Police Misconduct And 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 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.

Police officers are generally well-respected in American society. They should be, since officers protect the public from drunk drivers, gunmen and other threats to the commonwealth. However, in light of uncovered events involving the misconduct of police officers, these events call into question the ability of police officers to successfully protect and serve the American people. However, in 2010, 6,613 law enforcement officers were reported for involvement in misconduct which varied from excessive force, sexual misconduct et cetera (Packman). Having 6,613 reported cases of police misconduct in America is ridiculous, especially since it is hard validating the claims against officers and it is difficult to punish officers because of this lack of evidence. While the purpose of police officers in society is to protect the commonwealth of the people, the amount of police misconduct in the United States of America involving excessive force and sexual misconduct is detrimental to the credibility of all police officers. This in turn causes rifts and distrust among the American people concerning officers. Police misconduct can be reduced in American society by requiring police officers to wear cameras while on duty, having a clear definition on what excessive force is and defining how much force is legal for an officer to utilize, and better training geared to improve overall conduct with citizens, especially mentally ill citizens.

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

Protection of illegal activity is when a drug dealer or someone running a brothel house will pay the officer off so they can keep there illegal business running and to protect them from other law enforcement. Opportunistic theft is yet another typical crooked act many police officers execute everyday. This is when police officers steal from arrestees, victims of crimes, or dead bodies. Furthermore, it is very rare to hear about police corruption. This is because most police departments want to keep known police corruption in-house since these acts are displaying a disservice to the community they are suppose to serve and protect. Additionally, the main aspect of police corruption that makes it difficult to solve and stop is the Blue Code of Silence. The code is an unwritten law or rule that pronounces if a police officer witnesses a fellow police officer preforming a corrupt act he will not report him and keep his mouth shut. Most police departments have an us-against the world mentality, which means if a officer reports another officer he is going against the whole departments. Whistleblowing or reporting misconduct is looked down upon and often times these police officers get suspended and mistreated from their colleagues. The forms of police corruption, relevance, and the Blue Code of Silence are major features that make police corruption into what it is today.

Corruption by uniformed police officers is a form of misconduct. This is done by an officer who is attempting to obtain something for his personal gain like money or a possible advancement in career. Misconduct of this type is done with the officer using his authority or power abusively. The term police corruption is typically stated when speaking or referring to the department administration doing something to gain a political edge or possibly a kind of gain financially. The everyday uniformed officer could be listed as corrupt by accepting money to not perform his duties properly. All officers who are stated to be corrupt have committed an action that is considered to be illegal. In 1971 the Knapp Commission investigated the serious crimes committed by New York City Police Officers they labeled the meat eaters. There was also the widespread problem of

Police these days have a bad reputation for police brutality. In the past few years, we have seen multiple police officers being fired or disciplined for unethical situations. In certain states and neighborhoods, police are the bad guys, because of how they treat the community in which they serve. This tension started to climax in 2014, as a police officer shot an African American male named Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri that was when people started seeing police officers in a whole new different light (Buchanan, 2014). While this was happening in Ferguson, the Newark police in New Jersey were being investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for unconstitutional practice. 75% of the people stopped don’t have a valid reason for being stopped. Over

Police corruption has been something which has been going on in the U.S for quite a long time. It’s been something we hear or see on the news since we were children and we are continuing to see it even our modern daily lives today. The most Common forms of police corruption we hear every day are theft of money and stolen drugs.

Aung San Suu Kyi wrote, “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” If it can be said that power inevitably corrupts, there is no reason to presume that police officers as individuals are any less fallible than other members of society. There is a natural human inclination for power that is maximized today by the materialistic society we live in that fuels greed and seduces those with authority into reaping the personal and financial benefits of evading the law. The art of corruption has existed in American society since the early days of policing to modern day. Corruption applied to a police force entails the robbing of drug dealers, redirecting of contraband into the personal accounts of officers, perjuring one’s self to protect a corrupt officer, falsifying police reports, planting drugs to frame citizens, and a host of other misconduct that violates the oath of protecting the people. By approaching the issue of police misconduct with a focus on reformation internally and externally, police departments can take innovative steps from there to first, ensure corruptive deeds cease to occur initially and second, by reducing and eliminating it once it exists.

Capitalism is defined as an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market. Capitalism is one of the main driving force of the United States of America.Through the idea of capitalism, businesses thrive every day as they go to work. They try to make as much as they as they can before work ends, and often times try to turn a profit in order to achieve goals and obtain more revenue. when i watched capitalism a love store it really open my eyes to a lot of things. it showed me how corrupt the american government system is. the first thing that

I do not believe our crime problems could be solved if one large police agency was used to enforce all criminal laws throughout the US. While there would be some advantages, such as uniformity of laws and the benefit of all employees operating under the same rules and regulations, this type of agency could also have its disadvantages. One such disadvantage to such agency would be the potential for corruption. Having one policing agency would reduce, or even eliminate the other agencies that are used to check and balance law enforcement. This could possibly cause widespread corruption throughout the police agency. In my opinion, we should not have this type of police agency. I believe this type of agency would harm more citizens than it would

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

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

Kara (2009) found numerous examples of law enforcement corruption and harassment during his ethnographic study of sex trafficking. For example, the police harass Silpa a sex slave turned Garhwali (brothel owner) by constantly demanding bribes of $1.50 per prostitute residing in the brothel, which equal $150 US dollars (Kara, 2009). Furthermore, Silpa claimed the police officers were the most corrupt in India and paying off the police was the biggest expense in running her business (Kara, 2009). Silpa noted, during the raids, prostitutes are arrested and brothel owners and customers are free to go (Kara, 2009).

Policing appears to be a profession that has a problem with corruption. The reasoning of this form of corruption is based on these factors, status problems, managerial visibility being low, and affiliation with lawbreakers. This may have been a problem ever since policing started, but it’s an issue that is gaining more attention and recognition now. Police misconduct has been a major factor in the development of the United States and worldwide. This is why past scandals of police corruption that has been unsolved lead us to our current challenges we have with the police system today. The question that lays down on society today is, how can we fix this issue of police corruption, and what started it in the first place?