Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, and Homeland Security (D.P.S.)

Department

Division of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security

First Advisor

Christopher Cleary

Second Advisor

Merik R. Aaron

Third Advisor

Hunter LaCroix

Abstract

Police agencies and administrations continue to face public scrutiny, consequential poor policing, and costly litigation from within their communities. Newly hired Police officers, trained in the latest police science, can lead to fewer received civilian complaints from the communities they serve. Without established literature and studies, agency leadership and policy-makers' decision-making are constrained to quantifying spreadsheet data, which rarely alter the totality of any micro-level police-related interactions. Therefore, this study asks, how does the amount of newly hired police officers affect the number of civilian complaints received? Theories applied include Risk Management, Societal Security, and Conflict Criminology. The Nassau County Police Department is examined as a reasonable reflection of policing. This mixed methods case study utilized a multivariate analysis of continuous variables and surveyed 431 Nassau County law enforcement professionals. The analysis revealed a statistically insignificant relationship between increased police recruits and decreased complaints. Significant differences (0.000<0.05) in different demographics found black complainants (M=55.75) are likely to file the most complaints while Asian complainants (M=5.75) are the least likely to file complaints. White civilian complainants filed more complaints following NYS Executive Order 203 effective date of April 1, 2021 (p=0.006>0.05). Race and the specific criminal justice database are determining factors in the total number of arrests reported (F(1,4)=4.269, p=0.005<0.05) and age ((F(10,131)=11.767, p=0.000<0.05) determined whether an arrest is made. According to FBI data, police reform training did not significantly contribute to crime rates (p=0.326>0.05), while NYS data showed improvement following police reform training (p=0.026<0.05). Further suggested research should explore the cost-benefit of overtime over new hires, practical and relevant training, and the effectiveness of current recruitment practices.

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