Essay Example: Police Officers Performance Analysis

Data Analysis

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Introduction

As mentioned in chapter one, the purpose of this study was to investigate how the investigation of police officers improves their overall performance in the wake of public outcry against police misconduct. This chapter presents the analysis of data collected using a quantitative approach. The study involved 309 police officers working at the Northeast Georgia Sheriffs Office. As described in chapter three, the data represented a snapshot of the police officers performance since the researcher employed a cross-sectional research design. In other words, the analysis is based on the appraisal reports reflect the ratings that officers had received by 2015. The study does not compare their performance in different timelines but examine their job performance at one point in time. Therefore, it is evident that the study design is cross-sectional in nature.

It is also worth noting that the study included an evaluation of the officers performance in 2015. The selection of the 2015 appraisal report is in line with the cross-sectional study that examined the performance of police officers depending on their gender, prior military experience, educational background, and their ethnicity. In this chapter, the researcher used the assessment of the officers performance to show polices competence in conducting their law enforcement duties. The appraisal report of 2015 also reflects the average performance of the officers over previous years. Supervisor of the officers in the northeast Georgia sheriffs office regularly assess the performance of the officers to determine their ability to enforce law and order, which helps in noting any difficulties in the officers potential to carry out their job. The effectiveness of the officers depends on different independent variables. In brief, the variable officer performance was dependent on the level of education.

Since the researcher carefully selected relevant questions as per the research objectives, the data collected were sufficient to answer the hypotheses made in this paper. The assessment system is unbiased and credible, which gives the officers confidence in leaderships ability to assess their performance. The officers appraisal records are only accessible by the senior police officers to avoid others tampering with the reports. Due to the advancement of technology, the records are easily retrievable when the leadership makes the information available to anyone with the proper authorization. Data administration officers must have the required knowledge in information systems to prevent infiltration of the database, which contains sensitive and confidential information. In brief, this chapter examines descriptive data of the participants demographic information, describes the data analysis procedure, the results of the analysis, and the summary of the chapter.

Descriptive Data

As describes in Chapter 3, the research involved 309 police offers as the participants. In this study, the demographic information such as gender, level of education, and ethnicity were critical in comparing means between the sub-groups. The ideas were to conduct a descriptive analysis to identify the demographic information of participants before proceeding with relating the variables with the performance indicators. The prior involvement with the military was also important in determine whether such experiences affect the performance of ex-soldiers if they start working close to the civilians. In summary, the descriptive data included the gender, level of education, ethnicity, and involvement with the military prior to joining the police service.

Participants Gender

Regarding gender, results showed that male police officers were the majority accounting for 91.91% of the participants. As Table 1 and Figure 1 illustrate, female participants made up only 8.09 % of the sampled population. Figure one provides an excellent visual impression of the seriousness of gender imbalance by showing a significantly smaller fraction to represent the 25 women working at the Northeast Georgia Sheriffs Office. These finding is a clear indication that law enforcement department is a male-dominated workplace. Since the participants represent a specific workplace (Northeast Georgia Sheriffs Office), it is certain that other workstations are also facing the same high level of gender imbalance.

Table 1: The Gender of Participants

Gender n Percentage (%)

Male 284 91.91

Female 25 8.09

Total 309 100

Note. The values are actual number of each gender and their percentage.

FIGURE 1: The Gender of the Participants

Participants Ethnicity

Evidently, the Caucasian ethnic group forms the majority of the police sampled in this study. With 71.84%, Caucasian police officers represent a significantly bigger fraction compared to the rest of the ethnic groups combined (Figure 2). As Figure 2 shows, the African-American ethnic group is the second largest ethnic group representing 25.24% of the police population working at Northeast Georgia Sheriffs Office. With an Asian and Hispanic populations of 0.65% and 2.27% respectively, it is worth noting that Hispanic is a minority group with better representation in the police force. This paper aims at addressing the current issues affecting the police force, where some ethnic groups blame the police for selective treatment along ethnic line. Therefore, the ethnicity of the police is an important variable that will shed more light on whether police officers perform their duties differently depending on their ethnicity.

Table 2: The Ethnicity of the Participants

Ethnicity n Percentage (%)

Asian 2 0.65

African-American 78 25.24

Hispanic 7 2.27

Caucasian 222 71.84

Total 309 100

Note. The values represent the number of each ethnicity and their respective percentages.

