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Every day Police officers are faced with fight or flight situations putting morals constantly into question with every choice. This isn’t to say however, that fight or flight situations are the only situations where the ethics of an officers are challenged. In some cases, ethics can also be more planned and objective oriented (Sherman, 1982). Ethics play a pivotal role in determining the boundaries in which officers must operate. When applied to the police, high moral standards and integrity are the key to societies trust however. “It also constitutes one of the most significant obstacles to positive police-public relations in today’s society” (Grant, 2002:12). If a working relationship between society and law enforcers is the desired end …show more content…
In layman 's terms corruption can be defined as a dishonest or fraudulent act committed by those in power. Corruption in relation to police officers can be applied to many different issues and examples, all of which relate to an abuse of power in search of individual prosperity (Rothlein, 2008). Police have been known to carry out acts of corruption varying from bribes to brutality and the violation of basic rights (…) and although varying in severity, the universal outcome is a loss of society’s trust. Trust in law enforcement is necessary as the officers, who are held responsible by society, have also been given powers by that society which allow officers to stop, detain, and arrest average citizens (Loree, 2009). Sartor (2003) even went as far to state if there was no trust, co-operation would end, and the whole fabric of society would …show more content…
Unlike occupational deviance, abuse of authority in regards to police, is the act in which officers use the powers given to them in malice (Barker, 1991). In more serious cases the abuse of power can result in death, as was the case in the recent Michael Brown shooting. Officer Darren Wilson took aim at 18 year old Michael Brown, witnesses recording, and opened fire resulting in the 18 year olds death. This is just one of the many examples of corruption still existing within the police agencies which are designed to protect us. As mentioned earlier, the social speculation is only one of the issues facing the police forces in regards to corruption. Corruption in policing impacts the economy as well. By distorting company’s competitive playing fields, undermining economic development, and reducing the quality of government services and infrastructure (RCMP, 2014). The World Bank (2009) had even described corruption saying that “Corruption is a cancer and no country, rich or poor, is immune nor is a multilateral development
Serve and Protect are common words associated with police officers, however some law enforcement officers taint the honor and integrity of the job. Police Corruption is a serious problem affecting nearly every city across the country and world. Curbing police corruption is a tall order; however, improving the recruitment and training process and internal controls can bring this issue to an abrupt stop.
The existence of police corruption in society raises many important questions. What causes police of...
In this essay, I will examine the ethical issues surrounding police corruption and discretion in the criminal justice system. I will also define legality and equity and how they relate to police corruption and discretion. Police corruption and discretion are ethical issues that have been negatively impacting the criminal justice system for years. Police corruption weakens the public 's confidence in law enforcement officers. It also hinders the effectiveness of law enforcement officers whose job is to serve and protect. I will also define police corruption and discretion and the reasons behind police misconduct.
While reviewing the various instances of corruption by Law enforcement officers, it was shocking to see the increasing instances of repetitive and flagrant violations of abuse and corruption by law enforcement. Although it is conceivable that in some instances, such as the excessive use of force, the officer's perception of events at that instance could be skewed and could, therefore, result in an outcome less favorable than intended, however, there are some instances in which the actions of the officer(s) are intentional.
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.
Police ethics are extremely important because ethics are the typical of “fair and honest conduct” (pg 460). People may have a different definition of what is fair and what is honest, and there are different circumstances where officers may not be able to be honest; such as covert investigations. Society in general determines what our ethical standards and moral principles are. Individual morals vary among all of us as they are what we as an individual consider to be right or wrong. We also have morals that are set by society. These are what we as a society consider to be right or wrong and may go hand in hand with individual morals. Morals change as society and people change, therefore we as a country have to adapt to what the changing morals are.
The fact that Law enforcement are now being trained in the area of ethics is something that is very essential to them as a whole. Law enforcement officers have endured a lot of ethical problems, which deal with them having to make choices under certain circumstances that may present themselves to them on a daily basics. Ethics are founded on the overall moral choices that deal with wrong or right things to do. When it comes to those individuals that deal with criminal justice, these professionals deal with those problems in ethics when they are dealing with those circumstances each and every day.
Dempsey, J. S., & Frost, L. S. (2012). Police Ethics and Police Deviance. An Introduction to Policing (6th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.
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.
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.
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.
The profession of policing is a noble cause that intercedes on the behalf of those whom desire peace in the midst of chaos. The nature of policing is one that requires strong-minded, dedicated, honest and hardworking individuals that will not be swayed into the discredit of honor, dignity and respect. Therefore, all actions by officers must be concise, accurate, justifiable and morally acceptable. Each officer must maintain an unsullied lifestyle, free from infractions of immoral character and they must adhere to maintaining a clear moral compass. The absence of these traits are a surefire way to promote a path to misconduct whereas officers feel free to act and behave unethically.
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.
Police decisions can affect life, liberty, and property, and as guardians of the interests of the public, police must maintain high standards of integrity. Police discretion concerning how to act in a given situation can often lead to ethical misconduct (Banks 29).
Rich, Martin. “An Analytical Look into Police Ethics.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Vol.80. Issue 5. May 2011. 11-17. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov 2013