governing infractions, views of seriousness, and willingness to inform when others engage in misconduct. Design/methodology/approach In total, 353 police officers were surveyed representing those attending in-service training program at a Chinese police university in May 2015. Questionnaires containing 11 scenarios describing police misbehaviors were distributed to officers during classes. Findings There was a strong correlation between officers’ perceptions of rule-violation, misconduct seriousness, discipline, and willingness to report. Additionally, preliminary results suggest there exists a code of silence among Chinese officers, and that Chinese officers hold a lenient attitude toward the use of excessive force. Research limitations/implications This study utilizes a convenient sample, which restricts the generalizability of the results. Practical implications The results indicate the existence of code of silence among Chinese officers and their lenient attitude toward the use of excessive force. Originality/value Although there has been a growing body of research examining police integrity in both western democracies and transitional societies, China as the largest developing nation in the world and with a unique police system (falls somewhere between the centralized model and the integrated model) is understudied. This study addresses this gap in previous literature by exploring the contours of police integrity among Chinese police officers.

The code of silence and female police officers in Slovenia

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branko Lobnikar ◽  
Kaja Prislan ◽  
Barbara Čuvan ◽  
Gorazd Meško
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Police Chiefs ◽  
Police Corruption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Code Of Silence ◽  
Female Police Officers ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Police Integrity

Purpose – For some time now, research conducted in the field of human behavior and criminology has pertained to the contemporary question as to whether there are any relevant differences between the genders regarding their integrity and opinions held and, if so, which of these lead to different behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there are any gender differences in willingness to report police misconduct and if so, what is the nature of these differences. Design/methodology/approach – In spring 2011, the study was conducted on a representative sample of 408 frontline Slovenian police officers (87.3 percent were male and 12.7 percent were female). The assessment of the code of silence was conducted using the method developed by Klockars and Kutnjak Ivković (2004), and consisted of 14 hypothetical scenarios describing a range of various forms of police misconduct, from those that merely give the appearance of a conflict of interest, to incidents of bribery and theft. One of the questions explored in relation to the police code of silence was the police officer’s willingness to report misconduct. Findings – Authors discovered significant differences in 11 of the 14 analyzed cases on the willingness to report police misconduct. Interestingly, female police officers were less willing than their male colleagues to report different forms of police misconduct. Female police officers are less willing to report police corruption in seven cases e.g. shooting runaway suspect, supervisor abusing his/her power, excessive force – punching a suspect, falsification of evidence, supervisor not prevent beating a suspect, police officer take bribes, and doing nothing when juveniles paint graffiti. The results were further analyzed from the group dynamic in Slovenian police point of view. The survey findings could be useful for police chiefs, leaders, and managers who want to achieve the main objective of every modern police organization: to prevent corruption and increase social responsibility. Originality/value – The study analyzes, comprehensively and originally, whether the female police officers differ from their male colleagues in the level of police integrity and willingness to report the cases of police corruption and/or other forms of police misbehavior.

Exploring the viability of an attitudes toward ethical behavior scale in understanding police integrity outcomes

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Hickman ◽  
Zachary A. Powell ◽  
Alex R. Piquero ◽  
Jack Greene
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Behavior ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical Behaviors ◽  
Measurement Analysis ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Perceived Seriousness ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Police Integrity

Purpose– Relying on a moral development theoretical framework, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the perceived seriousness of a particular behavior is a reflection of one’s broader attitudes toward ethical behaviors. Attitudes toward ethical behavior should provide both an elaborated explanation for the relationship between the perceived seriousness of a behavior and the likelihood of reporting a fellow officer for that behavior, as well as an alternative approach to the measurement and assessment of police integrity outcomes.Design/methodology/approach– Using data from a sample of 499 Philadelphia police officers, the current study uses a modified fifteen item ethics scale first developed by Hyams (1990) and used by others, in order to examine its relation to integrity outcomes. The paper provides a full descriptive and measurement analysis of the scale and then explores its utility in understanding integrity outcomes through a variety of hypothetical scenarios.Findings– While the perceived seriousness of a behavior is strongly predictive of the likelihood of reporting a fellow officer who engages in that behavior, the findings suggest that seriousness may be a proxy for attitudes toward ethical behaviors.Originality/value– While Klockarset al.’s approach to the measurement of police integrity has been an important contribution to integrity research, other measures of police integrity such as attitudes toward ethical behavior are also useful as they move us conceptually from assessing attitudes toward ethical behavior to their antecedents – the strength of underlying value premises shaping subsequent attitudes.

