Officer Safety and Police Legitimacy: Examining Law Enforcement Leader Perceptions of the Impact of Police Peer Support Programs on Occupational Stress and Police Misconduct

Both police misconduct and officer safety and wellness have received an unprecedented amount of attention in the media and academia over the past few years. This study focuses on law enforcement leader perceptions of how officer stress might lead to negative outcomes, such as police misconduct, and examines the impact that police peer support programs can have on reducing stress and preventing misconduct. This study includes data from four interviews, one leader from four different agencies that have all been under federal consent decree for engaging in patterns of police misconduct. The data suggests that police leaders believe peer support programs, if implemented properly, can improve officer outcomes and decrease the likelihood of officers engaging in misconduct.

Author

• LeFort, Nicole

Language

• en

Keyword

• misconduct
• peer
• police
• support
• law enforcement

Date created

• 2020

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Sociology

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Silver, Hilary

Committee Member(s)

• Buntman, Fran

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/j3860768h