Abstract
Methodology. A survey instrument was developed to gather data to answer the research questions which were the focus of the study. Using actual misconduct cases, scenarios depicting various acts of police officer misconduct were presented in a questionnaire format. A series of opinion questions pertaining to captains' overall perceptions of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) disciplinary system were presented in the second half of the questionnaire. Two groups of thirty-one captains were surveyed, and the effects of four decision-making variables upon penalty recommendations and penalty consistency were evaluated. The possible effects of assignment and command experience were also studied. Findings. This study showed the LAPD captains were quite inconsistent in their penalty recommendations. When presented with the same misconduct scenario, penalty recommendations were spread over a broad range. The range of penalties widened as the nature of the misconduct became more serious. The data also showed that negative disciplinary decision-making factors are likely to have a significant effect upon disciplinary penalty recommendations, but not for all types of misconduct. Negative officer work histories and attitudes did result in significantly greater penalties, regardless of the nature of the misconduct. Negative complaint histories had a significant effect, but only in two of the four misconduct categories. Officer tenure had a significant effect on penalties only in one misconduct category. Conclusions and recommendations. LAPD officers appear to be subjected to a system of discipline in which penalties vary considerably depending upon an officer's particular commanding officer. LAPD captains use numerous factors when making disciplinary penalty recommendations. The effects of those factors vary depending upon the nature of the misconduct, the nature of the decision factor, the level of a particular captain's experience, and the nature of a captain's assignment. Based upon the research, it is the author's recommendations that the LAPD, and any large urban police department involved in managing a formal disciplinary process, establish clearly-stated goals and policies in the area of discipline management. Specifically, formal discipline management training programs should be implemented, and written penalty guidelines established.