NCJ Number
201535
Journal
Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: 2002 Pages: 210-232
Date Published
2002
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This study examined levels of intolerance among police officers for fellow police officer misconduct.
Abstract
Drawing upon data from a Swedish survey regarding levels of intolerance and corruption among police officers, the author compared levels of intolerance for corruption among Swedish, American, and Croatian officers. The article begins by presenting the results of the Swedish survey and then examines trends in the rankings of misconduct across Swedish, American, and Croatian datasets. Among the Swedish respondents, levels of intolerance toward police misconduct and corruption were consistent. The more serious the level of police misconduct, the more fellow police officers condemned the behavior, and the more likely they were to report the misconduct. Theft was viewed as severe misconduct, while the excessive use of force was viewed as moderate misconduct. Evidence of a code of silence was salient in the survey data. Comparisons with American and Croatian police officer survey responses revealed that different types of misconduct were ranked almost identically across the three countries. One difference was discovered in the degree of intolerance toward alcohol-related forms of misconduct, with the Swedish officers reporting considerably higher intolerance for this type of misconduct. The author cautions that differences between the circumstances in which the surveys were conducted made comparisons problematic. References, tables