Misconduct in police officers

Course Number Police Corruption A Problem with the law Name [Date]

Summary This paper will focus specifically on police corruption and the ways in which to lessen and decrease instances of police corruption. The first section includes an introduction explaining the effects of police corruption from rapes to murder and how it impacts society. It also expresses the need to act, as the United States becomes more like the exceedingly corrupt African countries of Nigeria and South Africa. Comparison of other countries reveals a lack of authority and government as well as public safety concerns. The other section explains and identifies the different forms of corruption that happen with police officers including: opportunistic theft, tampering of evidence, and accepting of bribes. When police officers commit these crimes, they are often not prosecuted. This is due to the lack of evidence of witnesses against them. Most police officers are trained to avoid getting caught and know how to lie and cover up evidence effectively. This makes police corruption hard to spot and even harder to take to court. There are however solutions available. Most of which involve money and informing the public. There are several ways to do this. Legislation must be passed to increase funding for police departments and increase the salaries of police officers. New legislation must also include informing the public of the consequences of police corruption and recording any and all police activity. Recording police activity curbs possible criminal behavior and provides the public with the knowledge needed to know what happens in the police department in relation to corruption. Lastly, a brief literature will show how police departments have dealt with and are dealing with corrupt activities, applying some of the forms of corruption identified and methods of how to deal with such problems/issues. Comparison of domestic foreign police force is made throughout. Introduction Police corruption exists, and in the news the problems police are facing due to corruption is becoming more and more apparent. Cops are reported using excessive violence to the point of killing the people they detained. Some were even accused of raping inebriated women and lying about supposed misconduct. Recent news reveals a police officer who clearly stated on camera he will not follow the constitution because Obama doesn't. News of police corruption is reaching a peak as most news stories include some crooked cop story. When looking at policing in other countries, primarily in the African continent, police corruption reaches an all-time high with acts such as these occurring more frequently and in higher volume. The governments there not only have limited control over the population, but limited to no control over the army and police force. What can be done to solve such a dilemma? Can there be a solution both domestically, in the U.S., and internationally? The first step is to identify the kinds of police corruption prevalent. From there, once they are identified, solutions can then be devised to not only curb the behavior, but prevent future re-occurrences. After all, the main job of the police is to protect and abide by the law. If the police force of countries becomes corrupt and police officers willingly choose to disobey the law of the land that can spell trouble for the country's citizens and can lead to possible escalation in violence and crime as seen in third world countries. Furthermore, a renegade army generated from the fearful citizens who fought to protect themselves from the corrupted police force already exist in countries like Liberia and Republic of Congo spelling potential trouble for the United States and Mexico, countries experiencing increasing police corruption. Police venality encompasses acts of misbehavior intended for procurement of personal benefits, monetary gain or development in careers which are implemented in interchange for selectively following or not following an arrest or examination (Beggs, 2009, p. 34). There are numerous practices of police corruption and one of the most typical is receiving of bribes in order to overlook arrest or inquiry of particular criminal undertakings. In the US, this type of corruption is seen where ordered crime such as prostitution or drug events are concerned. Another often seen kind of police corruption, mainly in the US is infringement behavior and measures to gain a guilty verdict of a suspect. Often it happens by police actively falsifying evidence which incriminates a suspect. In sporadic cases, police partake in criminal activities (Einstein, 2003, p. 56). When looking at it from an international perspective, police in Africa also participate in taking bribes and falsifying evidence. They're even prone to violence, including sexual violence, as seen in American police officers, however, at a much grander scale. In fact, women who report being raped in areas of India, in parts of Africa, were either ignored or arrested. This is especially true in Muslim countries where women's freedoms are extremely restricted. Unfortunately, because the government of some of these areas does not have strong control over police activity, their illegal activities are often overlooked. This is not case for American police corruption thanks to news coverage and public outcry, but on rare occasions, police corruption can be overlooked by law enforcement as is the case of accidental "shootings" of suspects and so forth. Some in the government and voices from the public, have even gone to say the reason why police corruption is worsening in the United States and may eventually become as bad as it is in Africa, is due in part to the lack of punishment and fines related to police misconduct. Police officers hardly get arrested or fined, even fired for killing innocent people. Lack of effective deterrents will only fuel the already corrupt individuals inside the police force to continue to perform illegal activities because the fear of getting caught and the fear of