Police suicide has been a largely under-researched topic with a small number of quantitative studies- that limit the exploration of potential causals models in the literature. This restricts current scholarly explanations behind officer suicide, furtheradding barriers to adequate prevention and detection. This study was focused on possible explanations behind police suicide, using Zhang's strain theory of suicide and Joiner's interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide to explain the variables used in the model. Using a moderation model, the research question asked to what extent an officer's education level affects the relationship between levels of police officer misconduct and risk for suicide. This study used archival data collected in a national study on law enforcement officers, partially funded by the National Institute of Justice and published in 1997(N=412). Logistic regression was used to analyze significance of the model, ultimately being unable to detect significance between the variables, neither individually on an officer's risk for suicide (officer misconduct= p>.05; officer education= p>.05) nor combined as an interaction to an officer's risk for suicide (p>.05). Recommendations for future research include utilizing a research design that better controls officer risk for suicide by equally weighing suicidal and nonsuicidal groups of officers. This will allow for a researcher to more validly compare the influence of the variables by viewing the effect on both groups (suicidal vs. non-suicidal). Implications for social change include contributing to the under-researched literature base of police suicide, increasing awareness of police suicide through scholarly publication and presentations, and advocating for better educated officers.

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This dissertation discusses corruption within the Nigeria Police Force as a moral decay facing the institution. It provides an overview of the historical background and establishment of the Nigeria Police Force as an institution charged with the responsibility of protecting life and property, and maintaining peace and order in the country. The dissertation identifies various forms of police misconduct, such as bribery and extortion, mass arrests and detention, illegal bail charges and corruption within the leadership of the police. This deviant behavior has undermined the integrity of the force, with the result that public perception of the police force is negative and national security and development is undermined. Despite numerous anti-corruption strategies that have been devised to curb police misconduct, it remains difficult to reduce corruption within the force. This dissertation argues that implementing documented strategies in the workplace requires a deeper moral consciousness of their civic duties on the part of the police. This would promote the common good and increase the effectiveness of community policing. To support this view, the dissertation critically analyses the inadequacies in the anti-corruption strategies from an ethical perspective, and reveals the contending ethical implications facing the strategies. In search for solution to curb police corruption, the dissertation proposes incorporating in policing certain virtues embedded in the Afrocentric ethic of Omoluabi, such as good character, respect, diligence and communalism. This approach could provide insights to complement the existing anti-corruption mechanisms that aim to reduce police misconduct. In conclusion, the dissertation argues that embracing values in traditional African culture could contribute to the ongoing search for ways to combat police corruption. Therefore, there is a need to look into admirable values gleaned from an African indigenous understanding of morality, in order to address the ethical issues facing the police force in Nigeria. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2014.

Despite convincing evidence of the polygraph instrument's lack of scientific validity and reliability in assessing deceptiveness in individuals, public-sector organizations in the United States continue to use the polygraph examination as a pre-employment screening tool. In addition to its lack of acceptance in the scientific community, little is known about the effectiveness of polygraph examinations, given as part of pre-employment screening, in predicting future misconduct in law enforcement officers. Two theoretical frameworks, Baumgartner and Jones' punctuated equilibrium model of policy change and Alvesson and Spicer's theory of functional stupidity, provided the theoretical foundation for this study. The purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship between use of the pre-employment polygraph and officers' perceptions of police misconduct, which is a suspected precursor to actual future misconduct. Survey data were acquired through a convenience sample of 190 Ohio police officers. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. Findings revealed no statistically significant relationship between the pre-employment polygraph examination and officers' perceptions of police misconduct. The findings of this study begin to erode conventional thought that there are only positive aspects of the pre-employment polygraph. Law enforcement leaders and public policy makers such as police chiefs, county sheriffs, and local government administrators may benefit from this study. As a potential for positive social change, this study provides public policy makers with empirical data, as opposed to reliance on conventional wisdom and anecdotal evidence, for informed decision making about use of the pre-employment polygraph in public-sector hiring.

Peace officers across this country have allowed a hostile environment to be created with offenders who are in their custody. An overview of the issues to be addressed in this study will begin with sexual boundary violations among peace officers and offenders, such as physical intimacy and emotional commitment that meets the sexual needs of the peace officer.

