Problem officers? Analyzing problem behavior patterns from a large cohort

Citation

Chou, M. (2010), "Problem officers? Analyzing problem behavior patterns from a large cohort", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 33 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/pijpsm.2010.18133dab.003

Problem officers? Analyzing problem behavior patterns from a large cohort

Article Type: Perspectives on policing From: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Volume 33, Issue 4

Christopher J. HarrisJournal of Criminal JusticeVol. 382010pp. 216-225

The negative behavior of officers in the field often has far-reaching consequences and can ultimately affect the public’s perception and manner toward all law enforcement agencies and the government. Current research in officer misconduct lumps officers into a problem/non-problem dichotomy, often comparing officers with varying levels of experience. The author asserts that “problem officer research remains in its infancy, and as such, has squarely focused on problem officers without considering the broader patterns of police problem behaviors” (Harris, 2010, p. 216). Drawing from research on criminal careers, some researchers have diverged from the conventional dichotomy and suggests the existence of multiple typologies for problem officers, each emerging from varying experiences. The advantage of examining typologies over the dichotomy is that it better specifies the characteristics and trajectories of specific types of problem officers. However, to date, the lack of comprehensive empirical studies to assess patterns of police problem behaviors resulted in little theoretical advancement on this subject.

The limited research on this subject suggests two rival perspectives to explain the relationship between officer experience and problem behaviors. The first perspective suggests that officers are more involved in problem behaviors early in their careers, but these behaviors lessen with age and experience. Rookie officers often seek to prove themselves among their peers by exhibiting a “gung ho” attitude. They may be inappropriately proactive or may improperly exercise their authority. While these behaviors tend to lead to complaints of unnecessary force or inappropriate conduct, the fervent attitude will likely help build a solid repute among their peers. Eventually, inexperienced officers learn the pitfalls of their approach, as well as the core aspects of police work. The second perspective establishes the group problem officers: those who are disproportionately involved in problem behaviors throughout their careers. Past studies have showed that the disproportion could not be explained by assignments or arrest rates, implying that these officers have a tendency for deviant behavior.

Harris identifies several shortcomings with the current literature. First, he stresses the need to examine intra-officer change in behavior in order to create a robust test to analyze behavior problem patterns. The studies that have been conducted on this subject were only able to examine a few years worth of data, precluding research into whether the manifestation of problematic behavior persists with age and experience. Second, there is a lack of consensus on what constitutes a problem officer, leading to unstable operationalizations of this construct. This problem stems from the lack an agreed upon framework with which to study this phenomena. To remedy this lack of empirical examination, Harris paralleled the criminal career paradigm with longitudinal data that observes intra-officer behavior to explore whether important similarities exist in the career paths of problem officers.

Drawing from research in life-course criminology, the author postulated that different trajectories, or patterns of development, seen in criminal careers can also be applied to problem officers. Three trajectories were proposed based on the extant research. First, the high-rate trajectory would follow a pattern of early onset, high frequency, and long duration of problem behaviors seen with problem officers. Second, the mid-rate trajectory would comprise the modal officer experience in terms of onset, frequency and duration, mirroring the aggregate experience-misconduct curve. Lastly, the low-rate trajectory would exhibit later onset, much lower frequency, and fewer duration of problem behaviors, as these individuals rarely engages in problem behaviors throughout their police career. This methodology allows for the investigation of whether demographic differences exist between these groups or if there are alternative explanations that can account for the variation in problem behaviors.

The study followed a cohort of rookie officers for a duration of 11.5-14.5 years, which represents a significant portion of their careers as retirement with full pension is available after 20 years of service. Officers who left the department before the end of their first year were excluded from the sample as they differed significantly from the rest of the cohort. Descriptive statistics provided some cursory information about the characteristics of the sample. First, the majority of officers were male (90.3 percent) and white (73.2 percent). Second, roughly half the sample had a college degree (48.3 percent), while the vast majority had no military experience (91.8 percent).

Next, officers were assigned to specific trajectories based on their citizen complaint histories. The results showed that the majority (58.9 percent) of the officers fit into the low-rate trajectory, followed by mid-rate and high-rate trajectories, respectively. Although the mid-rate was originally thought to reflect the modal officer experience, the findings suggest the low-rate trajectory as the modal experience. The trajectory groups differed from one another in expected ways, with each following the proposed pattern. The entire sample of the high-rate group consisted of active officers, while only 34 of the 670 officers in the low-rate group were active officers. However, membership of the trajectories varied in their demographic and background characteristics. A significant number of explanatory variables Male and Black had a positive correlation with falling into the mid- and high-rate trajectories, while College degree was negatively correlated. Although significant in the mid-rate group, Hispanics became non-significant within the high-rate group.

In sum, this study demonstrated that the current dichotomy used in researching problem police is inadequate to accurately conceptualize the nuances of an officer’s propensity for problematic behavior. By paralleling the criminal career framework, three distinct career trajectories were created to explain the relationship between experience and problem behaviors. Further examination within this framework can create a greater understanding of the developmental pathways of problem behavior and more accurately pinpoint its determinants. Additionally, the trajectories can aid in the efficacy of specific intervention strategies by identifying proximal causes during the time period corresponding with the spike in problem behavior. Lastly, these trajectories may predict the probability of problem behaviors over the course of an officer’s career. This study was limited by using number of citizen complaints as a proxy for problem behavior, as not all incidents of police misconduct are reported and some complaints may be without merit. This may over- or under- represent the occurrence of problem behavior and should be addressed in future studies.

Michael ChouUniversity of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA