How Does Corruption Affect Law Enforcement

All companies, organizations, agencies, and professions are plagued with corruption. It is extremely problematic. Corruption effects everyone involved, even the innocent. Nurses and other medical professionals have stolen narcotics from facilities or home health patient’s’ homes. Thus, causing individuals to be placed in harms way due to the medical staff getting/being high at work, or being forced to do without necessary medication. No one is safe from corruption, not even law enforcement.

First and foremost, police corruption has been an issue for law enforcement since its creation. Corruption occurs when a member of law enforcement acts unethically to benefit him/herself (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). Bribery and accepting gratuities are

the most common types of police corruption. Bribery is the acceptance of monetary and/or other gifts to “look the other way” and/or give false testimony (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). Whereas, gratuity is the acceptance of anything other than salary, such as free coffee (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). Moreover, racial profiling, sexual harassment, police brutality, theft, and fraud are also forms of police corruption.
Secondly, there are an array of reasons as to why law enforcement officers become corrupt. I believe the lack of supervision and loyalty aids in police corruption. Most often, police officers are in the field alone or with a partner. Therefore, an officer’s actions are unknown to others unless they are documented, or the individual’s partner alerts his/her superiors. Furthermore, loyalty to colleagues is a must in law enforcement, even if one must lie to protect the character and/or career of another officer.
Another component of corruption is the “officer shuffle”. This occurs when a police officer is accused of some form of misconduct, is permitted to resign from his/her current police department, then relocates to a different police department (Shockey-Eckles, 2011). Meaning, an officer can engage in unethical acts and continue policing. The new department has no way of knowing the activities of the police officer unless it is disclosed by his/her current department. Although, the “officer shuffle” is not a type of corruption, it aids corruption in its existence.
Lastly, police corruption is punishable by license revocation, among other punishments (Shockey-Eckles, 2011). However, this possible punishment does not stop police officers from acting unethically. An officer can have his/her license revoked in one state and renewed in another due to there not being a standard criterion for the revocation of police officer’s license (Shockey-Eckles, 2011). Unfortunately, medical professionals can also lose their license in one state and obtain them in another. I am unsure as to the reason this occurs in professions.
In conclusion, police corruption is not ceasing anytime soon. However, there have been a multitude of changes made in policing to combat this issue. Most of the changes and ideals have not been successful. Eventually, police corruption will be a thing of the past. Unfortunately, it will shatter many more lives and careers before doing so.