facing consequences is lessening. Most law enforcement organizations do not state figures of police corruption due to anxiety of loss of public backing for the force and power so often used in fighting crime (Gottschalk, 2012, p. 175). Nevertheless, it is recognized that police corruption is one of the ultimate hindrances to combating crime. It is even more difficult to fight organized crimes like the mob and street gangs, since in numerous circumstances, police officers accept payment to guard criminals. In nations like Mexico, combating drug use is a grave problem since most police officers are immoral and safeguard the drug lords that pay them. This paper will assess police corruption, the type of corruption it takes on, and suitable recommendations which need to be executed in order to ease or minimize such behavior and guarantee obedience of the law. A brief literature review will show how current law enforcement in the U.S. and internationally deal with police corruption. The discussed subjects will be abridged in a summary at the end. Forms of police corruption There are several forms of police corruption which are observed within the police force. These will be concisely discussed below: Opportunistic thefts Opportunistic thefts is a type of police corruption where officers participate in theft whenever they come across an occasion which enables such activity (Lee, 2013, p. 386). Stealing is easily one of the main challenges facing the police since it is problematic to prove unscrupulous thefts by police officers within a court of law due to evidence for these cases being hard to come by or nonexistent. An instance of an unprincipled theft may happen when officers recuperate stolen possessions or money but purposely devalue it in order to take some of it for themselves. Others may reach an opportunity in accident scenes and pilfer valuables from the incapacitated or deceased. In certain circumstances, police officers take cash or valuables from people they hold in custody. Again, because any witnesses present when the crime is committed are few to none, most of these cases are never prosecuted, leading to increased occurrences of such behavior. Unfortunately, more and more people are having their rights ignored during arrests, especially right to their personal belongings, making it easier for police officers to take from them. Something like a credit card or id can be taken by the police officer and used to engage in identity theft without the arrestee knowing what happened. In Africa, opportunistic theft is much higher than in United States. The African police force in countries like South Africa and Nigeria (one of the worse countries in Africa in relation to crime rate), are still very willing, even after reform, to steal from people, even stores, and avoid prosecution (Aremu, 2011, p. 202). Unlike America, there is little supervision or evaluation by people within the police force so most of the police officers get away with the majority of their opportunistic thefts. If America continues spiraling down, its police force will match that of Nigeria. Protection of illegal activities Defense of unlawful events is one of the highest tasks facing reputable law enforcement organizations across the world. There are numerous police officers who are involved in the protection of offenders of organized law-breaking and in many instances, such officers have high power and authority, making it even more difficult for junior officers to detain and prosecute these wrongdoers. The kinds of organized crimes that thrive due to police protection is prostitution, human trafficking, gambling, and sale of drugs (Einstein, 2003, p. 78). Frequently officers are offered money inducements or other benefits which put a strain on their values. Especially in this tough economy, police officers are more susceptible to doing these kinds of activities in order to pay their bills since there have been recent cutbacks to the police force. It's not always based on money however. Some police officers have been blackmailed in order for organized criminals to evade arrest and continue receiving protection for their illegal activities. Just like with opportunistic theft, protection of illegal activities is hard to prove in the court system because organized criminals hide well what they do. And since the police officers working with them are in the system, they will make sure no evidence is found to prosecute them. That is why sometimes on the news, people see innocent people going to prison based on circumstantial evidence. Criminals and corrupt officers need scapegoats and see the scapegoats in innocent bystanders (Lee, 2013, p. 386). Corruption of authority This is a type of corruption involves the welcome of free gratuity, drinks and meals from the public. This is not necessarily illegal, but it can lead to other unlawful activities as police officers may start to feel like they are above the law. It is hard to stop this form of corruption because sometimes the public feels inclined to give officers free gifts to show gratitude for their services. However, in time, police officers will feel more inclined to protect the ones that offer gifts over the ones that do not (Punch & Gilmour, 2010, pp. 10-12). To add insult to injury, this is how officers are sometimes blackmailed. People giving gifts to the willing officers can use that as a means of an officer accepting an illegal bribe and blackmail them into committing even worse crimes such as covering up criminal activity and so forth. To combat this, several police departments banned the receiving of gifts from the public. This was done in hopes of curbing potential problems with blackmailing. Direct criminal activities Police officers, just like criminals, can and do commit crimes. These police officers are hard to catch in the act because they have background knowledge in evidence removal and can directly affect cases against them depending on their standing within the police force. They are trained on how to handle criminal situations and most know how to