POLICE OFFICER DISCIPLINE AND ARBITRATION - THE ISSUE OF CONDUCT UNBECOMING

This study used a sample of seventy-nine public sector arbitration cas es to categorize various work infractions committed by police officers . Of particular interest was the nature and frequency of conduct descr ibed as unbecoming behavior. Results show that conduct unbecoming inci dents comprise a very large number of police force discipline cases. B ecause the term ''conduct unbecoming'' is somewhat ambiguous, these in fractions encompass a wide variety of unprofessional behavior. While p olice departments and the public hold police officers to a high profes sional standard, a significant finding is that arbitrators apply conve ntional arbitral criteria when adjudicating either conduct unbecoming or the more traditional work behavior infractions.