“It’s all about covering your . . .”: The unintended consequences of police accountability measures

Abstract

Policing faces increased accountability measures, influencing officers to engage in “covering your ass” and over-documentation. In this qualitative study of police officers across three Canadian provinces, we unpack the “covering your ass” mentality by exploring the paperwork burden as an unintended consequence of movements toward greater policing accountability. We find that covering your ass leads officers to complete paperwork to protect themselves from personally being investigated. They use paperwork to ensure they overcome any legal vulnerabilities by justifying their actions and explaining their interpretations of other officers’ actions. We present policy implications of these findings tied to police accountability, the impacts of covering your ass, and the resulting paperwork burden.