A pattern evident from the cross-case analysis is that a prompt, sincere apology by the individual(s) or organization responsible for misconduct appears to have a significant effect in reducing both the public profile of, and the penalties ensuing from, a police-civilian interaction that has been recorded and disseminated via user-generated online video. A lack of apology, an insincere apology, an apology from an individual or person who was not responsible for the misconduct, or an active refusal to apologize, appears to have effects including a significantly raised and maintained public profile for the police-civilian interaction, and significantly more severe penalties for the misconduct. Furthermore, evinced resistance to the offering of an apology by police, either as individuals or as organizations, may be useful to researchers as a symptom or indicator of more serious problems.
The constraints of the present research do not allow the development of this observed pattern into a robust theory.
The observed pattern of the effects of apology appears to present productive opportunities for future research. It will be particularly important to clearly define the variables of apology for quantitative studies; it may be advisable to conduct one or more qualitative studies to further develop an appropriate and robust research methodology.
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