Mission Impossible? Challenging Police Credibility in Suppression Motions

2021 ◽  
pp. 088740342110576
Author(s):  
Siyu Liu ◽  
Esther Nir
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Northeastern State

Suppression motions are the means by which defendants challenge the constitutionality of stops, searches, and seizures, and move the court to exclude illegally recovered evidence. However, defendants face insurmountable obstacles in challenging police credibility in these motions. Using 31 motions with factual disputes from a northeastern state, we dissect the types of defense challenges related to stops, searches, seizures, and arrests, as well as the prevalence and types of corroborating evidence presented by the defense. We find that most defense challenges to police credibility are not corroborated, and evidence of prior police misconduct is not presented. Furthermore, judges typically rule in favor of the police when adjudicating uncorroborated factual disputes between police officers and defendants. As a result, suppression motions generally fail to serve as an accountability structure for police conduct and rarely provide defendants with a viable remedy to address rights violations.

scholarly journals The Network Structure of Police Misconduct

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 237802311987979 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Wood ◽  
Daria Roithmayr ◽  
Andrew V. Papachristos
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Network Ties ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Using Data

Conventional explanations of police misconduct generally adopt a microlevel focus on deviant officers or a macrolevel focus on the top-down organization of police departments. Between these levels are social networks of misconduct. This study recreates these networks using data on 16,503 complaints and 15,811 police officers over a six-year period in Chicago. We examine individual-level factors associated with receiving a complaint, the basic properties of these misconduct networks, and factors related to officer co-naming in complaints. We find that the incidence of police misconduct is associated with attributes including race, age, and tenure and that almost half of police officers are connected in misconduct ties in broader networks of misconduct. We also find that certain dyadic factors, especially seniority and race, strongly predict network ties and the incidence of group misconduct. Our results provide actionable information regarding possible ways to leverage the co-complaint network structure to reduce misconduct.

Police Misconduct and Political Legitimacy in Central America

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSÉ MIGUEL CRUZ
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
The Political ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Police Corruption ◽  
Political Impact ◽  
Public Collaboration

AbstractWhat is the political impact of police corruption and abuse? From the literature, we know that police misconduct destroys people's confidence in police forces and hampers public collaboration with the criminal-justice system; but, what about the political regime, especially in countries striving for democratic governance? Does police wrongdoing affect the legitimacy of the overall regime? Focusing on Central America, this article provides empirical evidence showing that corruption and abuse perpetrated by police officers erode public support for the political order. Results indicate that, under some circumstances, police transgressions can have a greater impact on the legitimacy of the political system than crime or insecurity. They also show that police misconduct not only affects democratising regimes, such as El Salvador and Guatemala, but also consolidated democracies, such as Costa Rica.

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.

A predictive model for serious police misconduct by variation of the theory of planned behaviour

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 251-263
Author(s):  
Timothy Cubitt ◽  
Ken Wooden ◽  
Erin Kruger ◽  
Michael Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Theory Of Planned Behaviour ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Extended Model ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Planned Behaviour ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Intervention Models ◽  
Behaviour Models

Purpose Misconduct and deviance amongst police officers are substantial issues in policing around the world. This study aims to propose a prediction model for serious police misconduct by variation of the theory of planned behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Using two data sets, one quantitative and one qualitative, provided by an Australian policing agency, a random forest analysis and a qualitative content analysis was performed. Results were used to inform and extend the framework of the theory of planned behaviour. The traditional and extended theory of planned behaviour models were then tested for predictive utility. Findings Each model demonstrated noteworthy predictive power, however, the extended model performed particularly well. Prior instances of minor misconduct amongst officers appeared important in this rate of prediction, suggesting that remediation of problematic behaviour was a substantial issue amongst misconduct prone officers. Practical implications It is an important implication for policing agencies that prior misconduct was predictive of further misconduct. A robust complaint investigation and remediation process are pivotal to anticipating, remediating and limiting police misconduct, however, early intervention models should not be viewed as the panacea for police misconduct. Originality/value This research constitutes the first behavioural model for police misconduct produced in Australia. This research seeks to contribute to the field of behavioural prediction amongst deviant police officers, and offer an alternative methodology for understanding these behaviours.

scholarly journals The 2017 French Riots and Trust in the Police. A Quasi-Experimental Approach.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christof Nägel ◽  
Mark Lutter
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Police Data ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Internal And External Validity ◽  
Conventional Regression

On February 2, 2017, French police officers brutally abused a young black man, leading to the first wave of 2017 French riots. The present study exploits the coincidence that the focal event occurred during the survey period of the European Social Survey (ESS) 2016 (Nov. 11, 2016 – March 11, 2017) in France, thus providing the basis for a Natural Experiment on the effect of media reporting on police misconduct on trust in the police. Data is analyzed by means of a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) as well as more conventional regression analyses with heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors. In line with procedural justice theory as well as institutional theory, the present study finds support for the notion that this special case of police misconduct did decrease trust in the police. In addition, people reporting a migrant background show even less trust in the police after the event. Frequency of different media consumption does not appear to explain deterioration of trust in the police after the event. The results of this study increase the internal and external validity of the assumption that trust in the police can be explained not only by personal experiences, but also by the perceived unfair treatment of others. Results are robust to various placebo tests. There is some evidence that the effect seems to be short-lived, although the data basis is limited in this regard. Several fruitful approaches for future studies are discussed.

scholarly journals "The unstoppable psychopathic authority"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pardis Tabaee Damavandi
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Law ◽  
Opinion Article ◽  
Miscarriage Of Justice

This is an opinion article based on personal experience. There are now at least another two cases involving foreign researchers on national territory and two more cases overseas of an actor and foreign actress too who were dragged into court against each other for miscarriage of justice. Subornation of all witnesses to malicious prosecution should also be addressed. These public humiliations and attempted loss to reputation are deleterious to all members of the public and do not in any way place the police misconduct officer nor a misconduct judge nor a misconduct prosecutor in a superior intellectual position. Real police officers are those who have knowledge of the law in a way that contributes and improves society and thankfully those heroes still exist in other places but unfortunately not in Scotland (UK) and not in some cities overseas. The process of interacting with these people is very exhausting and unhealthy but enlisting third party help should improve the quality of life of victims. Although psychopaths are liked by the majority of individuals, it is only the 'normal' victim who gets to know their true dark nature and this is why support may seem scant initially.

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.

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).

scholarly journals Flipping the “New Penology” Script: Police Misconduct Insurance, Grassroots Activism, and Risk Management–Based Reform

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-43
Author(s):  
Stephen Wulff
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Private Insurance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Risk Governance ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Grassroots Groups ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Movement Organizations

Through a multi-method qualitative case study, I examine the failed 2016 ballot campaign of the Committee for Professional Policing (CfPP), a police accountability group in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In attempting to make Minneapolis the first city nationwide to require police to carry professional liability insurance, the CfPP turned the logic of Malcolm M. Feeley and Jonathan Simon’s “new penology” paradigm onto police. Their thesis argues that a contemporary penal shift occurred away from rehabilitation toward managing aggregates of dangerous criminal categories through risk management approaches. I extend their thesis in a new direction by examining how—in the emerging age of “algorithmic risk governance”—social movement organizations, like the CfPP, are starting to invert the new penology onto criminal justice personnel. In flipping the script, the CfPP called for a new private insurance market using mandatory police misconduct insurance to manage aggregates of dangerous police officers. After highlighting how the CfPP developed new penological objectives, discourses, and technologies, I discuss the implications of grassroots groups adopting and redefining traditional penal logics and propose future research avenues.

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