NCJ Number
230518
Date Published
October 2009
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This study, named Project Marrella, tested the validity of the perception that exists that when larger than usual numbers of students are recruited and then trained at New South Wales (NSW) police colleges and academies, these students are more likely to engage in police misconduct.
Abstract
Study findings indicate that students trained in large intakes were not more likely to be the subject of complaints in their first 2 years of service than students trained in smaller intakes. Three separate groups, or intakes, of students are trained each year at the NSW Police College and the number of students in each intake may vary greatly. For example, between the years 2000 and 2007, the number of students attested after attending session two at the College ranged from 111 to 801. Variations in the number of students being recruited, trained and attested at the College can occur when the organizational needs of the NSW police force change. A common perception among academics, police officers and other relevant stakeholders is that when larger than usual numbers of students are trained at police colleges and academies, the students trained in these large intakes are more likely to engage in misconduct once they become police officers than those trained in smaller intakes. The objective of this project, codenamed Project Marrella, was to test the validity of the perception that police officers trained in large intakes are more likely to engage in misconduct than police officers trained in smaller intakes. Tables and references