Speaking out: Officers speaking about police misconduct in Ghana
| Author | Guangzhen Wu,Francis D Boateng,David A Makin,Gassan Abess |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X18768384 |
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Speaking out: Officers
speaking about police
misconduct in Ghana
Francis D Boateng, PhD
Department of Legal Studies, Odom Hall, The University of Mississippi,
Mississippi, USA
David A Makin, PhD
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Washington State
University, Washington, USA
Gassan Abess, PhD
Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, John Carrol University,
Ohio, USA
Guangzhen Wu, MA
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Washington State
University and National Police University of China, Ganjingzi, China
Abstract
Historically, police administrators have argued that misconduct occurs among a few
bad officers, undermining the notion that deviant acts transcend individu al charac-
teristics of officers to incorporate the characteristics of the department. The pur-
pose of this study was to explore the state of police integrity within the Ghana
Police Service by qualitatively analysing interview responses obtained from a select
group of police officers in two police districts. Findings revealed that police mis-
conduct in Ghana exists in different dimensions, and that officers are willing to
engage in open discussions about deviant acts by their colleagues. Policy implication
of the findings are discussed.
Corresponding author:
FrancisD.Boateng,AssistantProfessorofCriminalJustice,DepartmentofLegalStudies,Universityof
Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677, USA.
Email: fboateng@olemiss.edu
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2019, Vol. 92(2) 121–135
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0032258X18768384
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