FIGURE 2: The ethnicity of the Participants

Participants Education Level

Education level is yet another crucial variable worth investigating. Scholars have continued to call for the additional of training for American police officers. Critics have continued to compare the performance of American with other law informing agencies around the globe that offer more training beyond weapon handling and basic police training. As the Table 3 shows, the majority of the participants joined the police after graduating from high school. With 89.32%, it is evident that less than 10% of police officers join the service with an associate degree and above. While the police academy offers relevant training, prior education is worth noting. The additional academic attainment that individuals gain by furthering their education before joining the police is worth considering when evaluating the performance of such law enforcers. In this case, the descriptive analysis of the participants education level provides a platform for conducting further analysis on the impact of education level on the performance of a police officer.

Table 3: The Education Level of the Participants

Education Level n Percentage (%)

High school/GED 276 89.32

Associates Degree 13 4.2

Bachelors Degree 18 5.83

Masters Degree 2 0.65

Total 309 100

Note. The values represent the number specific number and percentage of police as per their academic attainment before joining the police service.

FIGURE 3: The Education Levels of the Participants

Participants Prior Military Experience

The shift of individuals from one disciplined force to the other is a common phenomenon. In most cases, some ex-military men and women prefer joining the police force because of personal reasons. Therefore, was necessary to examine the composition of police officers who have already served in any of the numerous US military formations. In doing so, it will be possible to determine how their prior military experience affect their performance as police officers. As Table 4 shows, 26.86% of participants had prior military experience while the remaining 73.14% joined the police service as civilians. As illustrated in Figure 4, the nearly 27% men and women with prior military experience cannot be ignored. Therefore, the significant number for both groups was crucial for conducting the quantitative analysis in the next step.

Table 4: Prior military Experience

Prior military Experience n Percentage (%)

Yes 83 26.86

No 226 73.14

Total 309 100

Note. The values in this table show the number and percentage of participants with or without prior military experience before joining the police service.

FIGURE 4: The Participants Prior Military Experience

Participants Years of Police Service and Income

As indicated in Table 5, the participants with the least experience in the police had served less than a year by 2015 while the most experienced officer at the workplace had served for about 47 years. It is also noteworthy that the mean for all the officers was slightly above the 10-year mark. On the other hand, the least paid officer received US$1,148.89 while the highest paid pocketed US2, 788.46 bi-weekly, which is more than a double compared to the former. However, with a standard deviation of only US$226.40, it is evident that the incomes of the majority are not far apart.

Table 5: Years of Police Service versus Income

Minimum Maximum Mean Standard Deviation

Years of Police Service .44 47.02 10.35 8.78

Biweekly salary 1,148.94 2,788.46 1,489.55 226.40

Note. The values provided reflects the income and years of experience of police working at the Northeast Georgia Sheriffs Office only

Data Analysis Procedures

As described in Chapter 3, a series of data analysis procedures were employed to test the association between variables contained in the study. In the United States, law enforcers share a conventional characteristic scope that leadership should categorize officers based on required job duty. The hiring date and the specific jobs allocated to officers are available in the database. Researching 309 police officers in northeast Georgia revealed the general picture of the correlation between police officers level of education and their allocated jobs. The criteria used to allocate specific jobs to law enforcers based on the jobs complexity and the officers positions should depend on the education level of the officer. Departments in the police force have different functions, and they vary according to their duties, which include structure, skills needed to perform the specific tasks, knowledge needed for the different ranks, capacity, result of carrying out the tasks, and environment in the department.

Analysis of Participants Mean Job Performance

The dependent variables highlighted in the performance report were attendance, ability to observe rules and safety, management of allocated tools and time, the initiatives the officers have carried out, the capability to make rational decisions, and the ability to handle criticism from the leadership. Other independent variables analyzed in this chapter include how officers control their attitude, cope with stress while working, keep their uniforms clean, how they perform in new situations, and their ability to perform as a team. The last set of independent variables analyzed includes the skills and intelligence levels, ability to solve problems, expression, and their language etiquette.

On the other hand, the supervisory variables included the ability of senior officers to lead others, their capacity to make sound decisions, the ability to lead others, the capacity to make sound decision, and the integrity with juniors. Other supervisory variables were the capability to schedule daily work and allocate materials, the determination to improve the profession, and the ability to delegate duties to junior employees. Based on the different variables officer ratings are as follows: unsatisfactory, needs improveme...