Police Corruption in Modern Society

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Introduction
Police corruption has long been a systemic issue for policing agencies. During the “reform era” policing underwent a transitional shift that changed and restructured it into a more bureaucratic and paramilitary policing system; this was done with the intent to combat the epidemic that was police corruption (Chappell & Lanza-Kaduce, 2010). During this era, local politicians greatly influenced police behaviours and this resulted in various types of corruption, such as patronage and police interference in elections (Kelling & Moore, 1988). Organizational changes were also implemented; these encouraged a flow of instructions downward and information upward (Kelling & Moore, 1988).
Community policing was then introduced as a way to mend the damage done to community police relations, which had been exacerbated by continued corruption (Chappell & Lanza-Kaduce, 2010). However, community policing has yet to implemented properly and so, has failed to address the issue of police corruption in modern society. To fully realize the tenets of community policing would be to minimize corruption because it would: realize the deficiencies of training of officers, dismantle the organizational structure of police leadership that fosters corruption, and it would favor an independent model of police oversight.
Police Corruption Defined
Police Corruption is defined as “any illegal activity or misconduct involving the use of occupational power for personal, group or organization gain” (Loree, 2006, p. 6). It has been noted that collecting data on police corruption can be difficult for a number of reasons, “problems of definition; organizational reluctance to collect data or even to admit that the problem exists beyond a few “bad apples”; pr...

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...on Policing, 4, 1-15. Retrieved June 10, 2014, from https://ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/114213.pdf
Loree, D. J. (2006). Corruption in policing causes and consequences: A review of the literature. 1-40. Ottawa: Research and Evaluation, Community, Contract and Aboriginal Policing Services Directorate, Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Retrieved June 10, 2014, from http://dspace.africaportal.org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/22286/1/Corruption%20in%20Policing%20Causes%20and%20Consequences%20A%20Review%20of%20the%20Literature
Scaramella, G. L., & Cox, S. M. (2011). Police Misconduct. Introduction to Policing. 247-285 Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.
Silvestri, M. (2007). “Doing” Police Leadership: Enter the “New Smart Macho”. Policing and Society, 17, 38-58. Retrieved June 10, 2014, from http://www.tandfonline.com.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/doi/pdf/10.1080/10439460601124130

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