Occupational Deviance In Police Corruption

In Joycelyn M. Pollock’s Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice, she quotes that police corruption is “acting on opportunities created by virtue of one 's authority, for personal gain at the expense of the public one is authorized to serve" (Cohen, 1986). Some examples of corruption that Barker (1994) have listed are: corruption of authority (gratuities), kickbacks, opportunistic theft, shakedowns, protection of illegal activities, fixes (quashing tickets), direct criminal activities, and internal payoffs. Fyfe and Kane (2006) argue the case that in some situations when police officers commit crime, it can’t be called corruption if the criminal act is being committed off duty. They are just criminals who happen to be cops and being a cop has no

Police officers may or may not actively support noble-cause corruption. Sometimes when officers become aware of corrupt or illegal forms of misconduct, they are inclined to “turn a blind eye or look the other way.” It puts their fellow officers in a very difficult position, most officers tend to think that if they turn away and ignore it and do not acknowledge what is going on that they are not part of the misconduct or illegal activity. Most

Many officers use alcohol and drugs while on duty. Although this commonly occurs in undercover agents, it can happen with even your regular patrol officers. This type of misconduct occurs because there is typically a lack of supervision, a massive availability of contraband, and an exposure to the criminal element. Graft on the other hand, is when the officer exploits their role by accepting bribes or money protection (Pollock, 2012). Such conduct occurs when officers use their uniformed authority to create a personal supply of money (Lyman 2005). Sexual misconduct occurs when officers use their authority as a way to receive sexual acts from citizens of society. This happens mainly with male officers towards female citizens. This type of misconduct also occurs within the department, mainly through sexual harassment of female officers. The final component of corruption and misconduct is that of criminal cops. These officers have basically switched to criminal activity in their day to day tasks (Pollock, 2012).

Police corruption contributes to the misuse of police powers because it involves the use of favoritism, bribery, shakedown, and perjury. Police corruption can be caused from discretion, low managerial visibility, low public visibility, and politics. Police officers are given a wide range of discretion on how to handle situations and that often leads to the abuse of power. Also, managers are not always watching over the officer’s shoulder to ensure that the right thing is being done, and the public does not often see the actions of the police. Which means they can get away with a lot of wrongful actions. Politics can create corruption in policing because politics can affect hiring standards, promotions, discipline, and adequate budget. There have been instances where a political leader would tell management who they want to be promoted. That is wrong because promotions should be dependent on your work ability, not because of political influence. There is also external corruption that will convince the officer to engage in payoffs and gratuities. For example: drug dealers would give police officers a percentage of their profit so that they can continue to sell and not go to jail. (Locke, 1996)

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 corruption can also be explained by the lack of protection and security police feel they have. They also feel like they are being disrespected by individuals in society, which is why they rely on the subculture for protection and support (Skolnick, 1966). The police subculture has created a lot of secrecy within the organization, which contributes to police misconduct. Police officers will often ignore another police officer’s corrupt actions in order to maintain a good reputation within the subculture (Tator & Henry, 2006). For example, 84% of police officers have directly witnessed another officer using more force than necessary out on the streets (US Department of Justice, 2017). However, instead of reporting the acts of others, 52%

According to the textbook, Neal Trautman’s corruption continuum helps clarify the unscrupulous activities of cops. The corruption continuum includes four levels on how organizations can become corrupt. The principal level is as per the following: usage of approaches that guarantee that officers know the moral decides that they need to take after. On the off chance that the manager neglects to do this, then officers will trust that they can be degenerate and no will make a move to fix it. The following level is the procedure that includes police chiefs not doing anything when they know of exploitative acts are being dedicated by officers or when they attempt to cover for those officers who take part in defilement. The third level includes officers

The Miami River Cops scandal was an unfortunate blemish on the Miami Police Department’s reputation. Many factors contributed to the 100 plus police officers involvement, three of the most significant being; corrupt leadership, personal greed, and victimless crimes. The Miami Police Department responded tenaciously to the corruption by establishing measures with the aim of preventing such rampant corruption in the future. As shocking as the Miami River Cops corruption scandal may seem, it is certainly not the only case of police corruption to happen within the United States. Another equally shocking case of police corruption occurred in Cleveland, Ohio when 44 officers from five law enforcement agencies were charged with corruption stemming from narcotics.