An empirical test of the influence of society at large on police integrity in a centralized police system

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 302-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Kutnjak Ivković ◽  
Irena Cajner Mraović ◽  
Krunoslav Borovec
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Fourth Dimension ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analytical Strategies ◽  
Police System ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Police Integrity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the theory of police integrity, particularly its fourth dimension, on a centralized police agency and to assess the degree to which levels of police integrity are related to the characteristics of the larger environment. Design/methodology/approach – In 2008, a stratified representative sample of 945 Croatian police officers from ten police administrations evaluated 11 hypothetical scenarios describing a range of various forms of police misconduct. The questionnaire measures officer views regarding scenario seriousness, appropriate and expected discipline, and willingness to report the misconduct. Findings – Bivariate analyses show that police officers’ evaluations of seriousness differed across categories of police administrations for more than one-half of the scenarios. Multivariate analyses reveal that, once organizational predictors are entered into the models, community characteristics remain significant predictors of seriousness evaluations for only a few scenarios. Research limitations/implications – The analytical strategies were limited by the number of police administrations in the country. Practical implications – The results indicate that levels of police integrity in large, centralized organizations vary across units and that the characteristics of the communities the police are a contributing factor to these differences. At the same time, organizational characteristics carry substantial weight. Originality/value – Prior studies of police integrity focussed on the organizational aspects (the first three dimensions of the theory); the present paper extends the literature to ascertain the importance of the larger environment and its characteristics for levels of police integrity (the fourth dimension of the police integrity theory).

Police integrity in South Africa: a tale of three police agency types

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Kutnjak Ivković ◽  
Adri Sauerman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Agency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sample Group ◽  
Police Service ◽  
South African Police ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Police Integrity

Purpose – Following the theory of police integrity, the purpose of this paper is to explore empirically the contours of police integrity in South Africa using survey of the three South African police agency types. Design/methodology/approach – During the period from 2010 to 2012, a police integrity survey was used to measure the contours of police integrity among 871 police officers across South Africa, covering all three police agency types. The questionnaire contains descriptions of 11 scenarios, covering different forms of police misconduct, followed by seven questions measuring officer views of scenario seriousness, the appropriate and expected discipline, and willingness to report the misconduct. Findings – The results show that the respondents from the three police agency types were about equally likely to recognize behaviors as rule-violating and, in most scenarios, evaluated these scenarios to be of the same level of seriousness. The contours of the code of silence were very similar as well. The authors found the largest and most systematic differences in the respondents’ perceptions of disciplinary environment, with the traffic respondents expecting harsher disciplinary environments than either the South African Police Service or metro police respondents. Research limitations/implications – Similar sample group sizes would have been preferred, although the current sample group proportions are certainly representative of a collective, agency size comparison. Practical implications – Although the respondents from the three police agency types expressed similar views of misconduct seriousness and their willingness to report, and were as likely to recognize these behaviors as rule-violating, their views depicted markedly different disciplinary environments. These results clearly support the critical importance of consistent enforcement of official rules. Originality/value – Whereas several integrity studies have explored the country’s national police service, empirical studies on the integrity of the other South African police agency types are non-existent.

Does discipline fairness matter for the police code of silence? Answers from the US supervisors and line officers

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 354-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Kutnjak Ivković ◽  
Robert Peacock ◽  
Maria Haberfeld
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Code Of Silence ◽  
Police Supervisors ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Police Integrity ◽  
Line Officers

Purpose – Following the theoretical model of reporting and disciplinary fairness developed by Kutnjak Ivković and Klockars (1998), the purpose of this paper is to use a survey of US police officers to explore empirically the contours of the code of silence and the potential relation between the code and perceptions of disciplinary fairness. Design/methodology/approach – In 2013-2014, a police integrity survey was used to measure the contours of police integrity among 604 police officers from 11 police agencies located in the Midwest and on the East Coast of the USA. The questionnaire contains descriptions of 11 scenarios describing various forms of police misconduct, followed by seven questions measuring officer views of scenario seriousness, the appropriate and expected discipline, and willingness to report misconduct. Findings – The results point out that the code of silence varies greatly across the scenarios, both for supervisors and line officers. While the supervisor code and the line officer code differ substantially, they are the most similar for the scenarios evaluated as the most serious. Compared to the respondents who evaluated expected discipline as fair, the respondents who evaluated it as too harsh were more likely to say that they would adhere to the code. On the other hand, compared to the respondents who evaluated discipline as fair, the respondents who evaluate the expected discipline as too lenient were as likely to adhere to the code. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected online, resulting in a lower response rates those typical of traditional paper surveys. Practical implications – The results of the research allow police supervisors interested in the controlling the code of silence to assess where the code is the weakest and easiest to break. Furthermore, the findings suggest to the supervisors who want to curtail the code that the strategy of meting out discipline perceived by line officers as too harsh will potentially only strengthen the code. Originality/value – Whereas the study of the code of silence has started several decades ago, empirical studies exploring the relation between the code of silence and perceptions of disciplinary fairness are rare.

