General strain and police misconduct: the role of organizational influence

The purpose of this paper is to examine the utility of general strain theory in explaining the relationship between organizational stress and police deviance.

Data were collected from a non-random sample of 1,389 police officers in three large cities in Texas. The survey instrument used for this research was the Police Work Experience Survey. Results from regression analyses are presented.

Findings showed that the organization influenced police misconduct, but misconduct was dependent upon the specific type of strain encountered.

Results show that instances of police deviance depend on the types of strains encountered. Additionally, anger plays a significant role when examining organizational strain. Police administrators should move to reduce organizational strains to reduce instances of police misconduct.

Currently, there is very little theoretical work in understanding police misconduct. And no studies have drawn linkages between organizational stressors and self-reported officer misconduct. At a time when police behavior is at the forefront of the social policy reform, the examination of potential correlates of police misconduct is the first step toward controlling it.