Police Stress and Race: Using General Strain Theory to Examine Racial Differences in Police Misconduct

Bishopp, Stephen A.; Piquero, Nicole Leeper; Worrall, John; Rosenthal, Jessica

doi:10.1177/0011128720937641

Cited by 23 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Compared to White officers, Black (b 5 À1.078, p < 0.001, beta 5 À0.177) and Latinx (b 5 À0.688, p < 0.001, beta 5 À0.138) officers were less stressed. While this finding is difficult to interpret Police stress conclusively, as there is no obvious reason race should be related to stress, it is consistent with some prior stress research (Bishopp et al, 2020;He et al, 2005). The correlations may offer a clue, though, given that race was correlated with the crime-fighting role orientation and several negative views of the external and internal working environments.…”

Section: Correlations Between Main Variables In the Analysissupporting

confidence: 81%

Police stress: the role of occupational culture and officer characteristics

Paoline

Gau

2022

PIJPSM

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PurposeThe purpose of the current study was to augment the police culture and stress literature by empirically examining the impact of features of the internal and external work environment, as well as officer characteristics, on police officer stress.Design/methodology/approachThe current empirical inquiry utilized survey data collected from street-level officers in a mid-sized urban police department in a southern region of the United States (n = 349).FindingsThis study revealed that perceived danger, suspicion of citizens and cynicism toward the public increased police occupational stress, while support from supervisors mitigated it. In addition, Black and Latinx officers reported significantly less stress than their White counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this study demonstrates that patrol officers' perceptions of the external and internal work environments (and race/ethnicity) matter in terms of occupational stress, it is not without limitations. One limitation related to the generalizability of the findings, as results are gleaned from a single large agency serving a metropolitan jurisdiction in the Southeast. Second, this study focused on cultural attitudes and stress, although exact connections to behaviors are more speculative. Finally, the survey took place prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the killing of George Floyd (and others), which radically shook police–community relationships nationwide.Practical implicationsPolice administrators should be cognizant of the importance that views of them have for patrol officer stress levels. Moreover, police trainers and supervisors concerned with occupational stress of their subordinates should work toward altering assignments and socialization patterns so that officers are exposed to a variety of patrol areas, in avoiding prolonged assignments of high social distress.Originality/valueThe study augmented the police culture and stress literature by empirically uncovering the individual-level sources of patrol officers' job-related stress. This study builds off of Paoline and Gau's (2018) research using data collected some 15 years ago by examining a more contemporary, post–Ferguson, context.

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Section: Correlations Between Main Variables In the Analysissupporting

confidence: 81%

Police stress: the role of occupational culture and officer characteristics

Paoline

Gau

2022

PIJPSM

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“…Following previous research (Bishopp et al, 2020;Bishopp et al, 2016), this study utilized the general strain theory's input factors to construct a machine learning prediction model on police misconduct in Malaysia. The GST has been widely used to understand the phenomenon of white-collar crime including employee misconduct.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Machine learning prediction of law enforcement officers’ misconduct with general strain theory

Rahman¹,

Masrom²,

Ahmad³

et al. 2023

Int. j. adv. appl. sci.

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The main objective of this study is to develop a machine learning prediction model on employee misconduct that signals the failure of the integrity of law enforcement officers in performing their duties and responsibilities. Using a questionnaire survey of two hundred eighty-six participants, from senior officers to rank and file police officers, this study presents the fundamental knowledge on the design and implementation of a machine learning model based on four selected algorithms; generalized linear model, random forest, decision tree and support vector machine. In addition to demographic attributes, the performance of each machine learning algorithm on the employee's misconduct has been observed based on the attributes of general strain theory namely financial stress, work stress, leadership exposure, and peer pressure. The findings indicated that peer pressure was the most influencer in the prediction models of all machine learning algorithms. However, random forest is the most outperformed algorithm in terms of prediction accuracy.

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“…Furthermore, the literature has revealed numerous correlates of police misconduct. These include: race (D’Souza et al, 2019; Headley et al, 2021; Headley & Blount-Hill, 2021; Morrow & Shjarback, 2019; White & Kane, 2013; Wood et al, 2019; Wright, 2020), gender (Gaub, 2020; Schuck & Rabe-Hemp, 2016; Wood et al, 2019), age and tenure (Terrill & Ingram, 2016; Wood et al, 2019), occupational stress (Bishopp et al, 2020), media coverage (Chagnon et al, 2018; Graziano et al, 2010; Weitzer, 2015), past misconduct (Donner, 2019; Harris, 2016; Harris & Worden, 2014; Rozema & Schanzenbach, 2019; White & Kane, 2013; Wood et al, 2019), and officer attitudes (Fridell et al, 2020; Huff et al, 2020; Lawshe et al, 2019; Reynolds & Hicks, 2015). Appropriately, in light of recent events that have renewed the Black Lives Matter movement that began 8 years ago, racial disparities and police misconduct have been most studied in the past 5–7 years.…”

Section: Police Misconductmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception or Reality: An Examination of Police Misconduct, Organizational Justice, and Promotion Opportunities in the NYPD

Carroll

2022

The American Review of Public Administration

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Scholars across multiple disciplines have identified numerous correlates to police misconduct. Missing, however, from this body of research is the impact of police misconduct on future promotion opportunities in a local police department. Using population data ( N = 33,358) released by New York city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) from September 1985 to July 2020, this study employs logistic regression to examine civilian complaints that were found to be substantiated, in comparison to complaints that were found to be unsubstantiated or exonerated, and their effect on police officers moving up in rank beyond the incident. The intent is to examine the relationship between police misconduct and promotion. In addition, recognizing the inherent differences in the promotion process for detectives from all other officer ranks, we found that the odds of detectives being promoted to higher ranks are somewhat impacted by the outcomes of complaints, but not by the types of complaints received. However, our findings suggest that all other officers are impacted by the outcomes of civilian complaints, in addition to the types of complaints received, in terms of promotion. Furthermore, we found that the severity of police misconduct, captured by the CCRB-recommended disciplinary actions associated with substantiated complaints, matters for NYPD officer promotability for first-time offenders differently than for officers who repeatedly engage in misconduct.

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Police Stress and Race: Using General Strain Theory to Examine Racial Differences in Police Misconduct

Cited by 23 publications

References 72 publications

Police stress: the role of occupational culture and officer characteristics

Police stress: the role of occupational culture and officer characteristics

Machine learning prediction of law enforcement officers’ misconduct with general strain theory

Perception or Reality: An Examination of Police Misconduct, Organizational Justice, and Promotion Opportunities in the NYPD

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