Relationships Between Law Enforcement Officer-Involved Vehicle Collisions And Other Police Behaviors

Specialization and versatility regarding officer negative outcomes have different implications for agency policies and practices. Versatility suggests interventions that address several problematic behaviors, while specialization may necessitate more targeted interventions. If officers who engage in one form of negative behavior are also more likely to be involved in other undesired outcomes than co-monitoring behaviors via early intervention systems or other mechanisms may be an effective means of identifying problematic officers. The threat posed by officer-involved motor vehicle collisions to the safety of police and the public has received increased attention from practitioners and researchers in the past decade or so. However, we do not know if officers in negative outcomes while on duty are also more likely to be in vehicle collisions. This study examines these links with a survey of patrol officers and their supervisors in a large police department. The findings demonstrate significant effects of citizen complaints for reasons other than excessive force but none of the other negative officer outcomes on collision involvement. In addition, off-duty collisions and secondary employment consistently increase the likelihood of on-duty crashes. The policy implications of these findings for reducing officer collisions are discussed at length