THE ABUSE OF POLICE AUTHORITY - Police Foundation

THE ABUSE OF POLICE AUTHORITY

A National Study of Police Officers'Attitudes

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This edition of The Abuse of Police Authority: A National Study of Police Officers Attitudes has been formatted for the Web in PDF format; the pagination differs from the printed version. Copyright restrictions apply.

The Abuse of Police Authority

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THE ABUSE OF POLICE AUTHORITY

A National Study of Police Officers' Attitudes

David Weisburd Rosann Greenspan Edwin E. Hamilton Kellie A. Bryant Hubert Williams

Police Foundation

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The Police Foundation is a private, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting innovation and improvement in policing. Established in 1970, the foundation has conducted seminal research in police behavior, policy, and procedure, and works to transfer to local agencies the best new information about practices for dealing effectively with a range of important police operational and administrative concerns. Motivating all of the foundation's efforts is the goal of efficient, humane policing that operates within the framework of democratic principles and the highest ideals of the nation. The Police Foundation's research findings are published as an information service. The research findings in this publication were supported by Grant Number 97?CK?WX?0047, awarded on behalf of Community Oriented Policing Services, US Department of Justice. Findings, recommendations, and conclusions of the research reported here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the US Department of Justice. ?2001 by the Police Foundation. All rights, including translation into other languages, reserved under the Universal Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and the International and Pan American Copyright Conventions. Permission to quote is readily granted. ISBN 1?884614?17?5 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001?130311

Police Foundation 1201 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036-2636 (202) 833?1460 E-Mail: pfinfo@

The Abuse of Police Authority

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Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................... 9 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... 11

I Introduction ............................................................................................................. 12 II Methodology ............................................................................................................ 15 III Characteristics of the Sample .................................................................................. 19 IV Main Survey Results ................................................................................................. 23

Abuse of Authority and the Use of Force 23 Code of Silence 25 Social Factors 29 Departmental Response 31 Controlling Abuse 32 Community-Oriented Policing 35 Subgroup Analysis 39

Race 39 Rank: Supervisors and Nonsupervisors 42 Region 46 Agency Size 48 Gender 50

V Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 52 Endnotes ........................................................................................................................... 56 References ........................................................................................................................ 62 Authors ...................................................................................................................... 66

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