Media Accounts of Police Sexual Violence: Rotten Apples or State Supported Violence? (From Policing and Misconduct, P 121-142, 2002, Kim Michelle Lersch, ed. -- see NCJ-192294)

• NCJ Number: 192299
• Author(s): Danielle McGurrin; Victor E. Kappeler
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: Prentice Hall Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter reports on the findings and policy implications from a content analysis of newspaper articles on incidents of police sexual violence (PSV).

Abstract

The data collection technique and coding strategy produced 501 unique articles on PSV from a total of 1,255 newspaper articles published from the years 1989 to 1997. The coding instrument was designed to allow a content analysis of the newspaper articles and provide the greatest possible description of each incident of PSV. The instrument contained 61 variables that pertained to the form and severity of the sexual offense, the context of the crime, any organizational and media response, and the official disposition of the case. Data were obtained on offender variables, victim variables, location variables, and authority/force variables. The typical offender was found to be an on-duty, municipal line officer between the age of 26 and 45, with an average of 10.6 years of experience. Due to artifacts of media reporting, the officer's prior record was measured in only a small percentage of the cases; many of those, however, contained officers who were previously convicted of sex offenses. In a majority of PSV cases, the officer committed more than one sexual offense, and some offended their victims over a period of months or years. In many cases, the officer knew the victim and went to her residence or place of employment for the purpose of assaulting her. Little, if any, support was found for either the "willing women" or "police as a sexual commodity" thesis of police sexual misconduct. In most cases of PSV, the power and authority associated with the badge and gun precluded the officer from using overt physical force against the victim. Instead, sexual quid pro quo/threats were used as a means of coercing and intimidating the victim into submission. Although many officers were fired or suspended, it was unknown how often PSV was sanctioned by agencies exclusively, or how often these cases were referred to the courts. This study advises that police agencies can become more organizationally proactive by heeding citizen complaints, working and monitoring more closely the actions of officers, and enforcing policies that disallow unauthorized females in police vehicles or stations. 27 references