Police Misconduct Research Paper

Police misconduct encompasses illegal actions or the violation of individuals’ rights by police officers in the conduct of their duties. A wrongful conviction of a citizen can result from police misconduct of only one officer. They are expected to exceed the standard and follow the agency’s operating policy when it comes to professional conduct. Likewise, if they violate the trust of their office, they should receive a harsher punishment than a normal citizen. The formal law enforcement code of ethics and the stereotypical police attitude are very real ethical problems. One such debate is that of public perception of police investigating police. Some citizens feel that “misconduct” is overused in that a court document may maintain some action

Promoting personnel because of special interest or political concerns is an ethical violation that can be disastrous for an agency. An example of an ethical dilemma is when an officer has knowledge of another officer engaged in an illegal activity and is expected to report the misconduct, but by doing so, will be regarded as a snitch or betrayal by some people. For some officers, it is the nature of the culture to be stressed, depressed and less satisfied with their field of work. Even though turning in a fellow officer is the ethical thing to do, the impact of their decision can be a career-killer. Studies prove that officers begin to learn from instructors and from their peers at the academy about unwritten rules, work attitudes, values, and beliefs of the occupational culture. According to Sanders (2008), “police officers start to identify with the police subculture by building self-concepts that are comprehensible with what they study about policing through informal and formal training at the academy” (p. 31). Officers who hold and show in-group favoritism have a tendency to accentuate in-group differences. Many businessmen in a community engage or practices with police officers that from a standpoint of the law could bring charges of bribery. A variety of such practices were uncovered during

Corruption includes any unlawful act in the assignment of one’s occupation, which aids either the police officer in question or someone else. There are several forms of corruptions which include larceny or burglary, peddling drugs, or accepting cash bribes to avoid enforcing the law. Officers may receive cash or additional things of value, both legal and illegal, in exchange for not ticketing or detaining an individual for prostitution, illegal gambling, or drug possession or dealing. According to one researcher, “various police officers may agree to take low level bribes, which they refer to as clean graft, but they usually refuse to take drugs or money from drug dealers” (Kaplan, 2009, p. 36). Police officers are constantly exposed to situations in which the decisions they make can have a positive or negative impact on an individual’s freedom and well-being. Citizens may try to influence this discretion by offering any item of value that will result in the favorable decision. In order to eliminate corruption, the behavior pattern and culture of the department must be investigated by an external agency that has the resources and techniques to produce results over a period of