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Police misconduct and responses to it threaten the police’s legitimacy with both the public and its own officers. Drawing on Bottoms and Tankebe’s notion of a legitimacy dialogue, I examine how London’s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) uses public gross misconduct hearings to engage both its own officers and the public. I use ethnographic observations of these hearings to conceptualise them as incomplete legitimacy dialogues. The hearings speak to multiple, concentric audiences to whom the police must appear as a legitimate powerholder: their own officers and the public. Within the public, the police address both a specific public – those involved in the instant complaint – and the general public more broadly. I argue these dialogues are incomplete. While the police service uses procedural justice principles in disciplining its officers, the hearing process often falls short with regard to distributive justice. Further, while the hearings do provide interactional justice for members of the public who attend them, the circumscribed role for the public in the actual hearing process and the quasi-judicial, adversarial nature of the process reduces its efficacy at improving public legitimacy. The hearing process relies on a penal populist notion of what the public wants regarding police misconduct but elides any role for actual public input. When analysed through this lens, the hearings point to other potential ways that the misconduct process might also build legitimacy and public trust in the police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses a subject that has not been examined by scholars: the extent of corruption in early Scottish chief constables. Three men placed in charge of their forces in the county of Roxburgh between 1861 and 1902 succumbed to corruption. There are striking similarities in the backgrounds of the men: they were all married men, experienced police leaders, highly regarded by their previous forces and successful in their new roles. James McMaster abused his position of power to cajole a young constable into a homosexual relationship, Daniel Munro deserted the force with a married woman and John Macdonald experienced alcohol abuse issues. All three men stole from their force. The research presented here is grounded in primary sources ranging from police records, police commissioners' minute books, the reports of the Inspector of Constabulary, the private correspondence of the duke of Buccleuch and local newspapers. The article describes the circumstances whereby their crimes were revealed and the reaction of their police commissioners. It also poses an important question: if this examination of one small rural county uncovers such a high level of criminality, how widespread was corruption amongst Scotland's early police leaders? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police workforce retention has become a persistent managerial concern. The public response to recent events of police misconduct have fuelled the perception that police may be seeking other career paths following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Despite growing evidence, current research has been unable to ascertain what conditions may prompt officers to voluntarily separate from police work following Floyd's murder, or whether the impact varies across demographic groups. Drawing upon a survey of over 600 police officers across eight police departments in the United States, the current inquiry examines what percent of officers reported reconsidering their career following the George Floyd incident, and whether demographic information and occupational attitudes could predict whether officers reconsidered their careers. Findings indicated that female officers were more likely to strongly agree that it made them reconsider their careers, and that instrumental concerns (i.e., public support, personal liability, localized fallout, and concern over media attention) were also influential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several forms of police misconduct exist, including the inappropriate use of a weapon, sexual misconduct, and racially offensive behaviors, and deserve more attention in the literature. More recent literature suggests that there may be personality predictors of misconduct. Specifically, aggression, having unstable relationships, a lack of empathy, thrill-seeking behavior, and poor impulse control, may contribute to officer misconduct. The current study examined a group of 642 first-year police officers through a series of mostly logistic regression analyses to determine if antisocial or borderline personality traits predict inappropriate use of a weapon, sexual misconduct, and racially offensive behavior using scales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Second Edition (MMPI-2; the antisocial practices and the psychopathic deviance scales) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; the borderline and antisocial scales). Most of the hypotheses were not supported by the findings. Participants who had more antisocial traits, as assessed by MMPI-2, were less likely to be accused of racially offensive behavior. Officers who had more borderline characteristics, as assessed by the MMPI-2, were less likely to be accused of engagement in any misconduct, specifically sexual misconduct. However, participants who had more borderline traits, as assessed by the PAI, were more likely to engage in sexual misconduct, but less likely to engage in any misconduct overall. Demographic covariates also were found to be related to all three forms of misconduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on police corruption and misconduct has evolved markedly over the past three decades. Despite this, there is a scarcity of studies examining why some corrupt police officers successfully conceal their wrongdoing while others do not. Drawing upon the case of Genaro García Luna, Mexico’s former top law enforcement official, this article examines how high-ranking corrupt police officers manage to evade exposure. Our analysis employed David Gibson’s theory on the social organization of deception. Based on witness testimony from García Luna’s 2023 trial in New York, we investigated the underlying mechanisms that served to conceal his decade-long participation in a transnational criminal network despite scrutiny from both the Mexican and US governments and media. We propose refinements to Gibson’s model that enhance our understanding of the factors that contribute toward successful concealment, by distinguishing between environmental and proactive barriers to exposure. These refinements improve our understanding of the mechanisms that allow corrupt senior-level