Police corruption has been around for a long time. It started around the 1900s. I feel it still exists today in some of the big cities and in other countries. I have noticed in the news, that a lot of police brutality and taking bribes from businesses is given for looking the other way. Racial profiling is a longstanding and deeply troubling national problem despite claims that the United States has entered a “post-racial era.” I think money and racism are the big motivations that cause corruption, as well as some police feel they are above the law.

From my own personal perspective, I must agree that this phenomenon is real. Police discretion is one of the biggest aspects of the career discussed with those joining the force. The possibility of police corruption is far greater in the field work as opposed to areas where they do more office work or investigation. As discussed by Rich Martin, a New Jersey police officer and criminal justice professor at West Chester University, police corruption can start at low levels such as accepting coffee from convenience stores, subconsciously providing more police presence in return (Martin 2011). An article on police corruption and misconduct, mentions three areas in which police corruption fall: procedural, criminal, and unconstitutional (civil rights violations) (Blanks 2015). Procedural are actions that solely violate regulations

From the first police station built in Boston to what is today's modern police force there has always been corruption inside the criminal justice system, whether it be something as little as a small bribe to look the other way, or something more serious like getting away with a major offense. The department of justice has had trouble from top to bottom with corruption and it has proven to be a difficult problem to fix. When policing in the U. S. were just starting out corruption and law bending was more prevalent but harder to see which Police officers who were following the rules and who was bending the law in their own favor to gain an advantage for themselves rather than looking out for the community as a whole. This is because when policing first started out there were limited officers, which meant less word of mouth and less people to respond to and

Police corruption is one of the ethical issues affecting law enforcement officers. Corruption is defined as “impairment of integrity, virtue or moral principle; inducement to do wrong by improper or unlawful means” (Merriam Webster Online, 2009). While the most recognizable form of corruption involves officers taking money for favors (bribery), the actions that are considered corruption include filing false police reports, harassment of any person due to sex, race, creed, religion, national origin or sexual orientation, and failure to protect the rights of citizens. Corruption exists in all levels of law enforcement.

Guided by the 4th Amendment of the Constitution and court decisions, cops must make difficult determinations about whether they are violating the rules on stops, frisks, searches and arrests. When police knowingly violate the rules of engagement, they are commonly known to have acted corruptly. Police corruption comes in the forms of nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance. Malfeasance is a clear illegal act by the officer, such as the instances in the Rampart Scandal to be later discussed. Non- feasance occurs when an officer neglects to perform a legal duty which is the most common form of corruption. Misfeasance is the same as nonfeasance adding the element of performing the legal duty correctly. Explanations for corruption range from individual officers (bad apples), departmental issues, and external issues. Increasing police professionalism has a correlation with decreasing police corruption. For this reason each department strives to limit corruption (Eastep, 2013).

Police corruption has become an international problem. This was initially a common practice during the period when the police institutions were being developed but the effect has been felt by many people, even affecting peacekeeping operations. The police abuse and corruption has become endemic in the U.S making many citizens seek help from other organization. An example of such a case was experienced in the police training program in Afghanistan were the civilians were brutally abused forcing

The cases that are mostly seen worldwide with police corruption are due to drugs and drug trafficking. Police officers get involved with the “easy money” and believe the theory of “I will not get caught”; it is miserable and emotional to see the United States law enforcement get caught up in these cases. “In 2012, two corrupt cops joined forces with drug dealers and are now facing jail time; they put dozens of criminal cases in jeopardy. Officers Diaz and Patrick Mara admitted to ripping off drug dealers of their methamphetamine during traffic stops. This was the beginning to police corruption in Kern County.”(Richard Winton) The two police officers were corrupt since a while back. “They both pleaded guilty to their charge and got punished for it. Officer Diaz would not fully report the drugs they would find and instead would keep more than half. Officer Mara was caught selling methamphetamine to other individuals.” (Diaz and Mara admitted) Other cases they were involved in are now put under jeopardy and could possibly be missed charged. Cops should not allow such horrific thing to occur. If they know about a corrupt cop they should immediately report it. People and younger