Police integrity in the Netherlands and the United States: Awareness and alertness

Abstract

Police integrity is an important subject for both police theory and practice. This paper presents the results of survey research on the perceptions of police officers in the Netherlands and the USA on two specific aspects of integrity. First, their views on the seriousness of types of integrity violations and, second, the willingness to report deviant behavior (and to break the so-called 'wall of silence'), are examined. The Dutch police appeared in their response to be stricter in norms and values ('awareness') and more willing to report colleagues for violations ('alertness') than their American counterparts. These perceptions of seriousness have, however, changed in the Netherlands and an attempt is made to explain those changing perceptions and also the changes in the willingness to report (based on 47 in-depth interviews with police officers). This paper has led to a provisional model that will be tested in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Police Practice & Research is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)