police officers to conceal their crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has yielded important insight into the characteristics and behaviours of officers who commit misconduct across the UK, USA and Australia. However, there remains little research into illicit substance use by sworn police. Considering substance use by police through the lens of police misconduct, this paper employs correlation and regression analyses using a sample of 489 sworn officers, to analyse whether individual types of misconduct, or the overall volume of misconduct committed, were predictive of an officer returning a positive drug test during departmental random drug testing. Findings suggested that neither individual types of misconduct, or the overall number of complaints received by officers were useful in predicting a positive drug test. However, a current or historical association with a known offender held a strong relationship with returning a positive drug test. Pivotally, holding a second job (outside of the agency) was also a significant predictor of a positive drug test. The findings of this research hold important implications for drug testing policy and procedure of policing agencies, and for understanding which factors may suggest that an officer is at risk of drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2017–2019 I was counsel representing the families in a coronial inquest which looked at Aboriginal youth deaths in the Kimberley region of Australia with a particular regard to self-harm. A coronial inquest is a judicial proceeding that investigates unexplained deaths, unusual deaths, or deaths in state custody. In this paper I consider the epistemic violence my clients experienced, and I particularly examine the potential for affect and relationality to create connectors between epistemes in the hope of a more emancipatory conception of justice. I draw on Audre Lorde's corpus as one that is worthy of serious regard in critical legal studies and useful in my work. In particular, I turn my gaze inwards and draw on Audre Lorde's creation of biomythography as a method for legal writing and legal practice, to offer an account of my role in the Inquest. Biomythography is a form of writing which grounds subjective individual and collective experience, and its interrelationship with history and myth to centre experiences of justice and injustice. In using this methodology, I consider ways the civil law, through its interpretive function and authority in the coronial jurisdiction, oppresses First Nations Australians. Through writing my biomythography I show that the Coroner's fact finding role arrives at truth in a way inherently embedded in Western knowledge systems and I regard the Coroner's truth determining function as violent. Finally, I consider the potential of affect as a connector between epistemes to create emancipatory possibilities for justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notwithstanding Botswana's reputation for adhering to democratic ideals and good governance, the nation has not established sound oversight mechanisms for the police service. Over the years, the Botswana Police Service has faced criticism over allegations of abuse of powers and functions, manifesting through violation of citizens' rights. Various media houses have reported police excesses such as unlawful arrest and detention, illegal searches, torture and death of suspects while they are in police detention. Amidst all these allegations, there are no independent mechanisms in place to hold the Botswana Police Service to account. In the absence of external accountability mechanisms, citizens whose rights are violated by the police will have to depend on the same violators to investigate. In this paper, we explore the current police oversight systems in the Republic of Botswana. We also present arguments for the creation of an independent police oversight body in the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the association between racial attitudes and perceptions of police misconduct in the US, focusing on racial empathy as a form of positive racial sentiment that may work alongside racial resentment to shape public views on police bias and use of force. Using data from the 2020 American National Election Studies (ANES) time series survey, an exploratory factor analysis demonstrates that racial empathy and racial resentment are distinct constructs. Multivariate regression analyses indicate that respondents with racial empathy are more likely to believe that police treat white people better than they treat Black people and that police frequently use more force than necessary. Respondents with racial resentment are less likely to believe these perceptions. Racial empathy is a racial attitude that can shape attitudes towards crime and justice. Future research should consider racial empathy in investigating ways that racial attitudes shape public opinion on crime and justice policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of Ontario is a civilian police oversight agency responsible for investigating serious incidents involving police officers and civilians, with the power to charge police officers with criminal offences. Created in 1990, the SIU is considered a pioneer in civilian-led oversight, however, little is known about how the SIU conducts investigations, the complainants in these investigations, and the routine work of this oversight agency. This article examines a variety of indicators to document the work and activity of the SIU, illustrating important aspects of the agency's performance in the process. Important trends regarding the nature of police misconduct, violence, and use of lethal force are analysed. Our study uncovers previously unknown trends regarding complainants in SIU investigations, including the prevalence of certain characteristics like known mental health disabilities and the relationship between the substantiation of complaints by the SIU and the criminal activity of the complainant. This study empirically documents the nature of police cooperation with oversight. By analysing different indicators of agency performance and work, this study makes an important contribution to the study of police oversight in general, and the findings hold value for understanding police use of force, the nature of police criminality and misconduct, and the functioning of civilian police oversight in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early Intervention (EI) systems are police accountability tools widely used to identify and address at-risk officers. Studies have yet to incorporate supervisory review practices into EI evaluations. The current study helps fill this gap by examining the operation and effectiveness of an EI system through the