For numerous years, corruption within the police department has been a national problem. The corruption is not only limited to America, it reaches parts of Asia and Europe. Police officers are investigated regarding this issue, with good judgement. Corruption and misconduct in the police department are evident in various embodiment.
The definition of “corruption” is when an officer uses their position to acquire unprofessional benefits, mainly through bribes (Goldstein, 1977). The abuse of power transpires in three separate fields, psychological, physical, and legal misconduct (Carter, 1985). Psychological misconduct happens through disdain, coercion, scorn, and terror, while physical misconduct uses unrestrained force and physical intimidation. Lastly, legal misconduct occurs through illegal search and seizure methods or fabricating proof.
Monetary profit is the first thing an individual recalls when corruption in the police department is discussed, mainly because officers are subjected to enticing opportunities, such as reclamation of missing property and bribes from owners and managers of restaurants. Because of new policies and improvements regarding the department and system of selecting new officers, this level of corruption has been hindered. Currently, officers are hired because of their dedication to their principles, which makes them susceptible to the noble cause corruption theory (Dempsey and Frost, 2012)
The important question every officer should ask themselves is if the method used to resolve a problem or the outcome more important to them. This is an ethical dilemma that tests every officer because of their influence on society — both the legal and anarchic. How an officer deals with a predicament says whic...
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...s not warrant abandoning traditional legal methodologies and prized freedom and entitlement to execute it. Officers should be the defenders of the law and the fundamental tool to implement the law. They cannot disregard the law in the pretense of a better society.
Works Cited
Martinelli, T. J. (2006, October). Unconstitutional Policing: The Ethical Challenges in Dealing with Noble Cause Corruption. Police Chief Magazine, Vol. 73. No. 10.
Dempsey, J. S., & Frost, L. S. (2012). Police Ethics and Police Deviance. An Introduction to Policing (6th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.
Goldstein, H. (1977). Policing a Free Society. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Carter, D. L. (1985). "Police Brutality: A Model for Definition, Perspective, and Control," in A.S. Blumberg & E. Neiderhoffer (Eds.), The Ambivalent Force. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
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.
Police brutality is a very real problem that many Americans face today. The police carry an enormous burden each day. Police work is very stressful and involves many violent and dangerous situations. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they may have to use force to control the situation. There are different levels of force and the situation dictates the level use most of the time. The police have very strict rules about police use force and the manner in which they use it. In this paper I will try to explain the many different reason the police cross the line, and the many different people that this type of behavior effects. There are thousands of reports each year of assaults and ill treatment against officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. In some cases the police have injured and even killed people through the use of excessive force and brutal treatment. The use of excessive force is a criminal act and I will try and explore the many different factors involved in these situations.
Noble cause “is a moral commitment to make the world a safer place to live. Put simply, it is getting the bad guys off the streets. Police are trained and armed to protect the innocent and think about that goal in terms of “keeping the scum off the streets.” (Caldero & Crank, 2004) The noble cause in police ethics is a promise to “do something about bad people.” However, it can be corrupted “when officers violate the law on behalf of their own personally held moral values.” Noble-cause corruption is a way of thinking which promotes a belief that the ends justify the means. This type of thinking is misguided and flawed; you cannot go around violating or breaking laws to justify the results you desire, even if you think that this is for the “greater good of society.” Law enforcement is supposed to protect our cities and streets and make us feel safe. The only way to do that is through our criminal justice system, but it won’t work if our system is completely corrupted. Noble cause corruption in policing is defined as “corruption committed in the name of good ends, corruption that happens when police officers care too much about their work. It is corru...
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.
Research Paper Rough Draft: Police Brutality Police misconduct is as rampant as ever in America, and it has become a fixture of the news cycle. Police brutality is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. The media is inevitably drawn toward tales of conflict, hence why there are so many crime and police stories on the news. Despite the increasing frequency of misbehaving cops, many Americans still maintain a high respect for the man in uniform. Still, police misconduct is a systemic problem, not just an anecdotal one.
Police misconduct has been in existence since the 1600’s, European Influence on American Policing. Ironically, Police Officers in modern day continue the legacy of the police “culture” (Barry, 1999). A culture of abuse of authority or discretion, code of silence amongst officers, discrimination, and a strong belief that “cops — and firefighters — stick together, in life and death situations” (Wetendorf, 2004). Regardless of the abuse of authority officers conduct, it is a clear sign of poor ethics and morals amongst officers.
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.
Skolnick, J., Fyfe, J. (1993) Above the law: Police and the Excessive use of force. United States: The Free Press
Police Officers Oath of Office and Code of Ethics, A Question of knowledge Richard W. Deshon (2000) retrieved from: www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/
Martin, Rich. "Police Corruption: An Analytical Look into Police Ethics." The FBI Enforcement Bulletin May 2011: 11+. Academic OneFile. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Ethics play a huge role in a police officers line of work. Since police are given such a high degree of trust and authority, it can unfortunately be very easy for an officer to fall into some unethical behavior. This can range from just minor acts that are frowned upon, to actual downright illegal activity. Even though there are a countless number of acts and behaviors that can be considered unethical, in the following paper I will focus primarily on those incidents involving police officers who steal for their own personal gain, and discuss my position on the issue.
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.
Banks, Cyndi. Criminal Justice Ethics: Theory and Practice. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2009. Print.
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