Police Corruption - Research Paper Example

? Police Corruption Police Corruption Corruption is the abuse of public ity and position for personal benefit by public officials (Prenzler, 2004). It usually entails public officials receiving illegal payment in exchange for various authoritative and state-sanctioned acts which have selective and tangible effects. Normally, the acts would not have been performed without the illegal payment. Morally, theologically or philosophically, corruption is the spiritual impunity that leads to deviating from an ideal. This paper will focus on police corruption and highlight the ethical issues regarding corruption. It will also point out different types of corruption, examples of cases and some measures being taken by the law enforcement bodies to curb corruption. The known types of corruption occur on different scales, involving different positions of power and also varying in magnitude. Although most states have taken steps to reduce corruption by splitting their governments into executive, legislative and judiciary arms, it is still rampant within the police, which is under the executive arm. Police corruption refers to the specific misconduct by police officers with the intention of realizing personal benefits, including financial and career advancements, by practices that abuse power such as soliciting for bribes, protecting organized prostitution and drug cartels, bearing false witness and prosecuting falsely. Corruption is detrimental to any police force because it is a crime and costs them their integrity and public image. Generally, most corruption practices can be categorized under either petty corruption, grand corruption or systemic corruption, and further classified into their specific types (Mishra, 2006). The differences are rooted in the involved participants, the norms violated by the corrupt act, the wider context in which the corrupt act takes place and its purpose, motive or outcome. It is on such analytical distinctions that the origins and consequences of corruption are explored and tackled. Occurring within government norms and established social structures, petty corruption takes on the smallest level and form, and involves a small number of participants. It thrives in developing countries where government officials are poorly paid and involves exploiting personal connections and giving small bribes to obtain quick services and favors. Grand corruption occurs at top government levels in ways that require large subversions in economic, legal and political systems of a state. Grand corruption does not bear its significance in the involved amount of money as much as it does on the level at which it takes place, which is the policy formulation level. Systemic corruption occurs primarily by taking advantage of a process’ or organization’s weakness. Unlike petty corruption which exploits occasional opportunities, systemic corruption is an essential and integrated aspect of the political, social and economic system. Because it is encouraged by factors such as a culture of impunity, monopolistic powers, low pay, discretionary powers and conflicting incentives, systemic corruption is embedded in a broader situation that promotes its sustenance. Characterized by embezzlement, extortion and bribery, it forms a situation where key state processes and organizations are routinely used and dominated by corrupt groups and individuals, leaving people with no options to dealing with the corrupt officials. Police corruption is exhibited in the inappropriate conduct and actions they take in connection with the official duties and responsibilities expected of them. Discrimination and miscarriage of justice are largely part of it (Sherman, 1974). Education levels and personalities of the officers involved are significant contribution factors, but the culture of police agencies also plays considerable roles. Misconduct can be predicted by education, where better educated officers are prone to fewer complaints. Police corruption is also promoted by unenforceable laws that govern moral standards. Such laws present financial interests to criminal organizations which they use to undermine law enforcement agencies. For instance, narcotic corruption is an unavoidable result of drug enforcement. Drug dealers use their outrageous profits to buy assurance of continuation of their illegal and criminal enterprises from the police. Other studies have associated police corruption with changes in population mobility, structural disadvantage, immigrant population and social disorganization. Social disorganization provides favorable conditions for corruption because of lack of social networks by citizens to discourage police misconduct. This is further compounded by the fact that police officers are mostly under nominal supervision and have at their disposal a wide discretion as to how they perform their duties, which they abuse. Police discretion is a noble idea in its own context. It allows officers to react and deal rapidly with emergencies and life threatening situations. Discretion enables police officers to show their judgment abilities in assessing the situations they encounter in law enforcement; rather that robotically making arrests and administering handed down instructions and routines (Nye, 1967). However, the discretion, trust and