integration of policy and supervisory review practices using a mixed methods design. EI alert data, supervisor response memos, and semi-structured supervisor interviews were collected from a large, metropolitan police agency in the southwestern United States. Results indicated that several officer, supervisor, and EI case characteristics were associated with both supervisors' EI policy adherence and the likelihood of subsequent EI alerts occurring. These results were supplemented with supervisors' perceptions of EI processes and reasons for EI system effectiveness and ineffectiveness. Collectively, EI system design and implementation, supervisory review processes, and appropriate oversight of these processes were perceived to be key to an EI system's success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary challenge for the administration of public safety is the implementation of policy that facilitates effective policing and satisfies political pressure over outcomes. I develop a model of police administration that captures the tension between policing outcomes and policing tactics. The model evaluates how police officers' incentives to violate policy limits on their behavior complicate delegation by leaders. Police leaders are motivated to provide discretion so officers may use appropriate tactics for whatever situation they face but also motivated to ensure that police do not abuse discretion and comply with limits on their behavior. I use the model to study the effects of political control of policing policy and insulation of police officers from accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Race-and-class-subjugated communities continue to experience disproportionate police violence despite increased attention to this longstanding problem. This study examines how residents make sense of the legal issues that arise from these encounters and turn to civil law for assistance. I do so by unifying scholarship on police encounters, legal consciousness, and access to justice to consider the obstacles everyday people encounter when they consider filing a civil legal claim in the aftermath of police violence. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with 24 residents and two attorneys specializing in police brutality, I find that all residents, but especially those who sought civil legal justice, experienced what this study calls a legal mirage—which occurs when a knowable legal process exists to pursue one's rights, but a variety of barriers (e.g., structural, human, financial) make that process unreachable. Three obstacles reinforced this mirage: difficulties obtaining competent representation, unresponsiveness when securing evidence, and frustration navigating municipal indemnification. I conclude by outlining the practical implications of this research for advocates looking to increase access to civil legal services and reduce police violence. Without these interventions, civil legal justice may remain elusive and beyond the reach of everyday people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 created a centralized police force in London, formally ending the tenure of the parochial watchman—a recognizable figure in the capital for centuries—and replacing him with the uniformed "bobbies" still visible today. This change, however, was far from an inevitability. The proto-centralization embedded in the Middlesex Justices Act of 1792, and the various textual and pictorial works defending the watchman's role as a local guardian, reflect the conflicting approaches to policing London's spaces which competed in the decades preceding 1829. This essay explores points of interaction between these debates and the works of William Blake. After examining Blake's 1807 letter to publisher Richard Phillips, which condemns the activities of the Hatton Garden Police Office, I probe how a distrust of centralized authority manifests itself within Blake's work through the figures of the "Watch-fiends." From here I explore how Blake's depiction of Los as "Albions Watchman" in Jerusalem (c.1804–20) shares similarities with contemporary works celebrating the symbolic opposition of the parochial watchman to central tyranny. Ultimately, I show that Blake's utilization of a recognizable London type allows us to draw productive parallels between his works and the city spaces in which they were formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study applies thematic analysis to posts made in a popular conservative subreddit on the social media platform Reddit to understand how conservatives discuss police with one another in the context of two ongoing American tragedies—acts of race-based police brutality and mass shootings—in which police seem, at face value, to play very different roles as victimizers and first responders respectively. The study finds that the roles of police are discussed very differently in the online community studied. Within the context of race-based police brutality, popular posts tend to criticize liberals rather than police, and funding police is associated with better crime control. In contrast, posters highlight police inaction during mass shootings—particularly the shooting in Uvalde, Texas—as a form of misconduct and issue calls for accountability. These results suggest that the conservative community studied views defending members of the public as an important obligation of law enforcement, expects that providing the police with resources will enable them to better carry out this obligation, and wants police who fail in doing so held to account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authority afforded to law enforcement officers enables them to do immense good, yet also opens the door for potential harm. In recent years, there have increasingly been calls for systemic changes in law enforcement to prevent such harm, whereas other arguments posit that harm caused by police is due to "just a few bad apples." Regardless of the potential benefits of systemic change, at least some instances of police misconduct are due to individual factors. Although prior literature has investigated individual-level factors such as burnout and personality among law enforcement officers, no prior studies have examined the relation between specific forms of thinking that promote irresponsible and rule-breaking behavior (i.e., criminogenic thinking) and negative work-related behavior among this population. In the present study, we examined survey responses from 328 law enforcement officers from across the United States. Results of canonical correlation analyses indicated that specific forms of criminogenic thinking were associated with a range of maladaptive work-related behaviors and experiences. Considerations for potential benefits of screening and