Do Police Learn from Lawsuit Data?

Authors

Randall K. Johnson, University of Missouri - Kansas City, School of LawFollow

Publication Date

2012

Document Type

Article

Abstract

A compelling new theory argues that lawsuit data collection has a deterrent effect on police misconduct. If this theory is correct, why has the number of police misconduct cases still increased over time? Does the trend continue if police departments consistently gather lawsuit data? A § 1983 dataset, which is introduced in this paper, provides an answer. This dataset shows that lawsuit data collection does not correlate with better deterrence of § 1983 cases. The dataset therefore indicates that police departments may not learn from lawsuit data.

Publication Title

Rutgers Law Record

Volume

40

Recommended Citation

Randall K. Johnson, Do Police Learn from Lawsuit Data?, 40 Rutgers Law Record 30 (2012).
Available at: https://irlaw.umkc.edu/faculty_works/343