Slovenian resident and police officer evaluations of the harm caused by different types of police deviance

Abstract

Studying police integrity is important because of the specificity of police work and the ability of the police to encroach upon individuals’ rights and freedom. A discussion of police deviance needs to consider police corruption, police misconduct, and police crime. Using the methodology for measuring police integrity, developed by Klockars and Kutnjak Ivkovic (Police integrity and ethics, Wadsworth Publishing, Belmont, CA, 2004), Klockars et al. (Enhancing police integrity. Springer, New York, 2006), and upgraded by Kutnjak Ivkovic (Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 32(3), 459-488, 2009b), the chapter presents the results of a study conducted on a sample of 550 Slovenian police officers and 338 Slovenian residents. Respondents evaluated the seriousness of behaviors described in 14 different scenarios, which included different types of police deviance from all three police deviance categories. Police officers evaluated the described actions as very serious and inappropriate. They believed that their colleagues’ assessments would be the same, whereas the residents believed that their local police officers would not assess such behaviors as very serious.