Police Misconduct in Brooklyn

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

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2. Documenting Police Misconduct

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Introduction

      • Brian A. Maule

      Pages 3-7

   3. What is Police Misconduct

      • Brian A. Maule

      Pages 9-12

   4. Police Misconduct in Brooklyn, New York

      • Brian A. Maule

      Pages 13-18

3. Understanding Police Misconduct

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 19-19

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   2. What the Data Shows

      • Brian A. Maule

      Pages 21-25

   3. Understanding the Findings

      • Brian A. Maule

      Pages 27-32

4. Preventing Police Misconduct

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-33

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   2. Regulatory, Legislative, and Judicial Measures

      • Brian A. Maule

      Pages 35-40

   3. Recruitment, Training, Accountability and Transparency

      • Brian A. Maule

      Pages 41-50

5. Back Matter

   Pages 51-59

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This Brief explores police misconduct, through the lens of a 5-year study of civil liability cases against the New York Police Department in Kings County (Brooklyn), New York. The confluence of police misconduct and civil liability is an issue of growing concern for many communities throughout the United States. One measure of the severity of these concerns is the increase in the number of lawsuits alleging police misconduct and the civil liability resulting from these lawsuits.


Using Brooklyn, New York as a case study, the author of this Brief uses lawsuits that resulted in a settlement or jury award, over a five-year period, as its measure of police misconduct. Police misconduct has many tangible and intangible consequences for a community, such as violations of the law, police brutality, social consequences, and long-term public trust of the police.  On a very practical level, as the author demonstrates, the up-front financial costs of prevention, training, and support to curb police misconduct are less expensive than the costs of civil liability payments for lawsuits. 


This perspective creates a strong argument for policymakers for enhancing police training and police misconduct prevention programs. This work will be of interest to researchers in police studies, as well sociology and public policy. 

• Police Studies
• Police Brutality
• Policing Research
• Civil Liability
• Race and Crime
• policing

• John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, USA

  Brian A. Maule

Brian A. Maule is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at John Jay College in New York City. He holds two Master degrees and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice. His research and prior publications are in the areas of policing, race and crime, and terrorism.

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