Elihu Katz Colloquia: Andrew V. Papachristos, Northwestern University

Thin Blue Networks: The Network Structure of Police Misconduct

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About the Talk

Explanations of police violence generally pit individual-level theories against macro-level theories resulting in what is parochially described as a debate between “bad apples” and “bad institutions.” Somewhere in-between the officers who engage in misconduct and the larger institution of policing reside the social networks in which officers work and socialize. This study investigates networks of police misconduct and abuse in Chicago, IL over thirty year period. Using data on complaints against police officers from both citizens and fellow officers, this talk will recreate and analyze the networks of misconduct and abuse, distinguishing between individual and extra-individual level features. A series of findings shed light individual, ecological, and extra-individual factors associated with patterns of misconduct and abuse. Understanding how officer, organization, and network properties contribute to police misconduct provide unique insights for understanding and doing something about police violence.

About the Speaker

Andrew V. Papachristos is currently Professor of Sociology and Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. He is also the founder and Faculty Director of CORNERS: The Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research & Science. Papachristos' research aims to understand how the connected nature of cities—how their citizens, neighborhoods, and institutions are tied to one another—affect what we feel, think, and do. His main research applies network science to the study of gun violence, police misconduct, illegal gun markets, Al Capone, street gangs, and urban neighborhoods. He is also currently completing a book that examines the role street gangs have played in building The Great American City. Papachristos is a Chicago native and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.