Police Corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)
"Police corruption undermines the foundation of our city..." "Officers who use the shield of service as a sword to commit crimes jeopardize the safety of all of us, and they do dishonor to their colleagues and to the city they swore to protect." Alejandro N. Mayorkas, United States Attorney, Central District of California, (U.S. Department of Justice News Release, 2000).
Police corruption is not a new problem in society and there is not a standard way to deal with it. Police officers have enormous power and responsibility and are asked to make difficult decisions. There is not an exact guide to behavior for police officers so their discretion can lead to corruption (Monkkonen, 1999). The existence of police corruption in America has created a negative public view of law enforcement. Police corruption has deteriorated the relationship between law enforcement and the community. In the past four years, more than 500 officers in 47 cities have been convicted of various federal crimes. Local and state authorities in 32 other jurisdictions are either engaged in active investigations or prosecutions of dirty cops (Johnson,1998) .
FBI Director Louis J. Freeh has stated: "The insidious nature of police corruption inherently undermines the confidence of the American people in one of the basic tenets of democracy that law enforcement officers will honestly and fairly protect and serve the citizens to whom they answer. The selfish and deceitful acts of a few cannot be allowed to impugn the integrity of the law enforcement profession." (U.S. Department of Justice,1998).
The existence of police corruption in society raises many important questions. What causes police of...
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Los Angeles Police Department, "Board of Inquiry into the Rampart Area Corruption
Incident"01 March 2000; available from http://www.lapdonline.org/pdf_files/pc/boi_pub.pdf
U.S. Department of Justice, "Los Angeles Police Officer, Ex-Cop Indicted on Federal
Conspiracy Charges", news release, 05 April 2000; (photocopied).
Monkkonen, Erik, "Crossing the (Blue) Line The Problem With Commissions", Los
Angeles Times, 26 Sept 1999, p. M-1.
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, news release, 21 Jan 1998;
Available from http://www.fbi.gov/pressrm/pressrel/pressrel98/police.htm
"Report: LA Convictions May Be Tossed", The Associated Press, 18 April 2000.
James A. Inciardi, Criminal Justice, 3rd. ed., Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1990.
Lawrence W. Sherman, Scandal and Reform, Berkely: University of California Press, 1978.
As a newly promoted Lieutenant in charge of jail operations in the Houston Police Department (HPD), there are several critical issues regarding the jail environment that require immediate attention such as, inadequate conditions of confinement, health care, security measures, and sexual misconduct between correctional officers and inmates. The aforementioned issues are a controversial topic all across the U.S. and it usually attracts media attention and creates negative publicity towards the Department of Corrections. A lieutenant of jail operations is responsible for his or he shift and oversees multiple areas of the jail facility. Responsibilities of a jail lieutenant includes but is not limited to the following: (1) coordinate shift activities;
For years police corruption has been a major problem in American society but where is the line between moral and unethical police corruption, many modern movies address this vary issue. Some films portray how types of police corruption can have a positive influence on society, while others show the dark side of police corruption. Many law enforcement agents join the criminal justice with the basic idea of “justice for all,” however, most of them do not realize that the nice guy doesn’t always win. Even though there are vast amounts of movies which specifically address police corruption we will use three main movies for our argument today, mostly LA Confidential, however, also Training Day.
There are many people who are blind to police corruption and there are many who aren’t. As stated before police corruption has been going on for several years, and continues to go on. Officers with high ranks most of the time are the leaders of this action. Somewhere down the line all the bad they have done while wearing that uniform, will catch up with them. Most of the time the subculture will be the cause of an officers actions.
Police corruption is a difficult issue cities have to deal with and one of the oldest problems in the police force. Corruption can be defined as the mistreatment of public power for personal benefit or private and the use of excessive force either emotional or physical. In this essay I will explain in detail federal indictments of Los Angeles Country Sheriff officers use of mistreatment of jail inmates and visitors. Another topic I will explain is the transfer of Los Angeles Country Sheriff hired officers with questionable background. Finally I will end by analyzing the hiring of new Sheriff deputies under the “Friends of the Sheriff” program. There are several ways police departments could take to reduce police corruption. The three areas I think should change are the training officers further in how to diminish abuse, improving personal character of officers, and incentives program.
