When police officers break rules: Do personality traits matter in unethical decision-making?

Purpose This study aims to examine the extent to which the broad personality traits of the Big Five, along with empathic concern and impulsivity, predict unethical intentions among police officers and whether empathic concern and impulsivity offer predictive value beyond the Big Five dimensions. We focus on two types of unethical behaviour: stealing and accessing police databases without legitimate grounds. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a survey among 497 Belgian police officers, which included hypothetical scenarios in which respondents were asked what decision they would make. We used the BFI-44 scale to measure the Big Five personality traits. The Empathic Concern subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index was used to measure empathy. The Dickman Impulsivity Inventory was used to measure impulsivity. We analysed the extent to which these personality characteristics have an impact on the decision made in the hypothetical scenarios. Findings Higher Openness to experience was positively associated with intention to steal, whereas Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were negatively associated with stealing intentions. Agreeableness was also a significant negative predictor for the intention to access police databases without authorisation. Adding empathic concern and impulsivity explained little variance beyond the Big Five, suggesting their limited incremental contribution to the model. We did not find sufficient evidence that the effects of personality traits on intentions to steal and access databases differ significantly. Originality/value Despite the extant literature on police decision-making, research on more subtle forms of unethical decision-making and the impact of personality traits on such decisions is limited. The findings contribute to the understanding of the role of personality in unethical decision-making in policing and highlight the need for further research into other influencing factors.