Echoes of silence: how police officers make sense of sexual harassment and the implications for individuals and organizations

Purpose The study aims to investigate how police officers make sense of sexual harassment (SH) and the potential implications for individual officers and their organization. Design/methodology/approach We used a sensemaking framework to analyze qualitative survey data collected at two different time intervals from members of a large North American law-enforcement agency that was grappling with complaints of SH. Findings Our findings illustrate the differing interpretations of SH, including why it persists. Whereas most officers perceived that SH was a systemic issue, some blamed victims or their harassers for perpetuating the issue. Further, reform efforts aligned with the “rotten apple” perspective were viewed as failing to address underlying issues. Originality/value Responses to internal reports of SH by policing organizations are often directed at reforming individuals as opposed to addressing systemic organizational factors. Part of the issue may be the reliance of police leaders on the “rotten apple” theory of police misconduct and assumptions about SH rather than the perspectives of organizational members. Our study illustrates the value of a sensemaking framework for helping create a shared understanding of the current state and developing more effective solutions to address SH. We discuss the implications of these findings for both research and practice.