not leave any evidence behind after they commit the crime. Furthermore, they are also hard to spot because they perform criminal activities in plain clothes. An example of criminal activities corrupt police may do is murder, rape, and extortion. There have been cases where police officers gave their weapons and uniform to criminals in order to commit crimes unimpeded. Internationally speaking, this form of corruption is quite prevalent with police officers, as they kill innocent civilians without justifiable cause or need. Instances in Africa include drug rings, human trafficking, and so forth. This form of corruption is easier to spot than the previously mentioned, however, most of the time, police officers committing crimes are not caught and continue their activities for years, even decades. Sabotaging criminal cases The tampering of evidence in criminal cases remains a main concern in regards to police corruption. As earlier discussed, police have tampered with evidence to ensure a guilty verdict, but also to ensure a not guilty verdict. This is mainly due to the influence of the criminal being prosecuted. For instance, a mob boss may pay several police officers to destroy evidence linking him to the crime. The police officers will then go into the evidence section of the department and remove or tamper with the evidence. In court, the judge has no evidence to convict the mob boss and he goes free. Another way police officers may impeded a criminal case is by not showing up when summoned to a court date. Suspects are then released on a technicality. Corruption is a complex process and it involves several actions that lead to negative outcomes. In order to provide effective solutions, several areas must be addressed. Corruption may start with lack of money and resources leading to higher instances of accepting bribes and stealing on the part of police officers in order to avoid going in debt. In the next section, solutions on how to stop these forms of corruption will be discussed. Solutions for preventing corruption in the police force There are numerous recommendations which may be valuable in discouraging police officers from enabling or participating in criminal activities. These will be examined below: Legislation A weak and corrupted government leads to a weak and corrupted police force. Having a strong government can lead to better law enforcement and protection of civil rights. Therefore, legislation can be one of the greatest and effective deterrents to corruption. Since money is often the root cause of police corruption, heavy fines and sentences can deter even the smartest of criminals from engaging too often in criminal activities. Heavy fines and sentences against police officers proven guilty in court will act as a major deterrent to other potentially corrupt officers who are bearing in mind participating in criminal activities. Legislators must pass sufficient laws that will enable the arrest and sentencing of police officers. A lot of the stories in the news of police officers brutally killing suspects is often met with those police officers receiving a paid leave of absence or simply getting fired. Most do not face jail time or even see the court as punishment is often done outside of the court room (Roleff, 2003, p. 122). Not making police corruption public, leads to police officers not feeling afraid to commit more crimes since they will not be under public scrutiny. The only reason police officers are being sentenced now is due in part to the public filming the corrupt occurrences. Legislation allowing the public to record police activity unimpeded and especially provide on duty cameras to officers who must have it on at all times will avoid major instances of corruption, especially when detaining suspects and stealing their valuables. There have been instances across the country of police departments engaging in placement of cameras on police officers. The criminal activity of such police officers and the complaints from the public decreased dramatically (Tankebe, 2010, p. 300). All of this requires funding however, and regulation of capital. Most of the main problems facing police departments in regards to corruption is facing underfunding from the government. The cutbacks are what cause a lot of the police corruption happening across the United States. Effective remuneration A lot of countries across the world face a growing problem with police corruption mainly due to police officers being underpaid. Even in America, police officer risk their lives and their safety to get an annual salary lower than teachers. Of course salaries go up as the police officer gets promoted, but most of the time they don't get promoted and get stuck making slightly above the poverty limit. Some police officers are so in debt they have to work a second job to avoid losing their homes and so forth. Money is at the heart of the corruption problem not just in the United States, but the world over (Wolfe & Piquero, 2011, p. 333). Countries like Nigeria, are severely underfunded in regards to maintain a police force. Some join just because they'll have more power as a police officer to commit crimes. This is beginning to happen more in the United States as well. People join the police force so they can take part in criminal activities to help pay for their bills and so forth or to in the very least, feel as though they are in control of some aspect of their lives. As salaries for police officers have gone down, incidents of police violence in America has gone up. One such problem emerging from the American recession is the willingness of police to give tickets and arrest people in order to meet quotas and receive extra pay. The American jail system is littered with petty criminals because police officers will receive bonus pay if they reach a certain amount of arrests. This a growing problem that must be addressed in order to curb police corruption. Police officers feel more and more in need of supplementing their income. To do this, they become more willing to take bribes, "gifts", and