FREE ESSAY ON POLICE CORRUPTION

POLICE CORRUPTION

Police Corruption 
Police Corruption Corruption in policing is viewed as the misuse of authority by a police
officer acting officially to fulfill his/her personal needs or wants. There are two
distinct elements of corruption; 1) misuse of authority, 2) personal attainment. The
occupational subculture of policing is a major factor in both creating police corruption,
by initiating officers into corrupt activities, and sustaining it, by covering up corrupt
activities by other officers. Police corruption is a complex phenomenon, which does not
readily submit to simple analysis. It is a problem that has and will continue to affect
us all, whether we are civilians or law enforcement officers. Since its beginnings, many
aspects of policing have changed; however, one aspect that has remained relatively
unchanged is the existence of corruption. Police corruption has increased dramatically
with the illegal cocaine trade, and the officer acting alone or in-groups to steal money
from dealer and/or distribute cocaine themselves. Large groups of corrupt police officers
have been caught in New York, New Orleans, Washington, Dc, and Los Angeles. Corruption
within police departments falls into two basic categories; internal corruption, involving
relationships among the police within the works of the police department (ex: promotions
or favored assignments, usually purchased with bribes) and external corruption, which
involves police contact with the public. There are many different forms of corruption;
gratuity, involving free meals, free dry cleaning and discounts; bribery, involving the
exchange of money or something of value between the police and wrong doer (this is very
common among narcotics officers); theft and Burglary, involving officers stealing
property, money and/or drugs from the department; and stealing from people under the
influence, who essentially become victims of the police. A new form of police corruption
developed in the early 1980's and into the 1990's, which include brutality,
discrimination, sexual harassment, intimidation, and illicit the use of weapons. The
Mollen Commission found that "most corrupt officers start off as honest and idealistic."
The career of corruption's begins with passively accepting minor gratuities that
gradually begin to involve more serious violation of the laws, involving larger amounts
of money and officers initiating corrupt acts. It can be said that power inevitably tends
to corrupt, and it is yet to be recognized that, while there is no reason to presume that
police officers as individuals are any less fallible than other members of society,
people are often shocked and outraged when officers are exposed violating the law. There
deviance elicits a special feeling of betrayal. The danger of police corruption could
invert the formal goals of the organization and may lead to "the use of organizational
power to encourage and create crime rather than to deter it". There has been many
attempts to put an end to police corruption, with no real success. An attempt to
eliminate corruption, by increasing salaries, more training, incentive for education, and
the development of policies that focus directly on factors leading to corruption. Despite
many efforts by the police departments to control corruption, it still exists. Police
corruption has a very long standing history. Controlling corruption has to come from both
the police department and the assistance and support of local community members.
Community members should be educated about the negative affects of corruption within the
police agency and that gratuities (most common form of police corruption), is just the
catalyst for future corruption. They should be aware of regulations. Controlling
corruption from the departmental level requires an organization with strong leadership.
Corruption can take place at any level in the police department, from the patrol officer,
to the chief of police. Controlling begins with the chief of police and his attitude. The
chief has to make it clear that corruption will not be tolerated. Establishing rules and
regulations within the department to insure that all officers conform to certain behavior
will help. There should be procedures for discipline, counseling and if necessary officer
trade, if he/she is suspected of or found guilty of corruption. A proactive integrity
test should be in place. All police candidates should be pre-screened (background checks,
drug test, alcohol testing), which will help to weed out the bad candidates from future
police officer positions. The fight against corruption will be a long battle as the
problems of yesterday, still remain today, with little to none improvement. 
Bibliography 
Bibliography Why Good Cops Go Bad. Newsweek, p.18. Carter, David L. (1986). Deviance &
Police. Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co. Castaneda, Ruben (1993, Jan. 18). Bearing the Badge
of Mistrust. The Washington Post, p.11. Dantzer, Mark L. (1995). Understanding Today's
Police. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. James, George (1993, Mar. 29). Confessions of
Corruption. The New York Times, P.8, James, George (1993, Nov. 17). Officials Say Police
Corruption is Hard To Stop. The New York times, p.3. Sherman, Lawrence W(1978).
Commission Findings. New York Post, P. 28 Walker, J.T. (1992). The police in America,
p.243-263, chp. 10, Walker, Samuel (1999).