Towards a career view of police misconduct

This paper argues that the current focus of policing on problem officers is too narrow, both conceptually and in terms of how they are operationalized in the research literature, and instead proposes that scholars take a broader view of misconduct, particularly across officer careers. To do so, police researchers could adopt concepts from the criminal career paradigm, as this body of work allows one to characterize deviant behavior over time and does not require a compelling theory of misconduct in order to do so. Following this comparative work in policing would lead researchers to explore the continuity of misconduct of officers over time, instead of focusing on problem officers. What is more, by adopting concepts from developmental criminology, particularly the notions of trajectories and turning points, police scholars could develop explanations for particular patterns of misconduct over time. Finally, the risk prevention paradigm provides further guidance for police on how to combat misconduct and enhance current Early Intervention systems.