programming targeting criminogenic thinking among law enforcement officers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As many cities and counties turn to civilian oversight of law enforcement to enhance accountability, resource allocation is a critical issue with which police reform advocates, oversight entity administrators, and political leaders struggle almost every budget cycle. Resources are tremendously important in this context. Historically, lack of resources has been an important, if not the decisive factor leading to an oversight entity's demise. This Article reports on a unique and newly created dataset composed of case management and budgetary information from civilian oversight entities responsible for independent police misconduct investigations. The data were collected and analyzed to provide greater insight into the resources and staffing afforded to these entities while also assessing caseload management challenges. Interviews with civilian oversight entity administrators were conducted to provide context to the observations made from the data collection. The Article is intended to provide guidance to civilian oversight administrators and city leaders in assessing the resource needs of civilian oversight investigative entities. Civilian oversight entities continue to face hurdles when seeking the resources necessary to provide effective investigative oversight. Given tight municipal budgets and the political nature of resources appropriated for public safety needs, once an oversight entity is established at a certain budget level, garnering support for a significant increase in any given budget cycle is an uphill battle. Even entities with statutorily established budgetary minima have difficulty securing the resources they need because city leaders are reluctant to appropriate more than is legally required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why have public reactions to police misconduct been so polarized, and why have opposing social movements emerged in response? This study explores attributions of police misconduct, using a myriad of possible attributions and a population-matched national sample (N = 700), to extend our understanding of the perceived causes of police misconduct and who holds which attributions, focusing on race, racial attitudes, and political ideology. We find that attributions could be divided into (a) multifaceted attributions—the belief that misconduct has multiple causes; and (b) excusatory attributions—the belief that misconduct is caused by factors external to police officers and agencies. Endorsement of these attributions stems from racial and political attitudes, with mediation analyses finding that race plays an indirect role in endorsing attributions of police misconduct. As such, efforts to address police misconduct face not only a political power struggle but also a racially attitudinal one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The research aimed to explore the perceptions of aspiring future police officers studying at a university in relation to the actions to be taken with regards to typical posts on social media by a fictitious off and on-duty police officer. This in turn would inform future police workforce requirements. Design/methodology/approach: Policing students who expressed their aspirations as future police officers were recruited. A total of 99 students studying the College of Policing licensed Professional Policing Degree at the University of South Wales, took part in Hydra Immersive Simulations to ascertain their perception of social media posts by a fictitious serving police officer. The students were asked to rate the appropriateness of the social media posts as groups, and as individuals. Findings: The findings suggest that, whilst the majority of students identified misconduct issues in the social media posts, the response to how the fictitious police officer should be dealt with varied. In addition, it would appear that there may be a need for those involved in policing education to reinforce, in an ongoing basis, knowledge of the College of Policing Code of Ethics, misconduct rules, regulations and increase awareness of unacceptable social media posts. Research limitations/implications: The research was conducted with professional policing degree (PPD) students from one university. Practical implications: It is important to reinforce The College of Policing Code of Ethics, expected professional standards and an understanding of what constitutes unacceptable social media posts throughout the education of aspiring police officers. As this has the potential, if recruited, to impact on the service. Originality/value: Limited research has been conducted in relation to the College of Policing licensed higher education programme, the PPD, equipping aspiring police officers to successfully join the service and influence the cultural change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Note is concerned with the unique conflict of interest presented when a prosecutor who accepts campaign contributions from a police union is responsible for investigating police shootings or other officer misconduct. It approaches the question by first analyzing the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Standards for the Prosecution Function, and the National District Attorneys Association National Prosecution Standards (NDAA Standards) to determine whether existing ethical guidance for prosecutors adequately addresses the issue. This Note finds that among these bodies of ethical guidance, the NDAA Standards offer the strongest basis for arguing that such conduct violates a prosecutor’s ethical duties. However, none of these sources offer substantive criteria for determining when campaign contribution conflicts warrant recusal. These sources also do not offer a reliable procedural mechanism for ensuring that conflicted prosecutors will recuse themselves. To fill these gaps, this Note then looks to a separate body of ethical guidance—ethics rules for judges—that directly addresses conflicts of interest arising from campaign contributions. By applying the judicial disqualification model to the prosecutorial context, this Note illustrates measures that states can implement to prevent the appearance of impropriety in police-shooting investigations when the district attorney has accepted campaign contributions from police unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: This study investigated the impact of patrol officer communication tactics on suspect compliance by using Systematic Social Observation (SSO) to code 438 body‐worn camera and dashcam video recordings from two police agencies. Specifically, we examined officer tenor/demeanor, use of noncoercive directives, use of verbal