Case Study: Chicago Police Corruption

Michael Dowd, dubbed the name “Dirtiest Cop in New York City”, prospered enough than any US President’s annual salary, calculating by the amount of money he stole in robberies he and his partner, Kenny Eurell, planned in their patrol car to the eight grand a week they were paid from a drug gang leader. He and his fellow partners-in-crime would use police tactics to rob dealers. Certainly, Dowd was not only intelligent in his mischievous ways, but he had balls and didn’t rat out on his partners, which made him fearless of the consequences that might follow. He may be nervous at times, but was never feared of being caught. He was determined, demanding, obnoxious, greedy individual, and would go after anyone that threatened him and owed him money.

Jenson, Caruso’s lawyer, wanted to call two girls from the party to testify against Guadagno. Judge Locallo said the state would then be allowed to call Deena, Caruso’s ex girlfriend, to testify. Deena’s statement would then not only implicate Guadagno in the case but it would also place Caruso, Jenson’s client, at the scene of the crime (Bogira 329). If Guadagno would have been forced to testify he would have been viewed as the third criminal and could have cleared Kwidzinski of any charges.

Christopher Simmons who was attending high school and eighteen years old at the time was arrested. He was transported to the Fenton police station in Missouri. Simmons was read his Miranda Rights by an officer and he waived his right to have an attorney present during questioning. Simmons agreed to speak with investigators. After being interrogated for nearly two hours Simmons confessed to the murder of Mrs. Crook and agreed to allow the police to videotape him reenacting the murder at the initial crime scene.

After reading all the material regarding Jeffery Bell, Darryl Forrest and Dustin Sillings all 3 whom were members of the Kansas City Police special unit known as (SCORE) Selective, Crime, Occurrence, Reduction Enforcement unit. I came up with several unethical behaviors throughout the course of the year from January 2010 to January 2011. One, all 3 officers violated the victims constitutional rights. Rights that were taken away were the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures and not to have their property taken without due process under the law. (The Criminal Indictment: United States of America v. Jeffrey M. Bell, Darryl M. Forrest, and Dustin Sillings) Each officer took it upon themselves to steal various items including money from

In this paper I will discuss the history of the NYPD Corruption. I will address the founding of the department in 1845 and a few early scandals. The New York City Police Department officially is the largest municipal police force in the United States Established in 1845, the agency has primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City.The NYPD is one of the oldest police departments established in the U.S tracing its roots back to the seventeenth century. The NYPD has specialized services, including the Emergency Service Unit, K9, harbor patrol, air support, bomb disposal, counter-terrorism, criminal intelligence, anti-gang, anti-organized crime, narcotics, public transportation and public

When the council voted, no council member had even seen the dash cam video. )Alexander, C. L. (2016, February 28). Laquan McDonald's shooting took seconds; cover-up more than a year. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/opinions/alexander-chicago-withholding-bad-news/) On Nov. 25, 2015, thirteen months from when the shooting occurred, Chicago Alderman Howard B. Brookins Jr. told CNN, “I do believe we were misled. It is evident now that at the time of the settlement, the tape could have been released. It did not take 13 months to look at this tape or interview witnesses. There was no need for significant delay.” (Hauser, E. (2015, December 9). Chicago: Protests Continue Over Police Killings. Retrieved from

What is a good policing strategy without its successes and failure? Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) was created around the 1990’s as an strategy to improve a society that have failed towards the prevention of crimes and it relations with citizens. This program involves a wide department transformation in the way citizens perceive police officers working towards stopping crime.The program is Reforming a decision making and involving new strategies to combat the wrong. The question is what implementations have worked with this program? Have been the policy of the program a success or a failure? The answer is the ties between policing and citizens.

Leading up to the establishment of the Chicago Police Department, the first rank of “constable” was created in 1830. Authorization of Chicago’s very own police force occurred on January 31, 1835. On August 15, 1835, the Chicago Police Department was born. The department’s mission reads, “The Chicago Police Department, as part of, and empowered by, the community, is committed to protect the lives, property, and rights of all people, to maintain order, and to enforce the law impartially. We will provide quality police service in partnership with other members of the community. To fulfill our mission, we will strive to attain the highest degree of ethical behavior and professional conduct at all times.” Orsemus Morrison was elected Chicago’s first constable; he was assisted by Constables Luther Nichols and John Shrigley. The three men served and protected a population of about 3,200. In the year 1837, the Municipal Court of Chicago was created. It had co-jurisdiction with the Cook County Court within corporate limits of the city of Chicago. Between the years 1838 and 1854, the Chicago P.D consisted of very few collection of officers, constables, and part-time night watchers to maintain the quickly-expanding city.

