The purpose of this paper is to explore the topic of police sexual misconduct, as well as who it happens to, and different theories on how to stop it. The various forms of sexual misconduct that will be reviewed are sexual assault, sexual shakedowns, sex with juveniles, rape, unnecessary callbacks, and performing traffic stops in order to flirt. Statistical evidence discovered by Cottler will show that sexual misconduct is commonplace on some police forces, and will shed light on the characteristics of most of the victims. Specific cases, such as the federal lawsuit against police officer Erasmo Mata, as well as a case against police officer Daniel Holtzclaw, will be discussed. The names of the victims in each of the examples will be abbreviated in order to remain anonymous. The case against Police Officer Erasmo Mata for sexually abusing a minor will show the extent to which some officers, and even departments, will go to hide or ignore a case of police sexual misconduct. Note: I attempted to find examples of sexual misconduct being perpetrated by a female officer, but could not uncover any results. All of the sources I found only discussed the misconduct of male officers.
Police Sexual Misconduct
Police sexual misconduct is a significant problem faced by police forces and citizens all over the world. Because sexual misconduct is often unreported, it is difficult to know just how many cases there have been, though studies show that they may be fairly
Since their has been policing entities, it is understood by most that law enforcement officers have been performing a public service that is not easy to carry out. To assist law enforcement officers in diffusing situations, apprehending alleged criminals, and protecting themselves and others, officers are legally entitled to use appropriate means, including force. In discussing police misconduct, this report acknowledges not only the legal grant of such authority,
Lack of training and policing standards are closely linked to the myriad problems bedeviling police work, especially in small departments (Brodeur, 2010). All over the country, police departments report cases of officers being caught in uncompromising and unprofessional situations, resulting in disciplinary actions such as redeployment, suspension or sacking. These cases of unprofessionalism have led to questions being asked about policing, occasioned by recurring series of questionable and controversial encounters with police officers (Brodeur, 2010). The consequence of such encounters is increasing public distrust in law enforcement agencies.
There is no question that police brutality, when it occurs, is one of the most egregious violations of public trust that a public servant can commit. Police officers, those individuals taxed with protecting the public from danger, should never be in a situation where they pose a threat to the public. Furthermore, there is no question that police brutality occurs. Moreover, generally when there are allegations of police brutality, there has been some type of underlying violent incident. In addition, while issues of brutality may seem clear-cut to a disinterested observer, it is critical to keep in mind that law enforcement officers are not presented with textbook examples of the appropriate or inappropriate use of force, but real-life scenarios involving quick decisions. There are many arrest and non-arrest scenarios where officers need to use force to protect self or others; and the degree of force required may be greater than what a disinterested observer would assume. Another recurrent issue in debates about police brutality is that racial bias appears to be a motive behind police brutality. When one considers that minorities are disproportionately likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes, one would expect to find a disproportionate number of minorities among those alleging police brutality. Therefore, while acknowledging that police brutality, when it occurs, is a serious problem, the reality is that most
In the mid to late 1900’s the code of silence was introduce to the police officers, The police officers live and work under a code of silence called the blue code of silence in the United States. The blue code
Policemen are supposed to “serve and protect.” Lately that motto has lost its significance and meaning. The public and the news media no longer respect the occupation. Policemen nowadays are accused of not doing their jobs properly and instead of serving their communities, outright ignore or harm ordinary civilians. Terms like “police brutality” have become rather popular and there appears to be no shortage of new articles scrutinizing the police. This paper will focus on the soured relation between Houstonians and the Houston Police Department (HPD). Of interest is the reasoning behind why a good chunk of Houston’s denizens despise HPD officers. Thus, this paper will take a closer look at some of the questionable actions committed by HPD’s
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
What is police misconduct? It can be defined as any action performed by a law enforcement officer that is unethical by established employment guidelines, unconstitutional, or a crime with in itself. When people hear the term “police misconduct” they automatically think of a police officer using unnecessary force against a civilian. While that is a form of police misconduct it is not only form. Throughout this paper I will bring light to the many types of police misconduct that can happen in the law enforcement industry.
Each year, the FBI provides research on law enforcement officers that have been killed or assaulted; many people know this as LEOKA. The goal of this data is to provide people with information through the UCR (uniform crime report) about law enforcement officers who have been feloniously and accidently killed, and also officers who have been assaulted in the line of duty. The uniform crime report presents this information through overviews and statistics about each of the victims, where they come from (the state they resided in), and also when and how they were killed. Throughout the years this has become an effective way to research and learn about this topic and understand why it is important to know about. Throughout this paper I am going to find patterns through different regions and states in the United States under all three of the topics LEOKA focuses on and find similarities and
“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.
Over the recent years, police have been one of the organizations to be associated with the largest cases of misconduct. Police brutality can be termed as the process of misuse and abuse of authority by the police. The rising cases of police brutality are causing more harm to the public, compared to the actions perpetrated by real criminals. Although police claim that it’s sometimes necessary to curb crime, the process is illegal and police officers should be charged just like any other criminal offender. It should be the responsibility of the justice system to establish effective strategies to deal with the rising illegal activities in order to restore public trust in the law
Throughout history, efforts to police society have been flawed by brutality in one way or another. Police Brutality exists in many countries and is only one of several forms of police misconduct. Abuse by law enforcement officers in the United States is one of the most serious human rights violations in the country. Police officers have engaged in unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment. The history of police brutality is cyclical, going through phases of violence, corruption, and reform.
Like employment discrimination, sexual discrimination is something both male and female officers’ face in the workforce, internally and externally. However, it is the female officer that is the more common victim to this rather than their male counterpart. An example of internal sexual discrimination would be a male officer telling there counterpart that “women have no right being in part of an organization that strongly relies on men to get the job done.” This may also be known as a form of sexual harassment toward a co-worker which is unacceptable in any job. An example of external sexual discrimination would be when a female officer arrives to the scene of a crime and the victim refuses to cooperate with them because of the fact that they were expecting assistance from someone of more masculinity, like a male officer. Ethically, if any of these scenarios were to happen to either gender of law enforcement, the best thing to do once more is set aside all emotions for the time being.
Police executives have always had different issues within the police department. Most police executives try to find a quick fix in order to solve the issue of police misconduct. Police misconduct is defined as inappropriate action taken by police officers in relation with their official duties (Police Misconduct Law & Legal Definition, n.d.). In order to solve this issue, one must acknowledge their different challenges, overcome the “code of silence”, and find out the role of organizational culture.
The film mentioned about the cases of five serving female officers and few male cases have been sexually assaulted. Although the department itself provided the figure, last year only
Within our police system in America, there are gaps and loopholes that give leeway to police officials who either abuse the authority given to them or do not represent the ethical standards that they are expected to live up to. Because of the nature of police work, there is a potential for deterioration of these ethical and moral standards through deviance, misconduct, corruption, and favoritism. Although these standards are set in place, many police are not held accountable for their actions and can easily get by with the mistreatment of others. While not every police abuses his or her power, the increasingly large percentage that do present a problem that must be recognized by the public as well as those in charge of police departments