Life Of Corruption Of Law Enforcement

Gratuity Something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service. (Dictionary, 2010) When does a cup of coffee become a gratuity for a police officer? What is acceptable and what is not acceptable? If a police officer takes a free cup of coffee or a half priced meal does that make him vulnerable to take more. Does that act make the officer a bad officer or a corrupt officer? Does the person giving the gratuity expect something in return or is it just a gesture for the work the officer is doing?

During the first scenario involving Lieutenant Fuentes, his meteoric rise to the top of his law enforcement agency was described. During his rise to the top, Lieutenant Fuentes made several critical mistakes that ultimately led to his demise. He was able to reach the level of major within a few short years and had a wonderful family. Shortly after his wedding, Lieutenant Fuentes was involved in a serious car crash that resulted in him becoming addicted to pain medications. Upon his return to work, he began engaging in extramarital affairs that eventually led to the demise of his relationship and subsequently he and his wife were divorced.

Corruption has always been a danger to law enforcement, just as it has been a danger to all of mankind since the beginning of time. Since the very first police agency was formed in the 1800s, corruption has been widespread. The 19th century was an era in which politics played a very large role in police forces. Various political parties essentially had some police departments in their pockets, and as long as officers served to further those political parties’ agendas, the officers’ continued employment was guaranteed. Since politicians have not always been known for being straight-laced, one can easily see how corruption within police departments became prevalent. Since officers were not serving the people, but rather the political elite, their motives were constantly in question. It was not long before politicians began employing police officers to overlook and even protect their illicit activities. Through this practice, officers began to see the potential monetary and political benefits of allowing and participating in certain illegal actions. Even after the establishment of countermeasures such as police commissions, civil service exams, and legislative changes, corruption remained rampant. This corruption was perhaps best exemplified by none other than the actions of many officers within the Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Not only does corruption occur in society, but however, it occurs at every stage of the criminal justice chain. It can be emphasized that the rule of law has essentially vanished astonishingly. The former Attorney General himself, Eric Holder, felt compelled to emphasize “As a prosecutor, a judge, an attorney in private practice, and now, as our nation’s attorney general, I’ve seen the criminal justice system firsthand, from nearly every angle. While I have the utmost faith in — and dedication to — America’s legal system, we must face the reality that, as it stands, our system is in too many respects broken.” at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association's House of Delegates. However, how is America supposed to function with a corrupted justice system? A corrupted justice system not only violates the basic rights to equality before the law, but denies procedural rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. The justice system in America vigorously demotes justice, instead of promoting actual justice by allowing American Prosecutors within court to exercise the practice of handing out punishments and not justice. The American Justice system is corrupted because threats necessitate plea bargains, unequal incarceration rights are enforced, winning tends to trump justice, for-profit prisons are active, and public defense tends to be worthless.

Veronica and I decided that one of the best criminal justice issues to research would have to be police corruption because everyone has experienced some form of police corruption in their lives. Even if they do not know it, due to the fact that they do not have the education level to understand what police corruption is. From a legal perspective police corruption has to do with the violation of law by police officers. According to some articles it claims that police corruption has to do with deviant, improper, dishonest, unethical or criminal behavior by the police officer. The research question has to do with police corruption and where it comes from, by the standing point of the community. We feel that this issue is important because, without

Police corruption has been an issue that has left a lasting blemish on communities and society. Police corruption usually derives a lack of respect officer(s) feel that either the city does not care about them or they are not paid enough for their duties. Throughout this essay I will give you a better understanding on the issue that is police corruption by using terminology from the book such as the “rotten apple theory”, “blue wall of silence” and “deviant subculture”. With corruption this affects the view we have on police and it is up to us not fall into the trap of negativity and create a better society for the future.

