Is there a thin line for corruption in the job? One may not think that it is because may not violate the law in some way and see that it may be for a good cause. I am going to ask you to look at this story and see if the officer across the line. This story just happen recently in Philadelphia and it display a situation with a police officer and citizen with a favor for a favor. A veteran police pulled over to men in the car and told them to buy two tickets for a police fundraiser that they were having. Then the officer stated to the men in the car “Either you buy these, or I take your car because it 's unregistered” (Henry, 2015). Then because the driver does not won’t his car taken and knew that he could take it, he gives the police officer …show more content…
In a 1994 report it stated that about 100 Miami officer out of 1,046 officers where either being investigated for corrupt actions or have been before, but it stated to be more than 100 almost 200 (McCafferty & McCafferty, 1998). In New Orleans, the U.S district attorney stated that there were about ten to fifteen percent of officers in the department that corrupted in 1995. It is hard to get statistics for corruption in police administration because of the effort to try to not reveal serious corruption in law enforcement. Like departments may try to avoid the news, so these stories won’t be headlining (McCafferty & McCafferty, 1998). By this happening it can send a message out that police corruption will be tolerated in our society and that is not so. There are many reason for this because the administration do not won’t to lose trust with the public. The public and police relationship is key to police work and is very helpful. Polls was taken in 2011 that resulted in that 56% of the population say that the police have a high or very high ethical standards (Martin, 2011). Where nurses has 84% in compared to that of the police. Corruption is everywhere and not only inside the police there are other professions that corruption as well, but when people usually about an organization or someone corrupt the police pops up. Police misconduct has left a price ticket such as in Philadelphia it costed then $20 million dollars …show more content…
One of the ways is try to monitor police behavior, if a situation occur where there is misconduct keep a watch on their behavior. We are held responsible for our subordinate, so we have to check on their integrity and ethics. What first need to be discuss is the ethics and code that every police administration must up hold. Integrity is to be honest and show good morals that helpful in goals of protections and service (Martin, 2011). Martin (2011) gave a list of characteristics that an officer must display to have integrity. One if the characteristics is prudence which means having the ability to make hard decisions in conflict situations and pick the best action that is need for the situation. The next one that I consider to be a big factor in preventing/ stopping corruption is trust. Having trust among officers and the public, other officers, and the supervisors is very important (Martin, 2011). Then he mention effacement of self-interest that is a characteristics that is needed with the helping of corruption. Also there is courage and honesty to know whats right and wrong and to admit it. Justice is another one that is owed to the public and community (Martin, 2011). Last is responsibility in which one takes ownership in what they did
In conclusion, police corruption was and still is a major problem in the united states. Police are placed into society to serve and protect, but the New Orleans Police Department was infested with corruption from murder to drugs. Len Davis was the first police officer in history to ever receive to death penalty because of his unspeakable crimes that he had committed. Unfortunately, Kim Groves life was taken because she filed a complaint on Len Davis. The individuals that had really suffered were her children and family. Len Davis had no morals or value for life nor did he have any remorse for this unspeakable crime that he had committed. There should be mandatory laws put in place to recruit police officers, more psychological testing and major background checks so this won’t ever happen to no one
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;
So can there be such a thing as ethical police corruption? It seems so in these two examples, in the end the obviously guilty party paid a punishment somehow. I think Lieutenant Ed Exley and Officer Jack Hoyt have defined the line between moral and immoral police corruption. If the corruption adds to the problems in society, the corrupt individual needs to have proper punishment imposed. If this punishment can only be given by an underling officer who knows the truth then let what needs to be done be done. The end justifies the means.
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 something that has been and still is infecting our nation’s police departments since the founding of law enforcement over 300 years ago. The very people that you are supposed to trust to stop criminals are becoming criminals themselves. Arizona is no exception to the point that there is story after story of officers using their “discretion” and abusing their power.
8 hours. It is the recommended numbers of hours one should sleep. However, between those 8 hours, something disturbing is happening. Every 8 hours, a police officer kills an American citizen. Only 1% of these police are indicted in killing compared to 90% of American that are hauled off to jail immediately (Cop Crisis). Whether it 's a police officer or an American citizen that commits the crime, there will always be an organization that supports the offender. The International Union of Police Associations is an organization that lobbies for the police department and its affairs. On the other end of the spectrum is the Communities for Police Reform. This organization fights to protects the rights of the average American citizen. Both organizations share the common ground to protect the rights of their members and can work together to reach a point of a compromise.
There are several ways police departments can take to reduce police corruption. The three areas I think should change are the training officers in how to diminish abuse, improving the personal character of officers, and incentives program. The Los Angeles Sheriff Department is the largest law enforcement agency in the United States under the leadership of Chief Leroy D. Baca, now retired. The Sheriff Department has about 18,050 employees with an annual budget of $2.5 billion, according to http://sheriff.lacounty.gov. The Sheriff’s Department serves the Superior Court of Los Angeles County and also manages the county jails.
Goodman, B. & Dewan, S. (2007, April 27). Prosecutors Say Corruption in Atlanta Police Dept. Is Widespread. The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/27/us/27atlanta.html
Corrupt people are in every workplace, including law enforcement. The amount of officers who do their job correctly is a significantly bigger number than the number of corrupt officers actually committing these wrong doings. Glennon, the company owner of Calibre Press, a company that trains officers stated, “We pull people out of wrecked cars, we hold people’s hands when they’re dying, we talk to 5-year-olds when they get raped, and one cop puts a chokehold on somebody and all of a sudden we’re all racist killers” (Wise and Moeller). Officers do not use violent force just because they have the power and weapons to do
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.
In the last 5 years or so we have had so many police scandals arise and become the central eye of the news and papers. In 2015 we now have a massive rise with social media and usually are the first to get any information and or video. Every time the news comes on or anything related to media we will get new information or see tmz has the first video of it happening. Social media is the fastest way to get anything on the web or the news within hours. Scandals that I can think of off the top of my head are Kelly Thomas beating from Fullerton PD, Sheriff Lee Baca scandal involving jail violence among inmates, and tons and tons of scandals involving police beatings and the amount of force used. The most recent scandal to come out is the officer
It is often said that power brings corruption, but in reality it is an individual’s lack of character, self-discipline, and integrity that leads to corruption. Law enforcement can bring many temptations on the job, and maintaining an up most level of personal integrity can often times be very difficult. The very nature of the job surrounds officers with all of the bad things that society, produces. There can be an endless amount of training and rules put into place to try and deter officers from committing unethical acts, but in the end it really just comes down to the specific individual and their willingness to do the right thing.
Problems like police corruption have no easy answer. However, there are steps to target the root of the problem. We must start by holding officers accountable for their actions. If an officer uses too much force, he should be put on probation. The people must show the police that misconduct will not be tolerated. The attitudes must change within the departments. When the departments no longer ignore the complaints of excessive force, then the police's attitudes will begin to change. Screening of officers needs to be done more often. More psychologists and criminologists are needed to spot those officers who are in trouble or on the brink of mental illness. A good start would be to teach the superior officers to recognize warning signs like lateness or angry mode swings.
Police corruption is a nationwide problem that has been going on for many years. Not only is corruption a problem on our own U.S. soil, but police practices of corruption go as far east as Europe and Asia. Many studies, polls and examinations were taken to find out how exactly what the general publics’ opinions of the police are. Officers receive a lot of scrutiny over this issue, but for good reason.
Being a police officer requires high level of ethics and standards. Corruption within an agency can affect a community, state, and even a nation. Corruption may seem inevitable but using proper screening, extensive and continuous training and holding officers responsible can deter officers from becoming corrupt.