A Content Analysis of Section 1983 Litigation Against Reserve Police Officers

<p>Police studies have well developed a demonstrative framework for detailing risks which generate financially-detrimental civil litigation – particularly regarding 42 U.S.C. §1983. Conversely, though, police studies have given little attention to the often-used but differentially-trained reserve police officer. Primarily replicating the methodologies of Kappeler, Kappeler, and del Carmen (1993) and Ross (2000), this descriptive study sought to fill this void via a manifest content approach to purposively select a sample of Section 1983 cases decided by U.S. District Courts over a 16-year period (2001-2016) to determine: (1) if significant liability was generated by reserve officers, (2) the main basis for such claims, (3) the rate of plaintiff success, and (4) the average monetary award granted to successful plaintiffs. Although reserve police did not generate significant Section 1983 liability in the 30 cases reviewed in this study, data did identify failure to train as the most asserted basis for those claims. Moreover, an abysmally-low rate of plaintiff success made the calculation of a reliable average monetary award unattainable. Notwithstanding the methodological challenges which surfaced in this study, its findings did produce a series policy recommendations, while also providing advice to researchers who wish to continue an examination of the potential (and actual) Section 1983 liability associated with the use of reserve police officers.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Criminal Justice

Year dc:date.available

2018

Author dc:creator

• Broadus, Michael Ryan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Philip E. Carlan
• Lisa S. Nored
• Charles L. Scheer

• Section 1983
• Reserve Police
• Liability
• Training
• Policy
• Content Analysis
• Civil Law
• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Law Enforcement and Corrections
• Legal Writing and Research
• Litigation
• Other Legal Studies
• Torts
• Training and Development

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/376

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1417