coercion, and accusations, while controlling for a host of suspect and situational factors. Results showed that when officers presented a positive tenor/demeanor or employed noncoercive verbal tactics, suspects were significantly more likely to comply. Conversely, use of coercive verbal tactics and accusatory language did not have a significant impact on suspect compliance. In addition, negative suspect demeanor, suspect impairment, and suspect elevated emotional state negatively affected compliance. Policy Implications: Recent calls for police reform have focused on producing less coercive outcomes by explicitly recognizing the role that officers have in managing encounters rather than simply reacting to suspect behaviors. An increased focus on officer communication strategies in both police training and practice is likely to promote suspect compliance while reducing the need for officer use of force. Similarly, it is likely that more coercive verbal strategies have little impact on suspect compliance and may lead to negative perceptions of police interactions and law enforcement in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: Following high‐profile police killings, many U.S. cities banned officers from using chokeholds and other neck restraints. The evidence for such bans, however, is limited. To test whether use‐of‐force policies prohibiting neck restraints are related to fewer police killings, we use three modeling approaches to analyze 2183 U.S. cities between 2009 and 2021. Police killings were lower in places that adopted neck‐restraint bans and the bans were associated with less crime and fewer assaults on officers, net of controls. Because officer labor unions can affect use‐of‐force policies and the frequency of police killings, we also analyzed them, finding unionization increased the likelihood a city had a neck‐restraint ban and had a null or negative association with police killings. Policy Implications: Adopting a neck‐restraint ban is likely an effective way to reduce deaths due to police use of force with minimal collateral consequences. The bans operate through a diffuse discouragement of many types of lethal force or as a part of an array of use‐of‐force policies. Their direct relationship to asphyxiation deaths remains unclear. Officer unionization is unlikely to change the frequency of police killings, except through its association with stricter use‐of‐force policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contexts of high insecurity and mistrust in the police, how and why do local residents still choose to collaborate with the police, and what is the role of community policing in such considerations? Research on policing in Africa has emphasized the structural and macropolitical barriers to effective police reform, including institutionalized cultures of impunity and corruption. Less attention, however, has been paid to the contextual and relational dynamics that shape police-community collaboration. We argue that a relational perspective, which centres local residents' interactions with police and community policing structures, provides novel insights into the challenges of policing reforms. This perspective also demonstrates how contingent and incremental trust can be built in very challenging circumstances. We study these dynamics in Karagita and Kaptembwo, two low-income urban settlements in Nakuru County, Kenya, that have experienced violent crime and repeated electoral violence. Despite considerable challenges of crime, police misconduct, and political interference in these settlements, our findings point to how positive everyday interaction and community policing structures can contribute to incremental improvements in police-community relationships. In contrast to existing work on African policing that primarily highlights the challenges of police reform, this study offers insights into when reform has the potential to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the impact of training on police misconduct in Pampanga Police Provincial Office. It determined the following questions: (a) Impact training practices of the police officers in Pampanga Police Provincial Office in terms of the following: ethical training programs; development initiatives, recruitment strategies, and accountability measures; (b) assessment of the respondents as to police misconduct in corruption and bribery, political interference, and lack of resources; drug war policies; impunity; lack of oversight and accountability; bias and discrimination; media influence; and economic conditions; and significant relationship between the impact of training practices and assessment of the respondents as to police misconduct among police officers in Pampanga Police Provincial Office. The descriptive correlation method was employed with 775 select respondents. The results are as follows:(a) the impact of training practices among the police officers in Pampanga Police Provincial Office in terms of ethical training programs, leadership development initiatives, recruitment strategies, and accountability measures highly impactful; (b) The respondents agreed that as to police misconduct that it was highly impactful in terms of corruption and bribery. The remaining indicators have obtained an impactful interpretation. These are as follows: political interference, lack of resources, drug policies, impunity, lack of oversight and accountability, bias and discrimination, media influence, and economic conditions; (c) The impact of ethical training programs is significantly positively correlated with each measured facet of police misconduct. These suggest adequate, ethical training programs could reduce these issues within the law enforcement community. This demonstrates how vital comprehensive ethical training is for tackling all facets of police wrongdoing and enhancing the department's professionalism; (d) Every measured aspect of police misconduct exhibited a robust positive link with the effectiveness of Leadership Development Initiatives. The correlation coefficients for lack of oversight and accountability range from 0.448 (moderate positive correlation) to 0.751 (strongly positive correlation), depending on the issue. The statistical significance of the correlations is confirmed, and the null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected because the p-values for all dimensions are 0.000. This shows that respondents tend to give more positive ratings of various aspects of police misconduct as the impact of Leadership Development Initiatives on police officers improves; and (e). The respondents' assessments of police misconduct and the effects of police training practices established the statistical significance of these correlations, and the correlation coefficients