1 in 5 police officers experienced discrimination on the job in the past year

One in five police officers say they made discriminatory remarks in the workplace in the past year, according to a Police and Science study that the NRC has previously written about.

The research focused on integrity among police officers. Fewer than fifty police officers were interviewed and more than nine hundred completed extensive questionnaires. The picture from this shows that integrity is not given enough priority in performance appraisals.

The majority say they personally abused their colleagues or were rude. Less common, but still important, is less common, researchers said (publicly), making a discriminatory remark or playing a mean prank.” Not only do one in five say they made a discriminatory remark, but one in twenty also say they made a “mean joke.” to a colleague.

The opposite behavior has also been reported. For example, over the past year, the majority say they spent “too much time daydreaming instead of working” and took longer breaks than is acceptable. “Remarkably, 20% indicate that they refused instructions from their boss and deliberately worked slower than they could have been.” A very limited number say they take police property and share classified information with unauthorized persons.

Some respondents say they find the black and white approach to integrity overly simplistic and talk about gray areas. Reflection on the past “could have led to a different weight of interests.” Researchers note that integrity should be an important part of performance interviews, but interviews show that this is not the case or is not sufficient. In addition, there will be a lack of a “culture of accountability” within the police. There is a family culture that exists and a culture of manliness has also been mentioned.”