Date of Conferral

5-14-2025

Date of Award

May 2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

William Forrester

Abstract

Extant literature on police officer misconduct has shown that it was possible to identify problem officers in a proactive manner. Yet serious misconduct incidents continued to occur that strain the relationship between the public and police, including the government serving both entities. The New York Police Department was the largest city police force in the United States, with approximately 33,475 full-time sworn officers, and in 2023, New York City (NYC) paid $298 million in settlements related to claims against police officers. Considering this, further research into police officer misconduct was warranted to fill a gap in the literature that can potentially aid in limiting monetary damages and misconduct and rebuild the relationships between police, the public, and the government. The purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to use the street-level bureaucrat theory to develop a better understanding of law enforcement officer misconduct. The research was accomplished through an analysis of publicly available datasets provided by NYC using multiple linear regression, multinomial logistic regression, and zero-inflated generalized Poisson regression. Results indicated there were statistically significant relationships among the variables, particularly between officer gender and the number of complaints, between victim race and dispositional outcomes, and between victim age and suspension length. Policymakers and law enforcement executives may benefit from the results of this study by better understanding the significant variables that may lead to police officer misconduct and, in turn, limit misconduct, rebuild trust in the police, and limit monetary damages.

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