responsibility they are allowed often leads to mistakes, abuse and ultimately corruption because of the large scope and freedom under which they can be used. Furthermore, common and statutory laws do not encompass all the possible situations police officers may come across in dispensation of their duties. Depending on the circumstances, they may let free an individual whom others believe deserve being arrested. Discretion may be put to correct use to determine that such an individual has not committed a grave offence and a stern warning will deter repetition. On the other hand, discretion may be abused and the police officer accepts a bribe to let the individual free. The ideal situation is that the police should fairly administer law, irrespective of who is being dealt with. However, studies have shown that there is often a tendency of targeting certain socioeconomic groups or specific minorities. Racial profiling is rife among the police officers, usually seen in the time-wasting caused by stopping and questioning, mostly unprovoked, of minority groups. In as much as it has been researched and studied, corruption among the police remains an issue. It is well known that the police rely on the citizens’ cooperation to provide services in a society that is termed democratic. Therefore, the police’s detrimental aspects may not be overstated. A study showed that 56 percent of the public rates the police as being ethical (Morris, 2008). Most police agencies have been avoiding hiring persons noted to have low ethical standards. They have also recognized those already employed but may compromise the integrity of the department. Furthermore, through research, they have disclosed new ways of trying officers for their psychological tendency to be ethical. Research into police corruption has offered a means to understand the occurrence with the hope of rooting it out. Integrity forms the foundation of ethics that the police need to work on. It is the culmination of virtues needed to show the results of service and protection to the public. To be viewed as having integrity, police officers must possess various values. They include prudence, courage, justice, trust, responsibility, intellectual honesty and selflessness (Peters & Welch, 1978). Prudence calls upon them to have the capacity to recognize contradicting virtues and be able to choose the best actions to go with. Being courageous, they must differentiate between folly and cowardice. Justice need not be in its normal perspective, may allow adjusting that which is owed to a certain citizen even if it contradicts what is owed. Trust entails truthfulness and loyalty in relations between citizens and police officers, supervisors and fellow officers. With lack of selflessness, the officers may seek personal benefits by exploitation of authority granted unto them. Responsibility, coupled with intellectual honesty, allows those not with the knowledge of a situation to admit it and seek guidance from the better informed. It should be done with the intention of executing the right deed with a clear understanding and awareness of what is right and the available alternatives. A responsible officer will not seek excuses for the mistakes he makes as a result of poor judgment, but will find ways of mending the misdeeds via the discretion bestowed upon him by the state and the citizens he watches over. Refusal and denial to accept the ethical compromise bestowed in police corruption by certain departments prevents officers and administrators from formulating in depth comprehension and appreciation of the threat (Mishra, 2006). In the absence of sufficient information, clear understanding or practical strategies, police officers exposed to environments prone to risks are likely to partake in inappropriate conduct that can potentially destroy the credibility and reputation of their departments as well as their personal and professional lives. A highly ethical and idealistic officer may be transformed into a self centered and serving individual by a delicate process. If the training in ethics has to be effective, then the officers must see the contained information as credible and relevant. The typical approaches employed by attorneys, commanders and supervisors often appear as threatening, warnings or scolding. With such approaches, even if the contained information is enlightening and interesting, the officers rarely incorporate or internalize them into their daily activities. Leaders are burdened with the significant task of alleviating corruption in the police force. Since leadership forms an integral part of the work carried out by the police, the head of a department carries the ultimate responsibility of its shortfalls (Michael, 2001). A leader can, therefore, greatly influence an agency’s success. The top management plays key roles in setting an organization’s climate, and those committed to maintain high standards of ethical conduct serve as the pillars to uphold public trust and discourage corruption. A leader with virtues will not act to safeguard his own ego, try to intimidate his subordinates or put on a perfect appearance that lacks substance in his efforts or decisions. Rather, he would create an ethical climate and develop an agenda explaining the department’s moral purposes by working with his subordinates. Care must be practiced