Integrity violations in 64 local police forces in Flanders (Belgium): an empirical study on incidence rate
Although few would doubt the importance of police integrity, actual empirical research on integrity violations in the police has been limited, certainly in Belgium. This article aims to address this lacuna by presenting the results of a survey containing both an observer-report measure and a self-report measure in 64 local police forces in Belgium (n = 3847). It presents a ranking of the most and least frequently occurring (types of) integrity violations in the participating police forces. It shows that, for most types, female respondents report less violations than their male colleagues. Likewise, older respondents report less violations than their younger colleagues. The fact that, for many types, civilian staff report less violations than police officers probably might have to do with the latter typically having more opportunities for integrity violations. We also found significant differences between the 64 forces on almost all types, suggesting that factors at organisational level matter.