Supporting Police Integrity in the Philadelphia [Pennsylvania] Police Department, 1991-1998 and 2000 (ICPSR 3977)
Version Date: Mar 30, 2006 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Jack R. Greene, Northeastern University;
Alex R. Piquero, Northeastern University
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03977.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study investigated police integrity in the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD). Its primary goal was to identify risk factors for negative police behaviors and outcomes using information readily available to the department. Part 1, Academy and Background Data, contains background information and academy records data for 1,949 PPD officers from 17 academy classes for the years 1991 to 1998. Part 2, Survey Data, contains data collected in 2000 on the attitudes of a sample of 499 PPD officers. Variables in Part 1 cover background information, including history of misconduct and disciplinary actions. Variables in Part 2 include measurements of officer cynicism and attitudes toward ethical issues.
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Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
None.
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
A downloadable version of data for this study is available however, certain identifying information in the downloadable version may have been masked or edited to protect respondent privacy. Additional data not included in the downloadable version are available in a restricted version of this data collection. For more information about the differences between the downloadable data and the restricted data for this study, please refer to the codebook notes section of the PDF codebook. Users interested in obtaining restricted data must complete and sign a Restricted Data Use Agreement, describe the research project and data protection plan, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
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The user guide, codebook, and data collection instrument are provided by ICPSR as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
This study investigated police integrity in the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD). Its primary goal was to identify risk factors for negative police behaviors and outcomes using information readily available to the department. The PPD, like most large police agencies, collects a lot of information on officers, both before their appointment and in their work assignments. It was anticipated that this information could be used to inform the recruiting, screening, selection, and monitoring processes without creating a large data collection burden. This study involved a detailed consideration of individual officer characteristics, such as background history and academy performance. The study also aimed to collect information not readily available to the department (via surveys and interviews) that could help explain negative officer behavior.
Study Design View help for Study Design
Part 1, Academy and Background Data, contains background information and academy records data for 1,949 Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) officers from 17 academy classes for the years 1991 to 1998. Background data were obtained through the Personal Data Questionnaire (PDQ), which the PPD administers to academy applicants who pass the entrance examination. Data are also provided for other stages of the application/training process. Applicants had to pass a polygraph, which they had two chances to do. Applicants were also subjected to medical and psychological exams. In the academy, recruits went through several training and evaluation phases for which numerous exams were taken. Recruits were also subject to a disciplinary code specific to the academy. Data on police officer misconduct after graduation were obtained from databases maintained by the PPD Internal Affairs Division (IAD) and the Police Board of Inquiry (PBI) and departmental personnel files. The IAD granted access to their files concerning Complaints Against Police (CAPS), internal investigations (other than those for CAPS), and Use of Force Complaints. The PBI database contained information regarding charges and subsequent disciplinary actions for violations of the Department's Disciplinary Code. Part 2, Survey Data, contains data collected in 2000 on the attitudes of a sample of 499 PPD officers. The instrument included two scaled measures. Twenty items on the survey comprised Regoli's (1976) modification of Niederhoffer's (1967) cynicism scale, a measure of police officer cynicism and distance from police supervisors, the police department, and the public at large. Another 15 items comprised a modified version of Krejei et al.'s (1996) attitudes toward ethics scale. This scale measured agreement with statements related to behaviors generally considered inappropriate for the police.
Sample View help for Sample
Part 1: inap. Part 2: A simple random sample was selected from the January 2000 population of 3,810 patrol officers.
Universe View help for Universe
Part 1: Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) officers who were in the PPD academy between 1991 and 1998. Part 2: PPD patrol officers in January 2000.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
Part 1 data were obtained from Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) administrative records. Data for Part 2 were obtained through a survey of PPD officers.
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
Variables in Part 1 include identifying information, family background, residence history, education history, employment history, credit history, military record, driving history, criminal history, and drug use history. Variables are also provided for polygraph results, scores on medical and psychological exams and academy exams, disciplinary actions in the academy, types of misconduct as an officer, and whether the officer was ever disciplined by the department. Variables in Part 2 include answers to the survey items. These include variables that measure officer cynicism, distance from supervisors, the department, and the public, and attitudes toward ethics.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Part 2: Of the 504 officers chosen for the sample, five refused to participate.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
Scales include Regoli's (1976) modification of Niederhoffer's (1967) cynicism scale, a modified version of Krejei et al.'s (1996) attitudes toward ethics scale, and several Likert-type scales.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2004-06-10
Version History View help for Version History
- Greene, Jack R. and Alex R. Piquero. SUPPORTING POLICE INTEGRITY IN PHILADELPHIA [PENNSYLVANIA] POLICE DEPARTMENT, 1991-1998 and 2000. ICPSR version. Boston, MA: Northeastern University [producer], 2002. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2004. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03977.v1
2006-03-30 File CQ3977.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.
2006-03-30 File UG3977.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.
2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.