by leaders committed to end corruption in their departments. Clear understanding of the organization, extent and nature of the corruption is mandatory; otherwise the efforts to fight it will be counterproductive (Robinson, 1998). Without an understanding of the climate in a department, the administrators may lower the morale of the members while making stronger the solidarity of those in doubt of the leaders’ capabilities. There have been reported cases of police officers involved in corruption activities that are not only criminal, but also detrimental on the department’s reputation. In effect, such reports bear implications on the effectiveness of the police in battling crime and its legitimacy, of which the public tends to regard highly. An example is the high profile case of Ali Dizaei, who was a commander jailed after dismissal for misconduct while holding public office and diverting the course of justice. In another example, ten police officers were arrested and charged in Atlanta for accepting bribes in exchange for providing protection to drug dealers while they supplied the streets of Atlanta with illicit substances. According to US Attorney Sally Yates, the officers had even gone ahead and suggested the use of a school zone as an attention distracter, where they could swap backpacks without raising suspicion (Gingerich, 2009). Yates further equated that to selling badges by law enforcement officers through accepting payoffs offered by drug dealers, whom they should have arrested. That was not only a show of betrayal to the citizens they had sworn to protect, but also a betrayal to the rest of the hard working and committed police officers who risked their lives in order to keep the citizens safe. Still in the US, the New Orleans Police Department was scrutinized by the Justice Department after a crime series which included murder in the 1990s, when Richard Pennington, then Police Chief, attempted to reform the force. During Hurricane Katrina’s wake and again in March 2011, a report was published by the Justice Department, revealing how the same New Orleans Police Department systemically violated civil rights and the involved officers were routinely not disciplined. Further investigations by ProPublica have shown that one of the Hurricane Katrina cases found four police officers guilty of firing unlawfully at citizens and then attempting a cover-up by seeking assistance from a fifth investigating officer. It is, therefore, clear that while the leaders’ role is integral in creating the general climate in a police department, they cannot ensure on their own that integrity is upheld. While the law enforcement agencies work their way towards preventing corruption from recurring, it is worth noting that all officers in leadership positions bear the daily and continuous responsibility of making sure that workplace standards are upheld. That will be in fulfillment of their duties as ethical supervisors. However, a counterbalance by unscrupulous and incompetent officers among their midst will promote misconduct, which breeds corruption. The obvious result of the research on police corruption, therefore, is its eradication. One key consideration towards eliminating misconduct is avoiding hiring individuals with unethical tendencies. All candidates must be screened adequately and only the most conscientious ones be hired due to their high integrity levels. Through conduct, conscientiousness can be quantified according to a research that described an incorruptible person as truthful in both word and action, as truthfulness is second nature with them (Meese & Ortmeier, 2004). In conclusion, a corruption-free police force demands unyielding ethics and perfection, which depend on each officer’s level of moral excellence, devotion, rationality and knowledge. Any conduct less than perfect is disastrous for the department, community and nation. It is an accepted fact that police officers are human and prone to err, but that must be minimized and emphasized with non tolerance of ethical misconduct. Agencies need to adopt virtues that ensure proper conduct of their officers (Gerring, 1999). Their policies must dictate their ethical missions and standards which officers must follow. The leadership should also be strong and set examples to be followed. Structures should also be in place to detect individual or collective performance patterns that do not meet expectations and ways of dealing with those responsible for the shortfalls. References Gerring, J. (1999). What makes a concept good? A critical framework for understanding concept formation in the social science. Polity, 31(3), 357. Gingerich, D. (2009). Ballot Structure, Political Corruption, and Performance of Proportional Representation. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 21(4), 509-541. Meese, E., & Ortmeier, P. (2004). Leadership, ethics, and policing: Challenges for the 21st century. New Jersey: Prentice. Michael, P. (2001). Police misconduct: A reader for the 21st century. New Jersey: Prentice. Mishra, A. (2006). Persistence of corruption: Some theoretical perspectives, World Development, 34(2), 349-358. Morris, S. D. (2008). Disaggregating corruption: A comparison of participation and perceptions in Latin America with special focus on Mexico. 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