Date of Conferral

10-6-2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

George King

Abstract

Police misconduct continues to undermine public trust and strain community–law enforcement relationships in the United States. The potential role of higher education in reducing misconduct among officers remains underexamined. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine whether higher educational attainment is associated with reduced rates of documented misconduct in a large urban police department. Grounded in the social learning and organizational justice theories, the research addressed how postsecondary education influences ethical decision-making and conduct. The overarching research question concerned whether education level predicted misconduct frequency, controlling for gender, rank, and years of service. Archival personnel and disciplinary data were analyzed using multiple regression. Results showed that officers with some college, an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, or higher were significantly less likely to have formal misconduct incidents than those with only a high school diploma or military exemption. Control variables were also significant. Although effect sizes were modest, the findings were statistically robust across education levels. These results suggest that higher education may be a protective factor in ethical policing. Recommendations include expanding tuition assistance and integrating educational benchmarks into hiring and promotion criteria. This study has implications for positive social change by highlighting the potential role of higher education in reducing misconduct, improving public trust, and enhancing professional accountability in law enforcement.

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