Future Romanian Law Enforcement: Gender Differences in Perceptions of Police Misconduct

Journal of Social Research & Policy, Volume: 3, Issue: 1, pp. 97-113.

Date: July 2012

ISSN: 2067-2640 (print), 2068-9861 (electronic)

Abstract: This exploratory study examines gender differences in the attitudes expressed by future Romanian police officers toward hypothetical instances of police misconduct. It also observes how severely respondents think police officers’ transgressions should be punished and how eager they would be to report infractions. In order to measure police integrity and identify the future police officers’ potential for unethical behavior we applied the methodology developed in the 1990s by C. B. Klockars and his colleagues. The present quantitative analysis is based on survey data obtained in 2010 from a convenience sample (N = 293) of students in their final year of study at the Romanian Police Academy, who were enrolled in the Department of Police Studies and majored in Public Order & Safety. Results show that, overall, female students perceive the seriousness of the misconduct cases as being significantly higher than their male counterparts do. In general, when compared to men, women also tend to recommend more severe disciplinary measures and are less inclined to tolerate misbehavior in silence.

Keywords: Police Cadets, Gender and Police Corruption, Police Integrity, Romanian Police