Network exposure and excessive use of force

Abstract

Research Summary In this study, we investigate how a police officer's exposure to peers accused of misconduct shapes his or her involvement in excessive use of force. By drawing from 8,642 Chicago police officers named in multiple complaints, we reconstruct police misconduct ego‐networks using complaint records. Our results show that officer involvement in excessive use of force complaints is predicted by having a greater proportion of co‐accused with a history of such behaviors. Policy Implications Our findings indicate officers’ peers may serve as social conduits through which misconduct may be learned and transmitted. Isolating officers that engage in improper use of force, at least until problematic behaviors are addressed, seems to be critical to reducing police misconduct and department‐wide citizen complaints. Future studies should be aimed at investigating how social networks shape police misconduct and the ways network analysis might be used to diffuse intervention strategies within departments.

American Policing and the Danger Imperative

“…Unfortunately, though solidarity can serve protective functions in the face of danger, it is also implicated in decidedly problematic phenomena like the “blue wall” or “code of silence” that hampers police accountability and helps officers avoid punishment for wrongful acts (Skolnick 2002). What's more, strong in‐group ties and a collective emphasis on danger can manifest in aggressive, enforcement‐centric practices that characterize a “warrior” approach to policing linked to deviant behaviors ranging from rudeness to the use of excessive and illegal force (Ouellet et al 2019; Skolnick and Fyfe 1994; Stoughton 2014a). The persistence of such damaging police deviance are part and parcel of departmental socialization designed to keep officers alive.…”

Is Police Misconduct Contagious? Non-trivial Null Findings from Dallas, Texas

“…Although we see considerable value in investigations of the role of organizational hierarchy (Quispe-Torreblanca and Stewart 2019 ; Ingram et al 2013 , 2018 ) and co-offending (Ouellet et al 2019 ; Wood et al 2019 ; Zhao and Papachristos 2020 ) in facilitating police misconduct, here we aim to contribute to the nascent body of research at the intersection of police deviance and social network analysis by using joint response to 911 calls to explore the behavioral implications of a broad set of direct, routine workplace interactions. Of course, whether police misconduct is found to be “contagious” likely depends on the nature of the intra-force social relationship that a researcher chooses to measure.…”

“…This network perspective on officers’ exposure to deviance via their co-workers (Ouellet et al 2019 ; 2020 ; Quispe-Torreblanca and Stewart 2019 ; Wood et al 2019 ; Zhao and Papachristos 2020 ) occupies a middle ground between the extremes of under- and over-socialized accounts of why police misbehave—i.e., “bad apples” versus “rotten barrels/orchards.” That is, a network perspective eschews a view of officers as “lone wolves” in order to focus on the behavior of police “in social relations” (Abbott 1997 , p. 1152 and pp. 1165–1166; see also Brass et al 1998 ).…”

“…The sustained presence of deviant officers in the halls of police departments stands to be hugely consequential to the integrity of law enforcement and, by extension, prospects for meaningful police reform and the development of trust between police and the communities they serve. This is because the social ties between members of a police force are important bases for occupational socialization, where sustained workplace relationships (e.g., friendship, line management, workgroup membership, instruction from a field training officer) and more ephemeral workplace interactions (e.g., assistance at the scene of an incident, advice sharing) present officers with numerous opportunities to learn what is and is not acceptable behavior (Chappell and Piquero 2004 ; Conti and Doreian 2010 ; Doreian and Conti 2017 ; Getty et al 2016 ; Ingram et al 2013 , 2018 ; Lee et al 2013 ; McNulty 1994 ; Ouellet et al 2019 ; Paoline 2003 ; Quispe-Torreblanca and Stewart 2019 ; Skolnick and Fyfe 1993 ; Van Maanen 1974 ; Wood et al 2019 ). Indeed, criminological scholarship on the adverse effects of police sub-culture—namely its ability to normalize malfeasance (Barker 1977 ; Chappell and Piquero 2004 ; Lee et al 2013 ; Punch 2000 , 2003 , 2010 )—suggests that the continued employment of officers with a history of deviant behavior may result in a scenario wherein the colleagues of these individuals (e.g., their partners, subordinates, and ad hoc collaborators) are themselves led astray over the course of regular interaction for the purposes of training, case work, and patrol.…”

Bad apples and incredible certitude

“…In this case, it is also used to minimize the importance of spillover effects to their conclusions. In light of research that documents peer effects and network spillovers in multiple departments, including the CPD (Ouellet et al, 2019;Quispe-Torreblanca & Stewart, 2019), we believe it necessary to incorporate and explicitly discuss spillovers across the full range of simulations to appropriately gauge the potential effect of CK's "bad apple" replacement policy. 2 We apply the 80% spillover multiplier found by Quispe-Torreblanca (2019) to every estimate presented in CK's Table 2 (p. 362).…”