Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Federal Civil Rights Litigation Pursuant To 42 U.S.C. §1983 As A Correlate Of Police Misconduct, Philip M. Stinson, Steven L. Brewer Jr, Theresa M. Lanese, Mallorie A. Wilson

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Police officers acting in their official capacity are subject to being sued in federal court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983 for violating constitutional rights under the color of law. Using data obtained in a larger study on police crime in the United States, names of more than 5,500 nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers who were arrested during the years 2005-2011 were checked against the civil case party master name index of the federal courts’ Public Access to Courts Electronic Records (PACER) system. Findings indicate that more than 20% of the police officers who were arrested for committing one or more …

Federal Civil Rights Litigation Pursuant To 42 U.S.C. §1983 As A Correlate Of Police Misconduct, Philip M. Stinson, Steven L. Brewer Jr, Theresa M. Lanese, Mallorie A. Wilson

Philip M Stinson

Police officers acting in their official capacity are subject to being sued in federal court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983 for violating constitutional rights under the color of law. Using data obtained in a larger study on police crime in the United States, names of more than 5,500 nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers who were arrested during the years 2005-2011 were checked against the civil case party master name index of the federal courts’ Public Access to Courts Electronic Records (PACER) system. Findings indicate that more than 20% of the police officers who were arrested for committing one or more …

Police Crime Arrests In The United States, 2011, Philip M. Stinson, Evin J. Carmack, Jacob M. Frankhouser, Mallorie A. Wilson

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of police crime arrests during the year 2011. The study identifies and describes incidents in which nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers were arrested for one or more criminal offenses. Research Design & Method – The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles identified through the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts queries. The unit of analysis in this study is criminal arrest case (not individual arrested officer). Intercoder Reliability – The Krippendorf’s alpha coefficient is strong (Krippendorf’s α = .9153) across …

Police Crime Arrests In The United States, 2011, Philip M. Stinson, Evin J. Carmack, Jacob M. Frankhouser, Mallorie A. Wilson

Philip M Stinson

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of police crime arrests during the year 2011. The study identifies and describes incidents in which nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers were arrested for one or more criminal offenses.

Research Design & Method – The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles identified through the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts queries. The unit of analysis in this study is criminal arrest case (not individual arrested officer).

Intercoder Reliability – The Krippendorf’s alpha coefficient is strong (Krippendorf’s α = .9153) across …

Examining Student Perceptions: Ethics And Misconduct In Today's Police Department, William Andrew Davis

Master's Theses

Police ethics and decision making are issues of concern to both academic scholars and police leaders. While previous studies have focused on perceptions of police officers, little research has focused on the perceptions of young people about police ethical decision-making. This study aims to capture such perceptions from a cohort of college students majoring in criminal justice. Students from an undergraduate criminal justice program (n=263) were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward various ethical components of police work, including the prevalence of misconduct and the impact of a college education on ethical decision-making. Moreover, the effect of successful completion of …

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 18: Victims Of Police Sexual Misconduct (Presentation At 2014 Acjs Conference), Philip M. Stinson, Steven L. Brewer

Philip M Stinson

Little is known about officers arrested for crimes related to police sexual misconduct and their victims. The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles reporting 771 arrests of 555 police officers for sex-related crimes during the years 2005-2008. The arrested officers were employed by 449 nonfederal state, local, and special law enforcement agencies located in 349 counties and independent cities in 44 states and the District of Columbia. Multivariate analyses include logistic regression and classification tree regression models. Findings and policy implications are discussed, with an emphasis on the victims of police sexual misconduct.

Research Brief One-Sheet No.4: Officer-Involved Domestic Violence, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach

Philip M Stinson

Officer-Involved Domestic Violence (OIDV) refers to instances of domestic and/or family violence that occur within police families. OIDV has been recognized as an important issue for both police scholars and practitioners. The movement to recognize OIDV gained momentum through the last two decades, beginning with exploratory research that linked police stress and family violence (Johnson, 1991). The movement also involved enactment of the Violence Against Women Act (1994) and the Lautenberg Amendment to the federal Gun Control Act that prohibits individuals—including police officers—from owning or using a firearm if they are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The …

Research Brief One-Sheet No.1: Late-Stage Police Crime: Is It An Exit Strategy?, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Tina L. Freiburger

Philip M Stinson

The study focuses on crimes committed by experienced police officers who are approaching retirement. Police scholars have traditionally been interested in the formative experiences that occur near the beginning of an officer's career, wherein the expectations of "rookie" cops clash with on-the-job realities to promote cynicism, personal anomia, and potential attachment to delinquent police subcultures. The literature suggests that officers will tend to "get into trouble" earlier in their career rather than later; but, the occurrence of "late-stage" misconduct committed by experienced police officers presents a challenge to existing assumptions regarding the relationship between experience and various forms of police …

Research Brief One-Sheet No.2: Off-Duty Crime By Police Officers, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Tina L. Freiburger