showed the direction and intensity of the relationship between the two variables. Every aspect of police misconduct shows a strong positive link with the effect of recruitment strategies, which aligns with earlier research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature examines the effectiveness of civilian oversight in reducing police misconduct. However, little-to-no quantitative research explores possible adverse consequences of this accountability mechanism. Utilizing time series analysis of administrative data on aggregate monthly civilian complaints and police behavior in the largest American city, this article offers evidence of racial inequality in police response to civilian complaints. For White civilians, complaint against the police abates subsequent police stops. For Black civilians, complaint is associated with subsequent intensification of police stops. This intensification only follows complaints against White officers, is conditional upon officer knowledge of the complaint, is confined to stops involving greater officer discretion to perform the stop, and is only observed in police precincts with large Black populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Berkeley Law’s symposium, “Section 1983 and Police Use of Force: Building a Civil Justice Framework,” asked: “How do we reform the law in light of what we know?” This Essay offers three responses. Part I provides additional historical context that reconsiders Section 1983 as one of the weakest federal government interventions during Reconstruction, particularly compared to the progressive and radical demands that various communities called for at the time. In light of this knowledge, Part II examines how the contemporary context surrounding civil litigation and ending qualified immunity in hopes of police reform might prove to be especially challenging considering the expansion of police power and the absorption of Black people as citizens post-Reconstruction. Part III offers examples of what happens when singular legal reform discourse shapes public conversation in the aftermath of high-profile police killings and what Black families, activists, lawyers, and politicians may expect to happen (or project to the public) as a consequence. This Section also asks whether eliminating qualified immunity and increasing the chances of more successful Section 1983 claims against police officers can reduce police killings and considers why political officials might absorb the costs rather than curb the violence. The Essay concludes with ideas for how we can move forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before the global spotlight ascended upon nationwide efforts to codify into law that Black Lives Matter, specifically, police accountability against the use of excessive force against unarmed civilians, qualified immunity has silently flourished throughout America. Created to shield police officers and other government officials for the actions they engage on the job, this long-standing judicial doctrine continues to proliferate a culture of near-zero accountability when police officers engage in misconduct, which for communities of color, oftentimes results in deadly outcomes against unarmed civilians. This article will first revisit the development and legacy of qualified immunity, followed by analyzing its universal defense from police unions, then shifting to a data-rich illustration of disciplinary data highlighting the systemically designed outcomes of qualified immunity via the New York Police Department, before providing concluding thoughts. Ultimately, this article asserts that the retrogressive outcomes of police disciplinary inquiries, especially with respect to communities of color, is operating as designed, whereas efforts to review and revisit its structure and practices threaten a longstanding culture of disregard and near-zero accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how organizational misconduct is perpetuated through intergenerational transmission. We theorize that early exposure to a subculture of misconduct imprints newcomers with the belief that misconduct is normal, which is then carried by these individuals into managerial positions and passed down to their subordinates. We test this using longitudinal administrative data from the Chicago Police Department from 1980 to 2017. We exploit a lottery that assigns applicants to training cohorts to demonstrate that officers exposed early on to a subculture of misconduct not only engage in more misconduct over their entire careers, but also increase the misconduct of their subordinates after they become managers. We also find that this intergenerational dynamic is stronger when subordinate officers were exposed to a subculture of misconduct themselves, are earlier in their tenure, and have not yet received their annual review from their manager. Taken together, these findings reveal a bottom-up dynamic whereby beliefs about misconduct are developed in an organization's lowest ranks, carried by these individuals over time, and passed down to future generations. This study expands our understanding of how organizational misconduct is perpetuated as well as offers important policy implications for addressing the problem of police misconduct. This paper was accepted by Lamar Pierce, organizations. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.00580. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compensation is one of the few resources available to exonerees, as they do not qualify for many of the same re-entry services available to parolees. Past research has shown public support for exoneree compensation; however, little is known about what factors influence perceptions of exonerees receiving compensation. The current study investigated the role of the contributing factor in an exoneree's wrongful conviction case, participant characteristics, and perceptions of an exoneree and wrongful convictions, on perceptions of monetary compensation awards. Student participants were randomly assigned to read one of three fictitious news articles that varied in terms of the factor that led to an exoneree's wrongful conviction (i.e. false confession, eyewitness misidentification, or police misconduct), and afterwards answered a series of questions assessing perceptions of assistance, of the exoneree, and of wrongful convictions. Results indicated that contributing factor (police misconduct), participant characteristics (men), and perceptions of the exoneree (more innocent than guilty, exoneree 'Black' or 'Hispanic') and of wrongful convictions (supportive of other forms of assistance) were significant predictors of monetary compensation awards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the cultivation effects of