Researc Research Methodology

A considerable number of research has been conducted over the past 40 years to understand police culture. A variety of terms have been used in reference to it including: ‘cop culture’ (Reiner, 2010:118), the ‘working personality’ of the police (Skolnick, 1966, 2010:15), the ‘police mind’ (Fielding & Fielding, 1991) and, ‘police sub-culture’ (Waddington, 1999). Research has shown that police culture influences officer’s attitudes, behaviors’ and work ethics (Scaramella et al., 2011); and the way officers perceive society and their role within it (Reiner, 2000). Schein (2004: 17) defines police culture as ‘A pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and,

Throughout history, police corruption has become a major problem in the United States. It is defined as a form of police misconduct that involves the act of either a single officer, or a group of officers who abuse their powers to achieve personal or departmental gains. From as early as the nineteenth century, corruption has not only affected law enforcement agencies, but also our continuously changing society. Even though police officers are predominantly seen as honest and professional, the few who are dishonest and corrupt tend to devalue the profession as a whole.

Every culture is composed of four elements: “values, norms, beliefs, and expressive symbols” (Peterson, 1979, p. 137). Each police officer is influenced by the police organizational culture during training. After graduation fro the police academy, the officer is influenced by the more experienced officers of the department. Research conducted by several authors has found that peer influence never ceases even after years of experience in the field.

Having recognized the theoretical framework in relation to the research purpose, the following procedure is to identify, analyze and evaluate research techniques required for data collection. In order to meet the objectives set out by this study, one must ensure that the appropriate research methods have been adopted. This chapter critically analyses the available research methods; while providing justification for the approach used in this research. The research methodology of this study will be built around Saunders et al. (2007) framework; the ‘Onion Model’ (Figure 1), which shows highlights a number of philosophical approaches.

Corruption in law enforcement has been active since the beginning of this occupation. Certain characteristics of policing have changed throughout its years, but corruption is not one of them. In actuality, this phenomenon has increased significantly throughout its years. We are seeing more and more officers being arrested now. These arrests do not include the hundreds of officers that have not been caught. Police corruption can generally be defined as using one’s authority and power as a police to gain and benefit illicitly (Wilson et. al, 1977). Some officers become corrupted as early as the academy or as late as years into their career. Many are not even aware that the acts they are involved in are forms of corruption. Some acts may

Law enforcement officials are in a position of authority and power that allows them a great amount of discretion. With this power there is a need for the individual to uphold the high ethical standards and accountability to the local community that the individual has sworn to serve and protect. When an officer does not follow the ethical standards that are placed upon him or her, the reputation of the department and profession is placed in jeopardy. Having on officer to breach the ethical standards presented with the position can have a negative impact on the communities’ opinion of all officers. It is important that individuals in upper management consistently maintain an environment that consist of integrity and maintain the trust of the

The police officer stands at the top of the criminal justice system in a nation where crime rates are high and where the demands for illegal goods and services are widespread. These conditions create a situation in which the police officer is confronted with opportunity to accept a large number of favors or grants. Police corruption occurs in many forms and observers of police behavior agree that it falls into nine specific areas. Drug related police corruption differs from other types of police corruption. In addition to protecting criminals or ignoring their activities, officers involved in drug related corruption were more likely to be involved in stealing drugs and/or money from drug dealers,

Law enforcement in its entirety has responsibilities to uphold. They have the legal, ethical, and moral obligation to conduct themselves accordingly every day, whether it be on or off duty. Understanding what contributes to law enforcement officers to commit unethical acts is quit difficult. It falls along the lines of understand why serial killer commit their heinous acts of murder. Using the case study of the Kansas City Police Department SCORE unit we will describe the unethical behaviors that took place, what contributed to the unethical behavior, and the leadership role throughout the Kansas City Police Department SCORE. The Department having lost all credibility of being well organized and ethical.

In their study, Klockars, Lvkovich, Harver, and Haberfeld (2000) attempt to gauge police officer integrity through a survey. Officers were given 11 hypothetical case scenarios and asked to answer 6 questions related to each. Two questions asked about the seriousness of the case (own view and those of others), two asked about how severely the offender should be disciplined (own view and those of others), and the final two asked about willingness of officers to report the incident (own view and those of others). The authors hoped that these questions would adequately measure police integrity in terms of officer corruption.

According to the National Institute of Justice “one of the substantial threat to public trust and confidence in the police continues to be police integrity.” To study integrity grows out of the strong desire to decrease malfeasance in all its forms among law enforcement personnel. It is believed that most corruption goes undetected. There is still far too little known about how to preclude police corruption in the first place. One place to undertake an examination of police3 integrity is to look

In the criminal justice system, the leadership in a law enforcement agency must demonstrate a high amount of ethical candor towards their officers (“Ethics and the Future, n.d. para 1). Often times, law enforcement agency leaders such as supervisors and police chiefs face numerous ethical issues while performing their duties. Because of these ethical issues, the leaders in the law enforcement agency must make sure to be careful on how they handle the ethical issues since the outcomes can not only impact the public’s view on the specific leader in question, but it can also impact the credibility of their entire police department as well.

Due to the rise of controversial police shootings, the issue of “police fairness” has been brought into focus, stressing the importance of a just relationship between law enforcement and the public. Three indicators of organizational climate were observed: the supervisors, which assessed the officer’s perception of their immediate supervisors, the officers, which recorded inter-personal relationships, and the department polices, which examined whether departmental policies were applied in a fair manner. Three psychological mechanisms were recorded: legitimacy, which measured the degree of which the officers perceived their institutions to be legitimate, cynicism, which assessed the officers’ cynical beliefs and apathy, and distress, which measured

A single bullet being fired can start a riot, spike racial tension, or even as extreme as ending a career. Police corruption is an abuse of authority by an officer for personal gain. This would mean accepting bribes, extortion, or any other illegal activity that involves profit. This term could also refer to patterns of misconduct throughout the department where there are repeat offenses that officers have failed to correct. Every police department is to establish a code of conduct for their employees, new hires, undercover detectives, or any other officer within the department. When hiring new candidates, many agencies avoid hiring those who have low ethical standards and have identified them as not being ones to embrace the department 's integrity. There has been research done on new methods for the hiring process for their psychological tendency to act ethically (Martin, 2011). People are hired as police officers to serve and protect their country or as simple as their community. Police officers should not be participating in illegal criminal activity and still consider themselves officers of the law.

The problem statement for this research project I have is students may not be receiving leadership training in early childhood education program that could be beneficial to them in their development as leaders. The students at a very young age need to be exposed to leadership knowledge and a chance for the students to play apart in a leadership role inside the classroom.

Police departments become corrupt when leaders condone unethical behavior. The Standard Operating Procedures are words on paper if officers are not properly trained on and is leadership enforced. The act of “breaking ranks” and the “blue wall of silence” are realistic ethical issues that affect police departments. It is the responsibility of leaders to properly protect, control and enact changes.