Interview Analysis. The police corruption - Essay Example

?Interview analysis Introduction The police corruption is a very important issue that has affected the society in many ways. The integrity of police plays a decisive role in the improvement of the condition of law and order in the country. There are various factors that encourage policed officers to compromise upon the standards of ethics. Many of these factors are controllable if appropriate measures are taken in time. To achieve this, information was retrieved from two police officers through interviews. This paper summarizes and analyzes the responses of the interviewed officers and provides critical insights into various aspects of police corruption including its causes and methods of reduction. The paper provides useful suggestions for the decriminalization and improvement of the integrity of law enforcement organizations (LEOs) in general and the police officers in particular. List of the questions A total of six questions were asked in each interview. Both interviewees were asked the same questions. The list of questions that were asked is below: 1. Why are ethics and character so important in the field of law enforcement? 2. Do you feel that police are more ethical today, or were they more ethical ten years ago? 3. Why do police officers become involved in misconduct? 4. Do you feel that there is enough training offered in ethics at the police academy level? If not, why is that? 5. Should ethics training be offered as an on-going process for law enforcement officers? 6. Do you feel that education and/or training in ethics would reduce incidents of police corruption? Summary of the responses The first police officer who was interviewed was Officer Dan DeKoeyer. According to Dan Dekoeyer, ethics and character is very important for the LEOs because they are both responsible and authorized to fight the social evils and bring peace in the society. Besides, all LEOs and police officers are visualized as role models by the society. One thing that was common in the response of both Dan DeKoeyer and Tim DeKoeyer is that both consider displaying ethics a responsibility of the LEOs. A common man would only place confidence in the abilities of the LEOs when he finds them displaying a high level of integrity which is not possible without following ethics. Both Dan Dekoeyer and Tim DeKoeyer believe that the police has become more ethical over the time than they were ten years ago, and the improvement is continual. However, Tim DeKoeyer goes a step further to attribute this positive change to the improved standards of recruitment by the LEOs as they have started to search for more educated candidates. Education not only increases the knowledge of police officers, but also inculcates a sense of responsibility in them. Dan Dekoeyer thinks that some police officers become involved in misconduct because he considers the job of police a high-pressure job in which, there exist numerous sources of temptation for the police officers. Most of the police officers don’t display a corrupt behavior intentionally; rather they have to make some immediate decisions quite often which may at times, go wrong. Also, this is not something that only happens in the LEOs. Indeed, all occupations assume probability for such circumstances. Tim DeKeoyer also thinks that police officers or officers belonging to any LEO are just as likely to show misconduct as a person belonging to any other organization. As human beings and specially being in an environment where they have to constantly interact or deal with criminals transfers some of the negative energy to the police officers as well. One reason why many of them show misconduct is that the reward they get for they services is far too less as compared to the toughness of their job. Accountability for the police officers has increased significantly over the time, which makes it all the more difficult for a police officer to offer his best services for the nation. Although Dan Dekoeyer emphasizes that academies providing the police with training in the present age give due importance to ethics, yet he does not provide any objective indication of the way academies inculcate the importance of ethics in the hearts and minds of the trainees. He agrees that ethics should be offered as an on-going process for the law enforcement officers. Tim DeKeoyer also believes that the academic institutions providing training to the police have started to exert more stress upon the training of ethics, partly because of the immense social and political pressure. Like Dan DeKeoyer, Time DeKeoyer also considers the provision of ethical training very necessary and also convenient. Dan Dekoeyer believes that the amount of ethics training that has been provided to the police officers in the academic institutions has worked and improved their performance quite a lot. What actually lacks is the realization of this by a common man. Police officers and all LEO’s are trying their level best to do justice to their duties. Common man needs to understand that it is not all that simple! Tim DeKeoyer also speaks of a positive change in the conduct of the police over his 30 years of professional experience. He thinks that to much extent, media can be held responsible for the tarnished image of the police as it overemphasizes