Dean was severely affected by the loss of his mother since the two of them were so close. When his mother died he said, "When she died, my life ended and all that was left was a void" (Leone 10). His loss led hi...
...ircle may have had a solid foundation and belief. However, I just gave you, with supporting evidence, my view of why the Cartesian circle is wrong and why I believe that Descartes was trying to make the point that God must exist in order for him or us to even have the clear and distinct perception to dwell on the idea of God, an idea that only God himself created. I hope this solves the issue of the Cartesian circle and hopefully strengthens Descartes argument of how the circle is false and he was maybe just misunderstood. My claim will stand that the Cartesian circle was just a big misunderstanding, and Descartes, by no means, interacted with the belief and structure of this falsified circle.
The right to assisted suicide is a significant topic that concerns people all over the United States. The debates go back and forth about whether a dying patient has the right to die with the assistance of a physician. Some are against it because of religious and moral reasons. Others are for it because of their compassion and respect for the dying. Physicians are also divided on the issue. They differ where they place the line that separates relief from dying--and killing. For many the main concern with assisted suicide lies with the competence of the terminally ill. Many terminally ill patients who are in the final stages of their lives have requested doctors to aid them in exercising active euthanasia. It is sad to realize that these people are in great agony and that to them the only hope of bringing that agony to a halt is through assisted suicide.When people see the word euthanasia, they see the meaning of the word in two different lights. Euthanasia for some carries a negative connotation; it is the same as murder. For others, however, euthanasia is the act of putting someone to death painlessly, or allowing a person suffering from an incurable and painful disease or condition to die by withholding extreme medical measures. But after studying both sides of the issue, a compassionate individual must conclude that competent terminal patients should be given the right to assisted suicide in order to end their suffering, reduce the damaging financial effects of hospital care on their families, and preserve the individual right of people to determine their own fate.
Markoff, Steven. “State by-State Guide to Physician Assisted Suicide” ProCon.org. 13 December 2013, 30 March 2014.
Hicks, Rob, Dr., and Trisha Macnair, Dr. “Meningitis.” BBC. Dec. 2005. 27 July 2006 .
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 by society. 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 officers are not held accountable for their actions and can easily get by with the mistreatment of others because of their career title. 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 throughout our country. Police officials are abusing their power and authority through three types of misconduct known as malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance and these types are being overlooked by management personnel who rarely intervene even though they know what is happening. Misconduct is wrong because it violates rights and causes people to be wrongly accused of crimes or be found not guilty and set free when they are still an endangerment to other people. The public needs to be educated on what is happening in the police system in hopes that someone will speak out to protect citizens from being violated by police officers.
—. "Should Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?" 13 Mar. 2009. ProCon.org. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Coleman, Diane. "Doctor-Assisted Suicide Should Not Be an Option." Judiciary.senate.gov (25 May 2006). Rpt. in Suicide. Ed. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.
Cunha, Burke A. The Diagnosis and Therapy of Acute Bacterial Meningitis. Ed. Schlossberg, David. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1990.
In our times, the police have become the criminals. Some police are using their power to do bad things, and society has come to fear police. The law enforcement system needs change. The courts have failed the police, and the police have turn to other means of justice. We must stop the corruption in the police force.
Meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges, membranes that encase the brain and spinal cord. Although meningitis can result from protozoal or fungal infections, bacteria and viruses typically cause the often fatal disease. Known for its sudden onset of flu-like symptoms, the infection rapidly progresses into an agonizing cascade of high fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, purpura (dark discolorations of the skin caused by bleeding beneath the skin), and possibly seizures. In severe cases of meningitis, limbs or extremities must be amputated due to the appearance of purpura.