Beyond the Half‐Empty Glass: How Theory and Research on Organizational Crime Can Better Inform Regulation and Compliance in Policing

Abstract

A large body of research demonstrates support for deterrence and organizational justice perspectives in regulating white‐collar and corporate crime. While much of this literature focuses on corporate America, there are nonetheless some established consistencies in “what works” to promote compliance. Parallel to this literature, policing scholars tend to focus on negative outcomes, such as excessive use of force and other forms of misconduct, rather than through a glass‐half‐full lens of compliance. The current paper takes stock of the literature on the regulation of white‐collar and corporate crime, with the goal of extending the lessons learned from corporate America to the context of police organizations. In light of the current legitimacy crisis in policing, the broader organizational justice literature offers a promising avenue for informing better research on compliance in policing, that is, how to get the police to do what the public wants as opposed to reacting to negative events. We recognize that there are inherent levels of accountability present in corporations that are more limited in policing (e.g., federal regulation) but there are still many internal mechanisms and processes common to both organizational settings that deserve more attention by policing scholars. The paper concludes with an overview of theoretically driven and evidence‐based directions for future policing research that may simultaneously inform policy and practice in police organizations.