Little is known about Black Americans' experience with and attitudes toward the police. For Black Americans and the police to improve their relationship, police need to understand the factors that influence Black Americans' perceptions. Asante's concept of Afrocentric theory assisted with exploring the attitudes of Black Americans about police misconduct in a Southeastern United States urban area. The purpose of the qualitative ethnographic study was to understand the attitudes of Black Americans towards the police and the factors that influence those perceptions. This study precisely addresses three main questions: (1) how has media coverage impacted Black Americans' perceptions of officer behavior in the urban area; (2) how has the community environment impacted Black American perceptions of officer behavior in the urban area; and (3) how have officers' informal and formal behaviors impacted Black Americans' perception of police conduct in the urban area. A purposive sampling strategy was used to recruit 30 Black Americans for the semi-structured interviews who discussed their thoughts and opinions about factors that are associated with the Black American community. The data were coded resulting in 12 themes. Results from this study indicated that the majority of Black Americans had overall negative views about the police. The findings suggest that social change can only happen when the police and Black Americans work together to understand each other and address issues that come with a lack of understanding. Promoting good relationships through media, the community environment, and improving police encounters with the Black American community is critical to enhancing community relations.

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Denna uppsats kommer övergripande beskriva fenomenet tystnadskod inom specifikt den svenska polisen. För att kunna göra detta måste bakomliggande faktorer så som det kollegiala kollektivets betydelse inom polisen först beskrivas liksom vissa organisationsinterna motsättningar som gett upphov till tystnadskoden. Uppsatsen kommer även med hjälp av utkast från bland annat nyhetsmedier belysa hur denna tystnadskod yttrat sig i praktiken och vilka följder detta fått. Tystnadskoden är ett fenomen som har skapats ur det kollegiala kollektivet och fyller till viss del funktion som social kontroll inom kollektivet. Men också rättsligt. Det är sällsynt att åtal väcks mot poliser liksom lika sällsynt att poliser får några disciplinära påföljder när överträdelser begåtts. Svensk polisforskning är eftersatt internationell motsvarighet varför den svenska litteraturen är relativt knapphändig inom området med ett fåtal undantag. Få forskare som belyst tystnadskoden har belyst vilka indirekta följder den kan få utanför det kollegiala kollektivet liksom utanför polisorganisationen vilket måste tas hänsyn till när man studerar fenomenet tystnadskod.

The police and the community have been long engaged in an ever-evolving dichotomous relationship. This relationship has been strained over the recent decade by police brutality, media coverage of police misconduct, and the increased call for police transparency. Both parties in this disparaging dynamic see the need for improved engagement and communication efforts. This research studied the underlying perceptions, assumptions, and expectations of the police and police training within four demographically diverse neighborhoods in upstate New York. This interpretive phenomenological study focused on the importance of lived experience and experiential learning in creating expectations and assumptions. Twenty-four participants total were sampled in this research. Through semi-structured interviews and focus groups of twelve police officers and twelve community members, three research questions were explored. First, what was the perceived role of the police in society? Secondly, what lived experiences brough the respondents to these expected roles of the police? Lastly, what type of changes can be made in police training and community learning to improve the police/community relationship? Using thematic networking and vignette sampling, multiple findings were identified, and four analytic categories were synthesized. The analysis showed that policing expectations and assumptions are based on lived experiences, childhood presumptions, and cultural norms. Secondly, the lived phenomenon of policing varies based on the socio-economic, cultural, and community settings. Thirdly, transformational critical incidents play a significant role in the creation of assumptions and expectations. Finally, the study showed a dichotomous relationship between the police and the community on ways to improve police training and the policing culture. In conclusion, this study offered various recommendations for both the police population and the community population in steps to improve the community/police dynamic. These recommendations included the creation of a measurable instrument for gauging public perception/approval, increased educational requirements for police officers prior to employment, consideration of an over-reliance on evidence-based tactics, emphasis in police training on the importance of experiential and transformational learning, and the adoption of a more holistic moniker for the policing culture. Community recommendations included the creation of co-learning environments, embracing police engagement over interaction, and emphasis on leveraging the power of lived experience and community-based learning.