Indecent Exposure? Conduct Unbecoming and the Reputational Logic of Police Discipline

Abstract

Objectives: Examine how police executives apply conduct unbecoming standards to lawful, off-duty sexual conduct. Methods: In a pre-registered, forced-choice conjoint experiment, 313 U.S. police executives (chiefs and sheriffs) completed 1,294 paired comparisons of hypothetical officer profiles varying randomly on conduct features (explicitness, compensation, media attention, complaint source) and officer characteristics (gender, race, age, tenure). Average marginal component effects estimated each attribute's influence on disciplinary judgments. Results: Relative to suggestive content, explicit sexual content increased selection for more severe discipline by 53.2 percentage points, while paid content and agency-linked media coverage increased selection by 16.0 and 15.1 points. Officer gender and age were non-significant. Contrary to expectations, non-White officers were selected modestly less often for discipline. Conclusions: Executives apply this standard through a reputational logic centered on the conduct, not the officer. Whether it governs other forms of discretionary discipline remains open.