Lead by Example: The Effects of Police Supervisors on Officer Behavior, Dallas, Texas, 2014-2019 (ICPSR 39416)
Version Date: Aug 13, 2026 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Austin V. Smith, University of Arizona
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39416.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study measured the effects of police supervisors (sergeants) on subordinate officers' arrests. The investigator obtained public-record data from the Dallas Police Department (DPD) and Dallas District Attorney through public records requests, pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act (PIA). These data were used to estimate sergeant effects on arrest quality for both low-level and serious arrests, document variation in effects between sergeants, and analyze the correlation between sergeant scores on promotional exams and arrest quality pre- and post-exam. Special attention was also paid to the impact of arrestee race on arrest quality. The data included in this release are final, de-identified versions of the original data, and have been zipped as-is for release alongside relevant data cleaning and analysis syntax.
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Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
police sector
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reason for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
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Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate police sergeants' influence on the arrest outcomes of their subordinate officers.
Universe View help for Universe
Patrol officers and supervisors in the Dallas Police Department (DPD).
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
This study includes 14 CSV files containing variables providing an anonymous officer ID, associated sergeant(s), sergeant unit, arrests by officers organize by race of arrestee, number of complaints, and arrest context variables indicating quality of arrest or reason for arrest (e.g. good arrests, serious arrests, disorderly arrests, traffic arrests). Several data files include variables for fixed effect shrinkage or other analytical items.
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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.
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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.
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.