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Do civilian complaints against police get punished?

Author

Listed:
  • Gregory DeAngelo

    (Claremont Graduate University)

  • Matthew Gomies

    (Claremont Graduate University)

  • Rustam Romaniuc

    (Montpellier Business School)

Abstract

Law enforcement institutions are tasked with a complicated undertaking that involves maintaining community safety and, at times, making arrests while exercising care in their interaction with private citizens. Errors may have dramatic consequences for civilians, police and the criminal justice system. Given limited observability of law enforcement agents’ behavior, one way to mitigate the principal-agent problem is to rely on signals from civilians via complaints. At the same time, civilian complaints may result in reputational and financial losses for the criminal justice institutions. This paper empirically investigates one way in which criminal justice institutions respond to civilian complaints. Namely, criminal prosecutors can upcharge a defendant who files a civil complaint against law enforcement. By upcharging, the prosecutor can increase the likelihood that a defendant will accept a plea deal, thus preventing the defendant from seeking monetary damages in civil court (Heck vs. Humphrey, 1994). Using data on citizen complaints and criminal charge outcomes from Cook County (Illinois), we find a strong causal link between a citizen filing a complaint and the total number of charges filed.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregory DeAngelo & Matthew Gomies & Rustam Romaniuc, 2023. "Do civilian complaints against police get punished?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 196(3), pages 453-482, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:196:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s11127-023-01052-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-023-01052-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rustam Romaniuc & Katherine Farrow & Lisette Ibanez & Alain Marciano, 2016. "The perils of government enforcement," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 161-182, January.
    2. DeAngelo, Gregory & Humphreys, Brad R. & Reimers, Imke, 2017. "Are public and private enforcement complements or substitutes? Evidence from high frequency data," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 151-163.
    3. Mastrorocco, Nicola & Ornaghi, Arianna, 2020. "Who Watches the Watchmen? Local News and Police Behavior in the United States," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 500, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    4. Rustam Romaniuc & Katherine Farrow & Lisette Ibanez & Alain Marciano, 2016. "The perils of government enforcement," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 161-182, January.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Matthew O. Jackson, 2017. "Social Norms and the Enforcement of Laws," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 245-295.
    6. Steven Shavell & A. Mitchell Polinsky, 2000. "The Economic Theory of Public Enforcement of Law," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 45-76, March.
    7. Gregory DeAngelo & Taylor Leland Smith, 2020. "Private security, maritime piracy and the provision of international public safety," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 77-97, February.
    8. DeAngelo Gregory & McCannon Bryan C., 2016. "Public Outcry and Police Behavior," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 16(2), pages 619-645, April.
    9. Rustam Romaniuc & Dimitri Dubois & Eugen Dimant & Adrian Lupusor & Valeriu Prohnitchi, 2022. "Understanding cross-cultural differences in peer reporting practices: evidence from tax evasion games in Moldova and France," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 190(1), pages 127-147, January.
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    12. DeAngelo, Gregory & Gee, Laura K., 2020. "Peers or police?: The effect of choice and type of monitoring in the provision of public goods," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 210-227.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Private and public enforcement; Civilian complaints; Police misconduct; Upcharging;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General

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