About 20% of cops discriminated against someone at work in the past year

One in five police officers said they have discriminated against someone in the workplace in the past year, according to an internal investigation into integrity within the National Police by the Police and Science research program. About 20 percent said they had ignored instructions from a superior or deliberately worked slower than necessary, NRC reports.

The researchers interviewed 48 cops and emailed a survey to 6,000 police officers, about a tenth of the organizers. Around 900 officers completed the questionnaire.

Integrity is not a priority in the police organization, the researchers concluded. The topic is often disregarded during performance reviews. Superiors sometimes set a poor example, for example, by taking off earlier on Fridays. And sensitive matters often remain undiscussed.

According to researchers, police officers don’t always know where the boundaries lie when it comes to acting with integrity, and that increases the risk of violations. Officers see “gray areas” and often think differently about what is and is not allowed. For example, some find it no problem that a cop uses ecstasy when off duty or checks their unemployed neighbor with a fancy car in the police system, while other officers find that unacceptable.

The researchers identified two groups that are extra vulnerable to dishonest behavior. The first is young employees who feel less connected to the police. The second group is sergeants, the rank between chief constable and inspector. Officers in this rank have often worked for the police for decades but see little prospect of promotion. Limited career opportunities can result in lower job satisfaction and integrity violations because they feel undervalued.

Many cops admitted to “counterproductive behavior” in the past year. A third sometimes arrive late at work, and one in ten said they took police property home. According to lawyer Arjan Olfers, one of the report's authors, if internal integrity issues like these go unaddressed, officers could slide into more serious violations like racism or selling information to criminals. “For officers, it is unclear what is allowed. Things are not being addressed,” Olfers said to NRC.

Criminologist Anton van Wijk, another author of the report, urged for more perspective for sergeants. Sometimes they are at the end of their career path and feel unappreciated. “It can make them cynical.” And that could make them attach less value to acting with integrity.

Superiors also need to behave more like role models, Van Wijk added. And it should become more normal for police officers to talk about uncertainties or doubts.

Only when the police take action against integrity violations within its organization will a culture change happen so that officers no longer cross the line on the street, said Olfers.