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This study aims to examine the relationship between officer characteristics, productivity levels, situational context, the complaint process and allegations of police misconduct in a Midwestern municipal police agency.

Data were collected for all formal and informal complaints filed against patrol officers from 2002‐2005. Demographic information, arrest, citation and report data, as well as data regarding the number of officers on scene during the police citizen contact that resulted in the complaint were utilized in these analyses.

The analyses in this study demonstrate that more aggressive officers – those who issue a greater number of citations – will generate a greater number of complaints of misconduct. Two variables explain the processing of formal complaints: number of officers present and the nature of the complaint. Further, the analyses indicate that informal complaints are a viable source of data and that the collection and archival of informal complaints can be a useful indicator for internal control of police misconduct.

The findings indicate that police departments must employ internal mechanisms, such as early warning systems to deal with police misconduct. Internal monitoring of police conduct may be the best way to detect misconduct as relying solely on citizen complaints as measures of police misconduct does not appear to be warranted.

This paper adds to the literature on complaints of police misconduct by including several variables not previously examined. Further, this study analyzes both formal and informal complaints; there are no other studies that examine informal complaints of misconduct. This study also investigates the complaint process, including frequency, nature, disposition and discipline administered following disposition of formal complaints.

This paper aims to examine some of the factors associated with the decision to participate in the promotion process for female police officers in a Midwestern police agency.

Face‐to‐face, structured interviews were conducted in the spring of 2006 with most (74 percent) of the female police officers employed by a Midwestern, municipal police agency.

The authors identified several organizational and personal factors that impact on female police officers' decision to participate in the promotion process. This study also uncovers a factor that has not been addressed in previous research: how being married to fellow police officers (or part of a “cop couple”) can restrict the upward mobility of female police officers.

Data for this study were collected from one municipal police agency in the Midwest; therefore, the research findings may not be generalizable to small or very large police agencies. In addition, the female officers in this police agency comprise a relatively high percentage of sworn positions (15 percent) compared to the national average of 12.6 percent; therefore, the experiences of the women in this department may not be representative of other female police officers working in agencies where women comprise either more or less than 15 percent of all sworn positions. Another limitation of this study is that the sample size is small. This is a limitation that most researchers will encounter when they choose to study female police officers, as there are so few women who work in American police agencies.

By identifying the barriers that female officers face when deciding to go through the promotion process, the authors were able to provide several administrative changes that could be made to encourage more female officers to participate in the promotion process.

There is very limited published research on the promotion of female police officers. This study uncovers a factor that has not been addressed in previous research: how being married to fellow police officers can restrict the upward mobility of female police officers, thus resulting in a “marriage tax” for female police officers.

The purpose of this paper is to study lawsuits involving the police using newspaper accounts from three large cities in the USA.

A content analysis was conducted using 634 newspaper articles from the New York Times, Chicago Sun‐Times, and the Los Angeles Times from 1993‐2003.

Research findings reveal how prevalent racial and gender discrimination issues are in lawsuits involving the police; some of the differences in lawsuits filed by police employees compared to those filed by citizens; the extent of disciplinary action taken against police officers named in lawsuits, and any organizational changes (i.e. department policies, procedures, or training) made as a result of lawsuits filed against police agencies.

The findings from this study are based solely on what the newspapers chose to report. It may be the case that newspapers only report on extraordinary lawsuits involving the police, or lawsuits that result in moderate to large jury awards or settlements.

Since there is currently no national data collection effort focused on lawsuits filed against the police, researchers are left to use the data sources available to them (in this case, newspaper articles).

This paper presents the first study of lawsuits involving the police using newspaper accounts. Previous studies have used survey data, court records, and interviews.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how rapid population growth resulting from the oil boom affects police organizations in western North Dakota.

Using face-to-face interviews with 101 police personnel working in eight law enforcement agencies, this study explores how rapid population growth affects police organizations (in general), police resources, and the work environment of police organizations located in four counties in western North Dakota. Resource dependency theory and contingency theory provide a theoretical framework for understanding how changes in the communities (external environment) have led to changes within police organizations in this region.

Rapid population growth resulting from the oil boom in western North Dakota has required police agencies to make changes in the way that they are structured and function. In addition, the rapid increase in population has also strained police organizations’ resources.

The findings from this study may only be applicable to police organizations in western North Dakota. Interviews are based on police officers’ perceptions.

Findings from this study suggest that police organizations in western North Dakota are currently experiencing a bad “fit” with their external environment. In order to get back to a good “fit” additional resources are needed from the state government.

The number of calls for police service have increased dramatically since the oil boom began in 2008 in the Bakken region of western North Dakota. The addition of police officers and needed resources has not kept pace with the rapid population growth. The quality of police service to the public will decline if additional resources are not made available to police organizations.

This paper features the first and only study of the impact of rapid population growth on police organizations in western North Dakota. This study is both timely and important as the population growth in western North Dakota is predicted to continue for several decades into the future.

To present qualitative data illustrating how some of the largest law enforcement agencies in the USA use risk management in their efforts to control police liability.

To explore this topic, two main data sources were utilized: telephone interviews with 354 law enforcement agencies identified the prevalence of the use of risk management by police agencies; and survey data from police agencies provided descriptive information about the roles, duties, and placement of risk managers within each police organization.

Telephone interviews revealed that 14 of the 354 (0.039 percent) law enforcement agencies identified risk management as one of several tools they use to control police‐related liability within their organizations. This finding is surprising, given the increase in costs associated with settlements/payouts for police‐involved litigation and liability claims over the past few decades.

Future research should identify the reasons why police agencies choose not to use risk management in their police liability management efforts. In addition, future research should explore how the characteristics of city government and/or political culture are associated with the use of risk management by law enforcement agencies.

This paper can serve as a basic resource for police scholars and practitioners, city/county attorneys, risk managers, and various other city/county agents that are interested in learning about risk management as a way to manage police liability.

This paper presents the first national study of risk management in police agencies in the USA.

This study explores the impact of work environment, work‐family conflict, and coping mechanisms on physical and psychological stresses of police officers. Using survey data from a large police department located in the New England area, we pay specific attention to analyzing similar and dissimilar results while comparing across gender groups. Our research indicates that for both gender groups, work‐family conflict (spillover) and destructive coping mechanisms are among the strongest and most consistent stressors, regardless of the measures of dependent variable employed (i.e. somatization, anxiety and depression). On the other hand, we also find divergent impact of exposures to negative work environment, camaraderie, and constructive coping mechanisms on different measures of work related stresses across the two gender groups. Implications of these convergent and divergent effects are discussed.