upon and exaggerates even the tiniest failures of the police. Analysis From the responses of the interviewees, it can be inferred that a vast majority of police officers work in due accordance with the requirements of ethics. They are honest as individuals and basic human beings, but still, they have to suffer from the lack of public confidence. People generally tend to underestimate the police ethics and show little respect for the same. People do not place confidence in police ethics because of two prime reasons; First, there exists and nurtures a culture in the police that gradually inculcates a change in the behaviors and morality of a police officer for the worse. Second, there is a perception that policing mostly provides a means for racial discrimination to intensify. These perceptions have given rise to such terms as slippery slope, noble cause corruption and Dirty Harry scenario. The term slippery slope is used to refer to the tendency of the police to undergo gradual deterioration of the moral status of police as well as the permissibility of deviant behavior in them. The term Dirty Harry scenario is used to refer to the assumed tendency of police to torture the kidnappers and other hostage takers. The term noble cause corruption is used to refer to the habit of police to make white lies or deal with the bad people under the influence of their personally kept moral values that often make the officers violate the laws. The role of police in the society is affected by these perceptions, thus making room for numerous ethical issues. One of the most fundamental ethical issues that emerge is of mistrust of society in the police, which lays the basis for fear. This is what unites the police ethics and the societal ethics. “Facts make little difference here, as it doesn't matter whether we can trace the roots of public mistrust to any specific event; what matters is perception, and how those perceptions influence the morality of a nation as a whole” (O’Connor, 2011). The causes of police corruption The rotten apple theory offers explanation for the way corruption happens in the police. The rotten apple theory holds few police officers who are immoral and dishonest responsible for the denigration of the police department as a whole. However, the rotten apple theory is heavily criticized by the experts because of its lack of tendency to provide reason for the accumulation of many corrupt officers in some of the police departments while there are many other such departments where corruption is either inexistent or negligible. One of the potential drawbacks of the use of criminal law for the enforcement of morality in the US society is that that it is to a large extent, unenforceable. Although such laws are directed at eradicating corruption from the society, they indirectly promote corruption by providing the criminal agencies with a financial interest to undermine the enactment of laws in the society. For instance, an inevitable result of the enforcement of drugs is the narcotic corruption. Agencies supplying such illegal services and products reserve a share in their profits so that they can bribe the police for continuation of their businesses. The cost of police corruption There are a lot of costs associated with police corruption. It is a crime for one. Police corruption not only affects the integrity of the LEO’s, but also tarnishes the image of the condition of law and order in the country. In addition to that, police corruption safeguards and thus indirectly promotes numerous kinds of social evils including smuggling, drug supply, human trafficking and prostitution. The protected activities of criminals bring finances and resources to the agencies responsible for crime and violence in the society. Ways to minimize police corruption Recognition of issue Recognition of police corruption as an issue is the first and the foremost prerequisite of the change of circumstances for the better. Police corruption is often visualized as a distant issue. “Denial and refusal to accept the potential for ethical compromise and corruption at "our department" prevents administrators and officers from developing an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the issues” (Gilmartin and Harris, 1998). Unless the police officers get a sound understanding of the potential risks that exist in the environment in which they work and the appropriate strategies to mitigate them, they are quite likely to display inappropriate behaviors which threaten not only their professional performance and image, but also their personal lives in many ways. The transformation of a police officer from a highly ethical and dedicated to a more self-concerned individual is a very delicate and gradual process which occurs so silently that an officer is hardy able to realize what has happened. In order to make the training of ethics effective, it is imperative that officers gain credible and relevant information. “The typical "soap box" approach, whether taught by internal affairs, supervisors and commanders, attorneys or others is often seen as scolding, warning and threatening” (Gilmartin and Harris, 1998). Officers very rarely internalize this approach and accordingly, it is not incorporated well into their routine work. Mental preparation for sudden ethical dilemmas Police officers