Police integrity in South Korea

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Kutnjak Ivković ◽  
Wook Kang
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Excessive Force ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Code Of Silence ◽  
Korean Police Officers ◽  
Police Integrity

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the contours of police integrity among Korean police officers a decade after police reform was started.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected in 2009 at the Korean National Police University (KNPU) and the Police Comprehensive Academy (PCA). The questionnaires distributed to police officers contained 14 vignettes describing various forms of police misconduct. The sample consists of 329 police officers, mostly non‐supervisors, attending courses at the KNPU and PCA.FindingsResults indicate that the contours of police integrity vary across different forms of misconduct. Regardless of whether the respondents' views were measured through questions about misconduct seriousness, appropriate discipline, willingness to report, or knowledge about official rules, the findings suggest that Korean police officers perceived corruption as a serious form of police misconduct, while they considered the use of excessive force to be substantially less serious. In addition, a strong code of silence among the police was detected.Research limitations/implicationsThe study examines the contours of police integrity among a convenience sample of police officers from South Korea.Practical implicationsThe Korean police administrators interested in controlling police misconduct could utilize this methodology to explore the contours of the code of silence among the Korean police. The results of the study indicate that substantial focus should be put on changing police officer views about the use of excessive force and narrowing the code of silence in general.Social implicationsThe results show that the contours of police integrity among South Korean police officers clearly reflect the attitudes and views of the society at large toward corruption and use of excessive force. The lenient attitudes that South Korean police officers have expressed regarding the use of excessive force reflect both the historical attitudes and the lack of clarity of official rules. The strong code of silence is related to the insufficient protection for whistleblowers and the adherence to Confucianism among Korean citizens.Originality/valuePrior research predominantly measured police integrity as the opposite of police corruption in Western democracies and East European countries in transition. This research expands this by focusing on different forms of police misconduct. In addition, it explores integrity in an Asian democracy with the police agency undergoing extensive reform.

scholarly journals Effective resource management in digital forensics

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Wilson-Kovacs
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Digital Forensics ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
Police Forces

Purpose Building on the findings of a British Academy-funded project on the development of digital forensics (DF) in England and Wales, the purpose of this paper is to explore how triage, a process that helps prioritise digital devices for in-depth forensic analysis, is experienced by DF examiners and police officers in four English police forces. It is argued that while as a strategy triage can address the increasing demand in the examination of digital exhibits, careful consideration needs to be paid to the ways in which its set-up, undertaking and outcomes impact on the ability of law enforcement agencies to solve cases. Design/methodology/approach The methodological approach adopted here builds on the ethnographic turn in criminology. The analysis draws on 120 h of ethnographic observations and 43 semi-structured interviews. Observational data of the working DF environment at each location and a systematic evaluation of internal documents, organisational settings and police priorities helped refine emergent analysis threads, which were analytically compared between sites and against the testimonies of members of different occupational groups to identify similarities and differences between accounts. Findings The findings emphasise the challenges in the triage of digital exhibits as they are encountered in everyday practice. The discussion focusses on the tensions between the delivery of timely and accurate investigation results and current gaps in the infrastructural arrangements. It also emphasises the need to provide police officers with a baseline understanding of the role of DF and the importance of clearly defined strategies in the examination of digital devices. Originality/value This paper aims to bridge policy and practice through an analysis of the ways in which DF practitioners and police officers in four English constabularies reflect on the uses of triage in DF to address backlogs and investigative demands. Highlighting the importance of digital awareness beyond the technical remit of DF units, it offers new insights into the ways in which police forces seek to improve the evidential trail with limited resources.

Police officer integrity: a partial replication and extension

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeyoung Lim ◽  
John J. Sloan
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Police Supervisors ◽  
Municipal Police ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Police Integrity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to partially replicate and extend the work of Klockars et al. and others on police integrity by examining how individual, organizational, and ecological factors affect police supervisors’ perceptions of police misconduct and willingness to report fellow officers’ misconduct. Design/methodology/approach – Surveys containing 17 scenarios developed by Klockars et al. (2000, 2004, 2006) were administered to 553 ranking officers attending training at the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas from June 1, 2009 to March 1, 2010 and employed by municipal police departments, county sheriff’s departments, and constable agencies. Findings – Results suggest that individual and organizational factors affect supervisor willingness to blow the whistle on underling misconduct, although their effects varied by seriousness of the behavior. Originality/value – The current project partially replicates and extends prior studies of factors affecting police integrity by surveying supervisors, measuring their willingness to whistle blow, and including variables in statistical models that prior studies have not included.

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