Philip M Stinson

Virtually all of the existing data on the off-duty misconduct of police officers describes the misbehavior of New York Police Department (NYPD) officers (see e.g. Fyfe and Kane, 2006; Kane and White, 2009). These data indicate that a significant portion of police misconduct emanates from behavior that occurs off-duty, including domestic violence, bar fights, drunk driving, burglary, and sex offenses. The NYPD data are agency-specific however; so very little is known about the nature and character of off-duty misconduct perpetrated by police employed by other police agencies. The purpose of this study is to explore off-duty police crime in the …

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 11: Police Sexual Misconduct Arrests, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 10: Using A Content Management System: Police Crime Research Methods Part 3, Philip M. Stinson

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 08: Using Google News For Data Collection: Police Crime Research Methods Part 2, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 07: Decision Tree Analysis: Police Crime Research Methods Part 1, Philip M. Stinson, Steven L. Brewer

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 05: Crime By Policewomen: Is It Different Than Crime By Policemen?, Philip M. Stinson, Natalie E. Todak

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

The Nature Of Crime By School Resource Officers: Implications For Sro Programs, Philip M. Stinson, Adam M. Watkins

Philip M Stinson

School resource officers (SROs) have become a permanent presence in many K-12 schools throughout the country. As a result, an emerging body of research has focused on SROs, particularly on how SROs are viewed by students, teachers, and the general public. This exploratory and descriptive research employs a different focus by examining the nature of crimes for which SROs were arrested in recent years with information gathered from online news sources. The current findings are encouraging insofar as they reveal that SROs are rarely arrested for criminal misconduct. When SROs were arrested, however, they are most often arrested for a …

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 02: Officer-Involved Domestic Violence, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 03: Off-Duty Police Crime, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 06: Later-Stage Police Crime, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 13: Police Crime Research Findings, Philip M. Stinson

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 04: Police Criminal Misuse Of Tasers, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 14: Police Sexual Misconduct: Policy Implications, Philip M. Stinson

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 12: Research Performance Progress Report For January Through June 2013, Philip M. Stinson

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Police Integrity Lost Podcast Episode 15: Police Integrity Lost: Presentation At 2013 Asc Conference, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the podcast is to promote police integrity by gaining a better understanding of police crime, correlates of police misconduct, and agency responses to officer arrests. New podcast episodes are posted monthly. This project is supported by Award No. 2011-IJ-CX-0024, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

An Exploration Of Crime By Policewomen, Philip M. Stinson, Natalie E. Todak, Mary Dodge

Philip M Stinson

The current study explores criminal conduct by policewomen. This information is increasingly relevant as police departments hire more women, especially if the crimes committed by policewomen differ from those of policemen. News searches identified 105 cases depicting arrests of policewomen. A content analysis was performed. Findings indicate differences exist between crimes committed by policemen and policewomen, as well as by policewomen and women in general. Crime by policewomen is most often profit-motivated. Policewomen had fewer years of service and lower ranks, committed less violent crimes, and were more likely to receive suspensions for off-duty crimes compared to their male peers.

Exit Strategy: An Exploration Of Late-Stage Police Crime, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Tina L. Freiburger

Philip M Stinson

There are no exhaustive statistics available on the crimes committed by law enforcement officers, and only a small number of studies provide specific data on police crimes. The purpose of the current study is to examine the character of police arrests known to the media. Cases were identified through a content analysis of news coverage using the internet-based Google^TM News search engine and its Google News Alerts search tool. The study focuses on the crimes committed by experienced officers who are approaching retirement. The occurrence of these late-stage crimes presents a challenge to existing assumptions regarding the relationship between …

Fox In The Henhouse: A Study Of Police Officers Arrested For Crimes Associated With Domestic And/Or Family Violence, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach

Philip M Stinson

The problem of violence within police families has been increasingly recognized as an important socio-legal issue, but there is a lack of empirical data on what has commonly been referred to as officer-involved domestic violence (OIDV). There are no comprehensive statistics available on OIDV and no government entity collects data on the criminal conviction of police officers for crimes associated with domestic and/or family violence. Prior self-report officer surveys are limited by the tendency to conceal instances of family violence and the interests of officers to maintain a "code of silence" to protect their careers. The purpose of the current …

Off-Duty & Under Arrest: A Study Of Crimes Perpetuated By Off-Duty Police, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Tina L. Freiburger

Philip M Stinson

The findings of independent commissions and research derived from a data-set of career-ending misconduct among New York Police Department (NYPD) officers suggests that police engage in a wide variety of crimes while they are off-duty including domestic violence, bar fights, drunk driving, burglary, and sex offenses (The Mollen Commission, 1994; Fyfe & Kane, 2006; Kane & White, 2009). The off-duty misbehavior of police is an important concern for police agencies exposed to potential liability costs, and scholars engaged in debates about whether studies on police deviance should include acts committed while an officer is technically off-duty. The problem for scholars …