Although police officers take an oath to protect and serve citizens in our society. we have some officers that our corrupt and willing do anything just to protect themselves from being exposed from their unethical behavior. In 1994 three officers from New Orleans police department committed an unspeakable crime murder for hire and a violent drug gang. The killing of Kim grove was thirty-two years old and was gunned down by police officer that were there to protect her instead they killed her.

Growing up our parent always told us that police officers were the good guys, and the people that committed crimes were the bad guys. There was a time in our lives that we believed that this was true, police are good, and criminals are bad, simple as that. Police officers played a prominent role in our lives growing up, some were looked at as role models, guidance counselors, but most of all they were our friends. However, at what point did that connection dissipate between police officers and the community? This disconnection was most prominently exemplified in the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), where officer corruption, murder, and lawlessness was ramped within the department. Corruption had become a culture, a way of life for some officers in New Orleans, where supervisors dismissed allegations. Could the use of Rotten Apple mechanism help reduce the corruption in the NOPD? Comparatively, could the application of the Rotten Barrel models provide protection from police misconduct during an investigation?

Corruption within the New York Police Department is a quickly growing phenomenon; to an extent, this is largely due to the cop culture that encourages silence and draws the line at honesty. The good, honest officers are afraid to speak up against co-workers and in the process become corrupt themselves. When police departments were first established in the mid-nineteenth century, corruption quickly followed suit. It began with minor acts of misconduct and today deals with serious criminal activities. Scholars have noted that there is a strong correlation between the officers taking part in corrupt acts and officers wanting to fit in with the culture. In this paper, I argue that the deeper an officer in the New York police department gets into the police culture, the more likely it is that they become involved in narcotic corruption

In order for a Police agency to prevent and deter Police misconduct, there must be a definition to what actions and behaviors that the term will encompass. The term ‘police corruption’ has been used to describe many activities: bribery; violence and brutality; fabrication and destruction of evidence; racism; favoritism or nepotism. Many different scholars differ in their own examples of the definition. Before attempting to the question of whether a precise definition is possible, it is worth examining the range of activities that might be included within a broad discussion of corruption. In (Bayley and Perito, 2011), it is defined as police corruption is a contested phrase with narrow and broad meanings. Narrowly

Police in America began as the night watch system that protected cities from crime, fire, and disorder. Of course early policing was influenced by the British, and so was American Law which derived from English common law. This would also form a correlation to American policing policies that diverged from the English’s Magna Carta and as well the French. The French established a centralized government that entailed men to take an oath of loyalty. The police in America started as night watch groups, then employment changed to police officers being political appointed which was very corrupted, but throughout the years things changed again to serve the public. Instead of a political selected police force that earns it’s pay through bribes and

In 1994 a report by the Mollen commission on police corruption in New York exposed disproportionate corruption within the department. Violent crime, including gang type activity, cops in uniform routinely storming drug locations and stealing narcotics, money weapons and whatever they felt like taking. On duty police officers riding alongside drug dealers, providing protection while the dealers carried big amounts of drugs and cash. The commission also found cops who became drug dealers themselves starting up their own drug dealing networks and delivery centers. (Neighborhood Explanations) Although most officers are honest and hard-working, the Mollen report exposed serious, violent activity by some in the department.

The criminal justice system is made up of many fundamentals. Officers need to go through a variety of procedures in the hiring process, and once completed they need to go through a training academy. Many U.S. citizens have witnessed a broken criminal justice system throughout the years. Citizens observe officers causing a huge attempt of corruption. Corruption is occurring worldwide and is making our law enforcement system look unprofessional. Our criminal justice system is not all fully corrupted; only certain individuals are. Police get engaged with certain individuals and get brained wash with the mentality of doing the wrong choices and not getting caught because they know how the system works. The majority of law enforcement officers are competent, honest, professional, but there are some that use their license to steal and/or kill. Some police officers are involved with drug trafficking, involving innocent people with crimes, and causing harm to our society.