Bad Apples?: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis of Police Deviance
Abstract
Recent high-profile cases have drawn attention to police deviance, compromising public trust in the police. This paper focuses on understanding police deviance as it pertains to both police misconduct, corruption, and criminal behavior. Previous qualitative studies often focus on specific aspects of police deviance (e.g. sexual misconduct and corruption), resulting in a body of related yet disconnected misconduct-related research. This paper aims to provide a wholistic understanding of police deviance by synthesizing findings from extant qualitative research. Our meta-synthesis highlights the role of both organizational and individual-level factors in influencing police deviance. These findings have implications for the development and implementation of preventive measures that police agencies may adopt to mitigate police deviance.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Policing Practices and Perceptions
Crime Patterns and Interventions
Deception detection and forensic psychology
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Deviant Behavior
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1181–1200
- Publication date
- 28 March 2026
- Language
- EN