local news media use on Chicago residents' fear of crime and attitudes toward police. Chicago, IL was chosen because of the city's struggles with gang violence and with police misconduct, both which have been covered extensively by local news media. Controlling for individual level variables, including previous crime victimization and neighborhood level contexts, a survey of Chicago residents found support for local news' cultivation of residents' fear of crime, particularly by radio and TV. It is suggested that the brief and sensationalistic formats used by news media to report crime stoke residents' fear of crime. Local media also have positive effects on local residents' general attitudes toward police. Regarding a widely publicized incident of police misconduct, this study found that race moderated residents' attitudes toward the White police officer who shot and killed an unarmed Black teenager. The results showed that media shaped negative perceptions of the police only for the non-Caucasians (mostly African Americans) surveyed. It was found that fear of crime only mediated the effects of media on attitudes toward police when the specific event involved an incident of police misconduct, although the effects were minimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a phenomenological study of the victims' views of police misconduct. In data collection, phenomenological interviewing was employed to capture the phenomenon's essence. This study was conducted in Cebu City, Philippines, where the participants were those victims who had experienced police misconduct. These were ten participants who were selected through purposive convenient sampling. The study utilized an interview Guide to elicit in-depth responses from the participants. Extensive interviews were conducted to establish the three stages necessary for data gathering in the survey. The research aimed to explore several areas: the participants' adverse encounters with police misconduct, how they managed these experiences, and the effects of police misconduct on both the participants and their families. Results revealed two themes regarding the participants' negative experiences of police misconduct: Sadists in Uniform: A Deep Threat and Bill of Rights: Gone with the Wind. In coping with the experiences of police misconduct, there were two themes: Silent Outcry for Justice, Keeping in Silence Outcry for Justice, and Forgetting the Pain and Moving On. Regarding the impact of police misconduct on the lives of the participants and their families, two (2) themes emerged: On the Verge of Distrust and Loss of Confidence and Not Being Protected but Disparaged and Prosecuted. It was recommended that police-community relations should be strengthened. This caters to information dissemination in the community, and it is a tool to establish rapport by winning again the trust and confidence of the community. And observance of the rule of law by the police officers greatly affects every common dweller in the community; if these law enforcers respect human dignity and uphold the law of the land, there will be no more police victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarship on police misconduct has almost exclusively focused on urban police working within large cities. This study utilizes media-based data to describe 2,592 arrests for crimes committed by rural and small-town police officers working in non-metropolitan counties across the United States. We compared these cases of police crime to those committed by officers working within more urbanized metropolitan counties. Findings demonstrate: 1) the dispersion of cases of police crime across a continuum of geographic places and types of police agencies including the most rural counties, and 2) significant differences between metropolitan and non-metropolitan cases of police crime including both type of crime and organizational dispositions. The study contributes to the scholarly literature on police misconduct and the study of rural and small-town policing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We document and discuss the implications of a striking feature of modern American policing: the stasis of police labor forces. Using an original employment dataset assembled through public records requests, we show that, after the first few years on a job, officers rarely change employers, and intermediate officer ranks are filled almost exclusively through promotion rather than lateral hiring. Policing is like a sports league, if you removed trades and free agency and left only the draft in place. We identify both nonlegal and legal causes of this phenomenon--ranging from geographic monopolies to statutory and collectively bargained rules about pensions, rank, and seniority--and discuss its normative implications. On the one hand, job stability may encourage investment in training and expertise by agencies and officers alike; it may also attract some high-quality candidates, including candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, to the profession. On the other hand, low labor mobility can foster sclerosis in police departments, entrenching old ways of policing. Limited outside options may lead officers to stay in positions that suit them poorly, decreasing morale and productivity and potentially contributing to the scale of policing harms. In turn, the lack of labor mobility makes it all the more important to police officers to retain the jobs they have. This encourages them to insist on extensive labor protections and to enforce norms like the "blue wall of silence," which exacerbate the problem of police misconduct. We suggest reforms designed to confer the advantages of labor mobility while ameliorating its costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police accountability has long been deemed an essential component of democratizing reform. Reformist administrations in Latin America and other developing regions have consequently created oversight agencies to monitor police misconduct. However, the literature has not yet explored how these institutions operate and the politics that undergird them. This paper examines how police accountability institutions work in developing democracies. I focus on the police of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, using an untapped database of more than 6400 expelled police officers. I find that the extent to which reformist ministers expel police officers and thus exercise greater control of the police peaks during their first year in office. Contrarily, it is not bolstered by mid‐term electoral victories or factors such as scandals or violent crimes. The paper extends our knowledge of the politics of police accountability in developing democracies, outlining the incentives and obstacles for politicians to control the police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the importance of transparency in police misconduct records, particularly in the wake of New York's repeal of Civil Rights Law section 50-a, which previously shielded these records from public scrutiny. It examines the legislative and judicial efforts to unlock these records, the challenges posed by municipal and police union resistance, and underscores the crucial role of the media in promoting public awareness and accountability in policing.

