Particularry in the law enforcement division, gratuities has received a vast amount of attention. Whether or not the acceptance of gratuities is considered appropriate has highly been debated and discussed. The general consensus derived from these articles is that the aceeptance of gratuities by law enofrmceent officers is considered to be more unsettling than valued. The article, At What Price a "Freebie"? The Real Cost of Police Gratuities co-written by Jim Ruiz and Christine Bono examines the close ties between the police widespread acceptance of gratuities and the harmful effects that it could have not only on the individual law enforcement personnel but on the policing. Written by Brandon Del Pozo, One Dogma of Police Ethics: Gratuities …show more content…
Currently, this custom has decreased as more law enforcement offices are adopting strict policies regarding gratuities. Kanie suggests that in The ethical acceptability of gratuities: Still saying “yes” after all these years, that according the “Law Enforcement Code of Ethics” there be an overall ban of the acceptance of gratuities. Argueing that what might start as something small and insignificant can often lead into further, bigger temptation and become the opeing for corruption and unethical behavior (Kania, 2004). Kania stated that police officers are intelligent in nature and can be trusted to make good judgement calls.The author points out that it is offensive to the judgement of the law enforcement official that they are unable to make a simple decisions shuch as whethere or not they should accept a cup of coffee. He proposes that the acceptance of small gratuities should not open the door in order to receive higher valued gifts nor offer special treatment to those that give it. Kania claims that it is not a starting place for corruption to imerge, but that immoral individuals are the cause of corruption. He futher expresses that officers having already obtained being deemed trustworthy shoud accept minor gratuities shuch as free coffe as long as they do not take advantage of the gesture as supervisors …show more content…
The notion suggests that once an individual (for the purpose of this literature review, we are highlighting the role of a police officer) commits a deed that is deemed unethical, then they are on that downward slope that will in time guide them to execute a more severe act (Kania, 2004). Kania further emphasis that once the gratuity is accepted, it is like a ticking itme bomb before the slope becomes too slippery for the officer to handlge and they are indulging in larger, more severe unethical acts (Kania, 2004). Del Pozo discusses in his article in relation to community policing, there does not need to be gratuity for the police officers. Some theoriest argues that in order for there to be a healty, trustworthy relationship between the citizens and the community that small tokens of appreciation should be given, Del Pozo states that is not necessarily true. Although the batering of goods and services has a long history in the structure of society, it is not essential on either side to uphold public order. Ruiz and Bono shed the light on the central cause of trouble that gratuities creates, entitlement which opens the pathway to analyze an individual’s feelings on accountability(Ruiz, Bono 2004). The authors submits that the cause of corruption can also be attributed to a Similar fact likewise with any other position of authority, the capability to abuse that authority is existent and on must be
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.
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)
It is not uncommon for citizens, particular store or business owners to show their gratitude to officers by offering free cups of coffee, free meals, or discounts in exchange for their attentiveness and presence at the store. While the giving of a free cup of coffee may be an innocent gesture and certainly is not the sole contributor to ethical violations, or police corruption, the expectation, by the storeowner, of something in return is what establishes a “slippery slope” (Cheeseman, 2011). What makes a gift a gratuity is the reason it is given; what makes it corruption is the reason it is taken. The acceptance of even the smallest “perks,” such as free coffee, is problematic because it changes the mindset of officers. The slippery slope is corruption that begins with harmless, well intentioned practices and leads, over time, to all manner of crimes-for-profit (Delattre, 2004). If the reason the gratuity is given and taken leads to favoritism, impartiality, and prejudice, then this begins the downward spiral of unethical behavior.
In this paper, the ethics of police management is examined in the framework of organizational justice and how management strategy effects police corruption through employee perception and proper employment strategy. Organizational Justice as studied by Muchinksy (2008) and cited by Crow, Lee and Joo (2012) is the concept of how employees perceive their treatment by management. (Crow, Lee, & Joo, 2012)
Society impacts ethical behavior of law enforcement by holding them to a higher standard of expectation. Police officers act as protectors and liaisons in highly stressful situations with the power to make decisions over society. Holding this position requires trust and the ability to lead by example. Police officers may have to be able to recognize the ethical dilemmas, decide the
Although accountability has always been an issue, the injustices that are currently occurring make it priority. Police officers are getting “special treatment” and are not facing charges for crimes they have committed. Police officers are not held accountable for their a...
Police officers often encounter situations where the decision to use discretion challenges the way and the type of job that officers would normally conduct. Each day an officer is on the job, discretion when it comes to job duties appears, sometimes without any warning. Officers constantly struggle with the appearance of discretion, and often times do not know how to handle the situation when it does appear. Discretion may take many different forms in the job duties, but it always involves the officer letting a crime “slide,” rather than questioning every suspicious person. Letting a crime “slide,” for certain offenders, is of great concern for the administrators of police departments, because there is potential for ethical issues to surface later on. This essay will examine police discretion, factors that influence discretion, whether exercising discretion is appropriate, and the concerns that administrators have when it comes to police using discretion in the field.
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.
Martin, Rich. "Police Corruption: An Analytical Look into Police Ethics." The FBI Enforcement Bulletin May 2011: 11+. Academic OneFile. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
To get into the different types of corruption and misconduct, Pollock discusses six. You have gratuities, professional courtesy, use of alcohol and drugs on the job, graft, sexual misconduct, and criminal cops. Gratuities are basically items that are given to individuals, not because of the relationship between the receiver and the giver, but rather on the receiver’s role or position. A common example of this would be the accepting of free coffee. Many stores offer such things for appreciation of the officer’s work. An excellent example of this is the Holiday Gas Station in Marquette. The store gives free coffee to the officers of the Marquette area. Police courtesy is a common practice of not giving an...
Police officers are often confronted with the ethical dilemma of whether or not to accept gratuities. This dilemma is an aspect of police discretion and an example of the choices that officers are forced to make. Police officers have discretion when confronted with choices such as whether or not to charge an individual, how to handle certain situations, or whether to accept a gratuity. This purpose of this article is to inform readers that police discretion not only encompasses use of force, police profiling, or domestic violence responses, but that police officers also have discretionary choices when gratuities are offered to them. Should police officers accept a gratuity, or should they politely decline these offers? Based on a community policing style of policing, it is necessary to ensure that police officers do not accept gratuities because it is important that officers recognize everyone in the community, not just those who may offer gratuities. This is because accepting gratuities may lead to favoritism by the officer, it may have an unintended effect on the relationship between other members of the community, it may lead to corruption within the department, and overall treatment of officers to members of the community who do not offer gratuities.
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/
Bibliography Why Good Cops Go Bad. Newsweek, p.18. Carter, David L. (1986). Deviance & Police. Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co. Castaneda, Ruben (1993, Jan. 18). Bearing the Badge of Mistrust. The Washington Post, p.11. Dantzer, Mark L. (1995). Understanding Today's Police. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. James, George (1993, Mar. 29). Confessions of Corruption. The New York Times, P.8, James, George (1993, Nov. 17). Officials Say Police Corruption is Hard To Stop. The New York times, p.3. Sherman, Lawrence W(1978). Commission Findings. New York Post, P. 28 Walker, J.T. (1992). The police in America, p.243-263, chp. 10, Walker, Samuel (1999).
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.