DOI: 10.3886/icpsr03977
title: Supporting Police Integrity in the Philadelphia [Pennsylvania] Police Department, 1991-1998 and 2000
title: Archival Version

description: 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.
description: 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.
description: 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.
description: 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.
description: Response Rates: Part 2: Of the 504 officers chosen for the sample,
 
five refused to participate.
description: 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.
description: Part 1: inap. Part 2: A simple random sample was selected
 
from the January 2000 population of 3,810 patrol officers.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Academy and Background Data
DS2: Survey Data
description: 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. Smallest Geographic Unit: None.
description: 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.