Police Corruption Research Paper

Police corruption has been around since the creation of law enforcement because “the very nature of the police function is bound to subject officers to tempting offers” (Dempsey & Forst, 2016, p. 234). Police officers have an enormous amount of autonomy and discretion when it comes to enforcing the laws and how they interact with the general public. The “rotten apple” reason is probably the most widely publicized and given as the reason for police corruption within a department because every department has had one. It seems to be an easy explanation to the community in order to mitigate scrutiny and deflect blame on one or so dirty cops. Social structure also plays a part in police corruption across the United States. The social structure of a certain culture may conflict with how the laws are enforced and therefore otherwise illegal activity is

Another reason for police corruption is neighborhoods with social disorganization because they “have higher levels of poverty, lower levels of social control, and higher levels of corruption” (Dempsey & Forst, 2016, p. 233). The nature of police work is another reason for police corruption because over time an officer can become skeptical of the system and lead them to believe that everyone else is being corrupt, so why not them as well. A police organization that is corrupt from its leadership on down will overlook the wrongdoing of their officers. To me, this is the worst form of police corruption because the citizens of that community cannot trust their department and are less safe in their community. Another reason for police corruption and is something that happens quite often is the lying or cover-up for another officer so that he or she does not get into trouble (Dempsey &