Introducing multiple layers of "independent" structures has become a go‐to strategy for public agent oversight. The question remains whether such decentralized, overlapping structural arrangements of oversight reduce regulatory uncertainty and produce better policy outcomes. Using the case study of Ontario, Canada, I examine the consequences of institutional layering for the specific and broader goal of independent oversight and democratic policing, respectively. Semi‐structured interviews with oversight officials and other key stakeholders as well as past governmental reports that led to the police oversight reform are analyzed to study the gap between the policy intention and outcome. I found that multiple "independent" investigatory agencies are meant to operate concurrently within an integrated system to ensure a responsive and comprehensive oversight system. However, their structural separation obstructs collaboration among the external agencies, causing various dysfunctional bureaucratic behaviors that undermine the overarching intention. The disconnect among different oversight authorities exacerbates their reliance on internal police‐led procedures for all police misconduct inquiries. Implications of my research extend beyond policing and further the study of overlapping regulatory oversight and structural reform through institutional layering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imposition of appropriate sanctions for substantiated police misconduct is important, but social science offers little evidence about whether the severity of sanctions is related to the gravity of the misconduct, or disparities indicative of biased decision-making, or simply arbitrary decision-making. We examine the application of sanctions for police misconduct in one agency, analyzing sanctions imposed in 1,946 sustained personnel complaints filed against 1,026 officers between 1987 and 2001. We find that the nature of the misconduct accounts for some of the variation in sanction severity, with internal bureaucratic violations sanctioned more severely than officers' improprieties vis-à-vis citizens. Among the latter, sanctions tend to be less severe than those prescribed by either citizens or police officers. We also find that sanction severity is affected by officers' characteristics, but also that much of the variation in sanctions is unaccounted for, suggesting a large degree of unstructured decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on how the Boston Police Department's gang database relies on arbitrary factors, potentially leading to the criminalization of innocent conduct. It discusses the point system used to verify individuals as gang members, critiques the lack of transparency and potential biases in the database, and analyzes cases highlighting how innocent interactions could result in inclusion in the database, violating individual privacy rights.

Motivated by emerging research that connects officer psychological orientations to policing outcomes, we examine how Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), i.e. preference for group-based social hierarchy, is related to officer attitudes toward democratic policing practices. Analysing survey data collected from officers in a state-level police organization in the United States, we find that high SDO officers are more willing to use force and less willing to report peer misconduct than low SDO officers. High SDO officers are also less supportive of procedurally fair policing practices. These findings contribute to research on factors that may inhibit officer support for democratic policing. We discuss the implications of these results for organizational efforts to inculcate democratic values among frontline officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The absence of police accountability has never been more visible. Highprofile police brutality has resulted in high -profile disappointment, 14'here culpable officers walk away undisciplined, unprosecuted, and undeterred from committing the same atrocity again. Such impunity has exposed longstanding dejiciencies within the United States' two-tiered and multipolar system of civil rights enforcement. Chief among these failures is 18 U,S,C. § 242, an oftoverlooked statute that imposes criminal liability upon 01.ficers who "willfully" deprive others of any federal constitutional right. The statute's threshold requirement ofwillful intent has confused courts and discouraged enforcement, resulting in the heavy underdeterrence of civil rights violations. Federal legislative efforts to reform Section 242 have been unsuccessful, and the Supreme Court seems unwilling to revisit its authoritative-but perhaps unworkable-interpretation of the statute in Screws v. United States. State equivalents fare no better, as they utilize comparable standards that present judges, juries, and prosecutors with similar roadblocks to accountability. To remedy the impotence of Section 242 and its sub-federal 01Bhoots, this Comment argues that state legislatures should impose criminal liability upon law enforcement agents who "recklessly" deprive others of their state constitutional rights. By lowering the mens rea required for liability and incorporating the expansive protections of state constitutional jurisprudence, this proposal criminalizes a much wider range of police misconduct than is currently prohibited. However, this change would still protect officers who reasonably adhere to the law, allowing those individuals to do their jobs without the#ar of unwarranted reprisal. A recklessness standard would also allow local .judges to escape the Supreme Court's amorphous definition ofwillfulness in Screws. which was frequently invoked by state courts seeking to interpret Section 242's state-level analogues. Although the expansion of criminal liability comes with many downsides, it is much needed in the realm of police misconduct, where violations routinely occur without any measure of accountability at all. For these reasons, this Comment asserts that states need a broader, more predictable, and more civilian-friendly criminal deprivation of rights statute to deter unconstitutional police behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]