Network Structures of Police Misconduct Differ Based on Type and Severity of Misconduct

Drawing on 12,396 police misconduct complaints from New York spanning 2015 to 2019, I use exponential random graph modeling to examine structural differences amongst police misconduct networks based upon type and severity of misconduct. Officers with a greater history of misconduct allegations are more likely to be co-involved in complaints. Co-involvement is clustered, and the networks for the use of force are particularly so. Homophily is present in all subnetworks, and gender homophily has a stronger association with the use of force than with other forms of misconduct ties. Brokerage is particularly crucial to the abuse of authority network. These findings might aid police leaders to create diverse policing teams and to target officers whose misconduct causes the most harm, recognizing that different types of misconduct have unique network dynamics.