Kim Michelle Lersch

WHO ARE THE PROBLEM-PRONE OFFICERS? AN ANALYSIS OF CITIZEN COMPLAINTS

Citizen complaints filed against a small group of officers of a large police department in the south‐eastern USA were used to conduct an examination of repeat offenders and non‐repeat offenders. Examines differences between the offenders in the areas of officer characteristics, complaint characteristics and citizen characteristics. Finds that the all‐male group of repeat offenders was significantly younger and less experienced than their peers and was more likely to be accused of harassment. Finds that the ethnic minority group was more likely to file complaints against repeat offenders and that a disproportionate number of complaints were intraracial. Detects a cause for concern in that several high‐ranking officers reacted to the survey by reappraising the data and classing the greater offenders as productive and conscientious officers, i.e., denotes belief at high level within the police organization that a good officer should generate dissatisfaction among the general public.

General Strain Theory and the Relationship Between Early Victimization and Drug Use

This study uses general strain theory to examine the direct and indirect relationship between early victimization and drug use. Few previous studies measure strain as victimization. Also, past studies tend to combine drug use measures with delinquency measures. This study expands this research by operationalizing strain as early victimization and using measures of both frequency and onset of drug use. National Survey of Adolescents data is used to test the hypotheses. The results show that when youth are victimized they will use drugs more frequently and use drugs at a younger age. These relationships were only partially mediated by social bonds and negative emotions.

An examination of the convergence and divergence of internal and external allegations of misconduct filed against police officers

The use of citizen complaints as a valid and reliable measure of actual police behavior has often been criticized. It is the purpose of this study to validate the use of externally generated citizen allegations of misconduct as an indicator of police malpractice by comparing the occurrence of internally generated complaints. Using both the internal and external complaints of misconduct that have been filed with the internal affairs office of a large police agency in the Southeast as a database, this manuscript will explore for possible similarities in the identity of the accused officers, officer characteristics, and types of complaints.

Are Citizen Complaints Just Another Measure of Officer Productivity? An Analysis of Citizen Complaints and Officer Activity Measures

The purpose of this research is to explore the relationship between the number of citizen allegations of misconduct an officer receives and the officers official measures of productivity. Using data provided from a large municipal agency in the Southeastern United States as a database, the relationships between both number and type of citizen complaints and the number of arrests, traffic citations, field interview reports, and other productivity measures were explored. Officers with higher numbers of citizen complaints were found to engage in higher levels of productivity. Significant relationships were also found between the types of activities an officer engaged in and the type of citizen allegation.

Police misconduct and malpractice: a critical analysis of citizens’ complaints

In this research several hypotheses suggested by conflict theory were tested in the analysis of official complaints lodged against a large police department in the southeastern United States. It was hypothesized that citizens with less power and fewer resources would be more likely than more powerful, more affluent citizens to file complaints of misconduct and to allege more serious forms of misconduct, and would be less likely to have their complaints sustained by police investigators. The first two hypotheses were supported; results for the third were mixed.

Misconduct allegations and higher education in a southern sheriff’s department

The purpose of this research is to determine if a relationship exists between education level and misconduct allegations for patrol deputies. Official data from 231 deputies were collected from a large sheriff’s office in the Southeastern United States. Significant relationships were found between education level and the number of misconduct allegations, administrative referrals, and sustained allegations. While some college exposure may be beneficial for job performance, a four-year degree might not yield the anticipated benefits.

Integrating service learning in undergraduate criminal justice courses: Bringing academics to life

This article provides an overview of the goals and elements of various service learning techniques. The author discusses benefits to students, the community and the university, and offers practical suggestions for incorporating direct service learning projects into undergraduate criminal justice courses.

The “Invisible” Hispanic? The Representation of Hispanics in Criminal Justice Research

Abstract The size of the Hispanic population in the United States has grown to the point that they now comprise the largest minority group. While much research has been conducted to explore the effects of race and ethnicity on various aspects of the criminal justice system, most of these studies focus on African Americans. The purpose of this study is to assess the representation of Hispanics in criminal justice literature and to summarize the findings. The results suggest that while many studies contained Hispanic subjects, few articles focused specifically on His-panics and fewer articles focused on Hispanic women. When analyzed separately, Hispanics were found to be statistically different from other groups. Much of the Hispanic-focused research centered on drug use, gang involvement, and violence. Given the size and growth of this important group, criminologists must consciously recognize and proactively seek to include the views and experiences of Hispanics in their research.

Predicting citizen race in allegations of misconduct against the police

Official complaints that have been filed with the internal affairs office of a large police department in the Southeast were examined over a three-year period. Using logistic regression, three areas were used to predict the race of the citizen filing the complaint: characteristics of the officer (age, tenure, race, and gender); characteristics of the complaint (initiation circumstance, complaint type, and number of officers at the scene); and reaction of the department (substantiation rate and sanctions). A number of the variables were found to be significant predictors of citizen race, including officer age and tenure, complaint type and initiation, number of officers at the scene, and substantiation of the complaint. The relationship between substantiation and citizen race was found to be spurious; when controlling for complaint type, the relationship was no longer significant.

Early Intervention Program Criteria: Evaluating Officer Use of Force

While the use of force reports is a common performance indicator in police early intervention programs, simply tracking the number these reports fails to appropriately identify problematic officers. We explore this concern by determining whether frequency and intensity of force use relative to resistance (as indicated by number of use‐of‐force reports submitted) and officer force factor values are good predictors of an officers identification by such a system. Results from logistic regression analysis found both frequency and intensity to be significant predictors, although interestingly the force factor value results were opposite the expected direction. Officers who used lower levels of force to handle higher levels of resistance were more likely to qualify under the early intervention program. Conversely, none of the officers whose force factor values reflected a tendency to use higher force levels than called for by resistance encountered were identified by the departments system. These results provide empirical support for the position that monitoring officer misconduct by the number of use of force reports filed can fail to identify problematic officers, and falsely identify non‐problematic officers.