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4 th International Evidence Based Policing Confere nce. ‘An analysis of complaints relating to traffic officers: Do officer characteristics predict rates of complaint?’ Chief Superintendent Paul Dickson. South Australia Police (SAPOL). South Australia is one of six States;
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4th International Evidence Based Policing Conference ‘An analysis of complaints relating to traffic officers: Do officer characteristics predict rates of complaint?’ Chief Superintendent Paul Dickson
South Australia Police (SAPOL) South Australia is one of six States; Population of about 1.6 million Police strength, 4500 sworn / 1150 unsworn; Annual budget of approximately $650 million; Just over 1 million square kilometres.
‘I get complaints because I have a high number contacts with the Community!’ This research did not support this hypothesis
‘the police as a public institution relies on a grant of legitimacy rooted in public trust and confidence, citizen complaints of misconduct represent a weakening of that foundation’Terrill and McCluskey 2002
Existing Research: Traffic stops, the most frequent interaction with police The reason people are dissatisfied with the police contact relates to the manner they were treated Dissatisfaction with police impacts on both community satisfaction and confidence
Reason for this research Limited research on the relationship between police officers receiving complaints and community contacts Are officer characteristics (Age, Gender, Experience, Length of service) relevant to the number of complaints received Do officers receive more complaints because they have more community contact
Research Findings Summary Officer characteristics do not impact on the number of complaints received Officers within the High and No complaint cohorts generally remain in these cohorts over time Rudeness is the greatest cause of complaint Higher number of contacts will not result in an increased number of complaints Importance of Citizen’s expressing their point of view
Implications for policing Training: Enhance police awareness of the impact of poor community interactions Policy: Remove officers from contacting the community if they remain in the high complaint cohort Disciplinary: Effective model of identifying officers within the high complaint cohort and processes to manage their behaviour in a timely way.