For years, we have considered any discussions of police misconduct as taboo. After all, these are the men and woman in which we, as citizens, give the responsibility of keeping us out of harms way. We all know it is present within law enforcement in some shape or form, but we ignore its relevance in the way our criminal justice system works. Assumptions of police misconduct and corruption have long been suppressed and silenced through false litigation and system betrayal. The silencing or ignorance of police misconduct acts a strengthening mechanism which those, who engage in this type of behaviour, use as a motivational tool. It is becoming a popular belief that

Alexandra, I enjoyed reading about your take on this discussion question and how you added to it. I agree with you that many of the struggles African Americans face within our nation are due to the corruption of our societal system, and the difficulty they are faced with when trying to better themselves. As a white male who has grown up as a middle class citizen, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for me to be able to identify on a personal level with some of these issues. For instance, growing up, I had always been under the impression that police officers, and our criminal justice system as a whole, were only there to protect us. I couldn't possibly understand the ideas of corruption and hatred that could be perpetuated by a system

Justice System. It is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. Our Justice System is not effectively punishing and rehabilitating criminals to the right punishment of their crimes. Our justice system have three parts to it; which are police, courts, and corrections. Ethics are the foundation of the criminal justice system: It’s what helped us develop the moral reasoning we use, how we define criminal activity, and what we as a society deem as acceptable punishment. It’s an important because our criminal justice system is most effective when it’s operating in an ethical

This may appear at first glance to be a matter of such a fundamental nature as not to deserve specific mention in an agency policy. Certainly, police officers are as subject to the law as any other person. But reality dictates and history has shown that some officers, whether through misguided zeal or for other reasons, may come to view themselves and their police colleagues as exempt from the law on a general, selective, or situational basis. This element of the policy is intended to stress the importance of the rule of law for all officers and to hold each officer accountable for any legal wrongdoing. (para. 4)

In Edwin J. Deltarres' book Character and Cops he explores three hypotheses for police corruption in the United States. Some are somewhat historical, but they are still relevant to the problem of corruption today. The first hypothesis is called "the society at-large" theory by former Chicago Police Superintendent O. W. Wilson. Wilson was superintendent of the Chicago Police Department during the early nineteen sixties. The second hypothesis is called the "structural" theory. The third is called "the rotten apple theory." I will provide a brief analysis of the three hypotheses in this essay and examine which one(s) is valid today.

Chapter 6 talks about corruption and integrity of law enforcers. Corruption is basically an officer using his/her position to obtain or do something illegal. As mentioned by General David A. O’Neil “officers use their badges and guns not to uphold the law, but to break it”. There are many instances in which officers could take advantage or their position to make others do something against their will or to obtain information or things by stealing them or claiming they have the power to take simply because they are cops. In the chapter we have an example of a group of Puerto Rican officers who were caught implicated in illegal and corrupt activities. They were using their authority to do things such as “robbery, extortion, manipulating court records, and selling illegal narcotics” (Schmalleger 2017,

Would the officer getting the free steak dinner do the right thing and arrest the owner? Probably not, because he feels obligated to look the other way due to him taking the free dinner once a week. According to text “Lawrence W. Sherman of the Crime Control Institute offered a hypothetical moral decline, beginning with the accept- ance of minor perks, such as the free cup of coffee, which leads to compla- cency about accepting a free drink after hours from a bartender, to bribes for traffic violations, then to money from gamblers and prostitutes, and finally to graft from narcotics” (Delattre, 2011). Police corruption is a particular practice of police misconduct intended to gain financial benefits, other private gain, or career progress. One form of police corruption is begging for or accommodating bribes in exchange for not broadcasting drug and prostitution rings or other unlawful actions. One other instance is police officers disobeying the laws code of conduct in order to protect the

It is obvious that police officers are using their jobs as law enforcers to obtain illegal items and are shamefully betraying their police departments. The policemen who were involved in this drug smuggle were veterans. When people think of veterans, whether it be a veteran of war or a veteran of a police department, we think of someone who has devoted many years, served and been loyal to the service. People have admiration for veterans and recognize them for being committed to the service as well as being faithful to every year they have been involved in it. Now the four veteran police officers from Chicago will be spending time in prison instead of adding more years to the service of policing. Those years that the veteran police officers were dedicated to the policing is now history, they could have helped lower crime rates in Chicago, but instead they are facing prison time.

that they should not have to deal with is when a situation comes up with one of their