continuously live and work in a rapidly changing environment. They are exposed to a whole range of ethical dilemmas every day. Most of the issues are sudden to occur without any prior indication or warning. The unpreparedness causes the officers to flow with the main stream rather than take time to evaluate the pros and cons of general practices in place before taking the ultimate decision. Even the most dedicated and otherwise honest police officers thus make inappropriate ethical decisions which can yield life-changing results for others. As DeKoeyer said, “A momentary lapse of judgment can create a lifetime of trouble”. “Officers who are mentally prepared to face a lethal encounter are more likely to be successful than other officers who are tactically proficient but mentally unprepared” (Gilmartin and Harris, 1998). Therefore, in order to deal with the sudden ethical dilemmas in an appropriate manner, it is imperative that the police officers be just as mentally prepared to face them as they are for the tactical encounters. Investigating commissions or independent auditors Investigating commissions directed at influencing public opinions and gathering the support of public to fight corruption can play a very important role in protecting the image of police whenever a scandal occurs or the control of police breaks down. Commissions may also assume the responsibility of identifying the areas where the police has lost control in due consultation and collaboration of the police, and propose alterations in policy accordingly. Such commissions have yielded fruitful results in the past, but have not sustained longer after the submission of their reports. Therefore, continuation of independent auditors is more useful in view of Paul Chevigny than forming the investigating commissions (Cliff Notes, 2012). The independent auditors can study a whole range of issues confronting police that also include brutality, corruption and violence of all kinds. Reevaluation and modification of laws A lot of control is lost because of the enactment of unenforceable laws. Such laws that have potential to instigate corruption rather than hinder it need to be reevaluated. Any serious effort to target the corruption of police cannot yield optimal results unless the decriminalization issue is accounted for. Decriminalization is the process of legalization and regulation of the victimless crimes so that the criminal tag is removed from them. Such a process can adequately solve the problem. However, the state legislators need to seriously consider and preferably, be more flexible in their approach towards dealing with such issues as legalization of drugs. My perspective Although I do agree that many police officers try to do their duty with utmost honesty, sincerity and integrity, yet I think it is not quite possible for an individual to be involved 24/7 in such a work and yet be completely uninfluenced by the myriad of negative forces they are constantly surrounded with. I think that we keep our expectations with the LEOs and the police a little too high. I second the opinion of both Dan DeKeoyer and Tim DeKeoyer when they say that it is people who need to realize the complexity of job of a police officer as well as the fact that although they are provided with more power and resources, yet they are human beings like us. Their status as human beings not only puts a limit to their powers but also convinces the people to also pay attention towards the individualistic needs and desires of the police officers. I agree that there has occurred a positive change in the conduct of the police over the years. This may be due to more emphasis over ethics in general. However, sound measures still need to be taken to incorporate ethics into the work of police officers. I think that both the interviewees have offered fair responses to the questions asked, though I do feel that they have been a bit biased in their interpretation of the training of ethics in the academic institutions. This may partly be attributed to my lack of belief that an individual can be made to act more ethically by providing him/her with training for a very limited time. I think a more reasonable way to improve the conduct of the police is to make such legislations that would ease the tensions of the police. For example, putting a ban on narcotics is something that complicates the job of a police officer far too much than the extent of benefit it does to the society. A positive outcome can be achieved by reconsidering and modifying the unenforceable laws so that they actually help the police officers in controlling the criminals rather than getting into compromises with them. On the individual level, what we can do is appreciate and encourage the LEOs and the police officers for whatever amount of effort they make to make the society better. References Cliff Notes. (2012). Police corruption. Retrieved from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Police-Corruption.topicArticleId-10065,articleId-9979.html. Gilmartin, K. M. and Harris, J. J. (1980). Law Enforcement Ethics . . .The Continuum of Compromise. Retrieved from http://emotionalsurvival.com/law_enforcement_ethics.htm. O’Connor, T. (2011). Police Ethics. MegaLinks in Criminal Justice. Retrieved from http://www.drtomoconnor.com/3300/3300lect04.htm. Read More