New Jersey Drug Task Force Officers

Police departments undergo an immense amount of scrutiny. Many members of society question their motives, if they are performing their jobs adequately, and if they are using police discretion appropriately. Over the years there have been many cases that have involved members of law enforcement or the entire police department, that have placed law enforcement in a negative light. This negative light is attention that neither society nor the police departments will benefit from. One major case that has been in the media is the case of Kelly Thomas. Kelly Thomas was beaten and eventually died from injuries he had sustained from local law enforcement. This case is a major case because it brings awareness to society about police overstepping their boundaries, the lack of training police officers receive with dealing with the mentally ill, and how the mentally ill are treated in the criminal justice system.

In 2009, news broke that five Camden New Jersey Drug Task Force police officers operating in South Camden, NJ were indicted on police corruption. Specifically, the officers were alleged to have stolen money and drugs from dealers and used the funds and drugs to pay informants and plant evidence to stiffen charges against suspects. Moreover, these officers falsified police reports, paid for false witness testimony and used some of the stolen cash for personal use. South Camden, NJ has been struggling with crime for years. Consequently, hardworking citizens and police officers entangled in the community have failed to rid the drug problem that has evolved and produced other no drug related crime. Community policing has been in effect for several years in this rundown city and police continue to struggle with disappointment. Of the five officers indicted three pled guilty, one was convicted and the last was acquitted of all charges (Newall, 2010).

In today’s society police forces all across the nation are undergoing extreme scrutiny due to numerous instances that have taken place. While the media seems to be focusing on the negative aspects of these instances and stirring even more controversy, I think that a pivotal part of the story isn’t being told. This part of the story comes from the officers’ perspective; the perspective of the people that are sworn to uphold the law and to protect the citizens in their community. This paper is designed to bring light to that side of the story, the side of the officer, the importance of their position, the dangers that they face on a daily basis to protect members of the community, and how as a public we can better understand and appreciate what police officers do for us each and every day.

Crime, deviance, and unethical conduct can found within almost every occupation and profession. Police ethics is the conduct that everyone is most concerned with. Police officers enter into an occupation that shares many characteristics of other career fields, but it also has unique responsibilities that deal with conduct and behavior. The PBS documentary: The Central Park Five, demonstrates two of the most common misconduct issues that the criminal justice professionals deal with noble cause and noble cause corruption. The film investigates the miscarriage of justice of four Black and one Latino teenager from Harlem, who were wrongly convicted of the brutal beating and rape of a white woman in New York City's Central Park.

Law enforcement (police) subcultures have specific set of moral values and a certain mentality exhibited by those in law enforcement. It’s always the public against the police so they form an alliance for supportive reasons. However, people may believe police subculture is breaking down. Police subculture is breaking down because it is inconsistent with the formal morals and values related to the culture and that police are not the same as each other in their qualities and attributes. Examining ethics and its relation to the police subculture is important to help delineate not only the grey area of ethics but also the grey area within which the police operate (McCartney and Parent, 2015). For example, police officers are known to defend their own whether its something right or wrong. However, if another officer feels that the situation interferes with their morals, then it becomes inconsistent with the other officer’s

After reading the article titled, “The Challenge of Policing in a Democratic Society: A Personal Journey Toward Understanding” by Officer Charles H. Ramsey, I was able to relate with his view points and argument. In this article Ramsey, who was a sergeant for the Chicago Police Department discussed the core of ethics. His main example was the Holocaust in Europe during the 1930’s and 1940’s. Ramsey stated police officers worked together with the Nazi soldiers during this time and in return were not protecting their citizens. Similarly, when the police made no intervention to the killings and hangings of blacks in the south of the United States during the Civil War era.

The use of violence by police officers is a widespread concern. Violence swept across the City of Los Angeles after 'not guilty' verdicts were handed down for officers charged with beating Rodney King (Ramos, 1992). While allegations of racially-motivated police brutality are common in this city, the riots were triggered by a video actually showing the officers mercilessly beating the victim. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, five New Orleans police officers were charged with shooting unarmed civilians (Roberston, 2012). Although other New Orleans police officers were involved in the shooting and the subsequent cover-up, federal prosecutors were finally able to get convictions because they negotiated plea deals with the other officers. A common thread that runs through both events is the influence of police culture, both in terms of a code of silence and the sanctioning of violence to maintain authority (reviewed by Conti, 2009).

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

After the civil war, local politicians rewarded their supporters with jobs as police officers. The officer were not trained and there was not a standard to become an officer. The are were event when entire departments were involved in misconduct and corruption. There was not much hope in this era because there was a lack of supervision that allowed officers to behave the way that they pleased. (Walker, Samuel, and Richards, M. 1996)

Today’s justice professionals are in the public eye more than ever. There are a multitude of devices out there that allow civilians to capture every move a street officer makes. It is more crucial now than ever that these officers arm themselves with the knowledge of ethics along with the items on their utility belt. The wrong choice in any decision a justice professional makes will have the public ready and willing to lash out. These difficult ethical decisions are all part of the job that they have taken. Taking the time to learn about what is right and wrong is essential to their positions in society.

In the United States of America police misconduct has caused much controversy, raising the question that is; are our authoritative bodies justified in their actions of brutality and discrimination. The police are employed on to our streets to serve and protect, but what if they aren’t doing either. There is an abundance of evidence that weighs in on the side of the people who believe these officers are just in their actions, and those who do not. Although there is good that the police contribute to this country, the honor and help that some contribute does not outweigh the brutality and corruption other officers’ dish out. There is an aggressive and destructive force that many police officers use to arrest and detain complying citizens,

In policing, officers are given the role to serve and protect citizens, and carry out justice. In addition, are expected by society to protect lives and property. When a police officer fails to comply with these general principles, he or she is considered deviant. Corruption and misconduct have been present in society since the beginning of policing. An infamous case in American policing history is the Michael Dowd case, where a former NYPD officer was convicted for engaging in numerous criminal activities. When analyzing the film The Seven Five, several aspects in the case can be applied to concepts found in the Introduction to Policing book, including, police culture, personality, minorities in policing, ethics, and patrol operations.

“Ethical issues regarding corruption and off-duty behavior have become an increasing challenge in criminal justice” (Writing, 1999-2013). Within the criminal justice system, ethics can be complicated by the moral implications of actions. Differences in cultures and different circumstances can affect the individual moral compass. However, all departments of criminal justice operate by a certain code of ethics and by certain standards. But those standards and ethics often become challenged due to issues relating to police brutality, off duty conduct and corruption that we hear about all of the time through the media.

Policing is a very difficult, complex and dynamic field of endeavor that is always evolves as hard lessons teach us what we need to know about what works and what don’t work. There are three different Era’s in America’s policing: The Political Era, The Reform Era, and The Community Problem Solving Era. A lot has changed in the way that policing works over the years in the United States.

Some argue that corrupt police officers are simply the product of a corrupt culture of the agency they work for. These officers are socially introduced to a number of informal rules when they begin employment. This process and these rules serve two main purposes. First, this process is designed to minimize the chances of external or internal controls being mobilized to address the behaviors and, secondly, to keep corrupt activities at a level that is acceptable and likely undetectable. The rule most often referred to in this connection, is the “Code of Silence.” Officers are socialized into not cooperating with investigations regarding fellow officers. Whether or not the officer participates in corrupt activities for financial gain, an officer’s adherence to the “Code of Silence” places them squarely amongst the corrupt of the profession (Price, 1972).