commit crimes. When a police officer can't sustain his or her family on his or her income alone, it becomes very demoralizing. Some police officers have even applied for food stamps because they cannot manage to feed their household. Effective remuneration of officers plus satisfactory salaries will diminish their incentive to participate in corruption and it may become possible to decrease cases of police corruption considerably. Sensitizing police and the public Public knowledge of police corruption can protect citizen from possible acts of corruption by police officers. Police and the public should be informed on the antagonistic effects of corruption among police officers as a long term answer to police corruption. Just like within adequate funding and higher salaries, informing the public and the police can significantly curb corruption. This includes making everyone aware of the consequences of performing corrupt activities. Fear of consequences from being caught practicing corruption and making any corrupt activities public will deter would committers within the police force from re-committing or performing such acts altogether. There should also be direct consequences for the public should they engage in criminal activities with police such as bribes and blackmailing. The public needs to understand their involvement plays an active role in how often police officers become corrupt. They must also see corruption in the police force leads to a worse society overall with higher crime rates and decreased safety. Recording contact with public This solution was previously mentioned in the earlier section. However it must repeated as recording potentially unlawful effects has many uses. First it informs the public of any potential unlawful activity occurring within the police force. It also records any evidence that can be used in court to prosecute corrupt officers. When police officers see they are being recorded, they are less likely to commit any crimes. The public can record any police activity but must be informed of having the right to do so. Many police officers will attempt to remove the phone or camera from a bystander in order to avoid incrimination. If the public is informed of their rights to record, they can protest the use of force to keep them from recording. Recording is effective strategy and has been shown to decrease misconduct by police officers. This along with installing cameras either on police cars, in precincts, or on police officers, will avoid potential corruption in not just police officers, but would be enablers. Countries like Nigeria do not have the funds nor the available technology to record their police officers. However, they can start by installing dash cams on police vehicles. It is not as expensive as other kinds of recording devices and has been used in the United States to prosecute police officers for years. Dash cams record activity at all times and although is limited to the front of the car, can and has prevented at least some police corruption by providing evidence against misconduct in court. Literature Review Current literature examines police corruption on many levels. Wolfe & Piqeuro study the effects of competent managerial practices in law enforcement agencies on police misconduct. Results indicate that officers who view their agency as fair and just in managerial practices are less likely to adhere to the code of silence or believe that police corruption in pursuit of a noble cause is justified. Furthermore, perceptions of organizational justice are associated with lower levels of engagement in several forms of police misconduct (Wolfe & Piquero, 2011, p. 332). As a whole, police departments that exercised better managerial practices generated a sense of comradery amongst officers leading to decreased acts of corruption. Although this was not discussed in the previous sections, it is important to note ways to decrease criminal behavior in police departments without increasing budgets and spending. This way of dealing with corruption is not only cost-effective, but also helps build trust and teamwork within a law enforcement agency. More often than not, police feel ashamed or afraid of coming forth with predicaments they experience on duty or off. If higher levels of trust exist within a police department, police officers would be more willing to come clean with smaller criminal activities and even ask for help with blackmailing. Also, when there is more communication amidst the police officer population, police officers will have a better chance of being informed of the consequences of committing unlawful acts and so forth. Ultimately, informing police officers of punishments and fines can be and has been proven to be a major deterrent. This article provided a great alternative to some of the solutions already offered. In another article by Walsh & Conway, the authors discuss the obstacles facing regulation and accountability of police behavior. "The challenges of police governance and accountability have been rising up the agenda of policy makers, police chiefs, NGOs at local, national and international levels, diverse commentators and academics across several disciplines for at least the past fifty years" (Walsh & Conway, 2011, p. 61). They state policy makers are to blame for not enabling legislature that blocks police officers from keeping their job or getting paid after committing a crime. Some states within the U.S. allow police officers paid leave after killing or incapacitating someone instead outright dismissal. Legislature is key to providing enough of a deterrent. Without proper punishments and fines placed, police officers will feel no motivation to stop their criminal activities. There also has to be a better understanding of the intricacies of the new generation of policing. "Policing itself has changed immensely over the past 50 years in response to the demands imposed upon it by an increasingly diverse, technological, urbanized, globalized, mobile, sophisticated..." (Walsh & Conway, 2011, p. 61). Police officers now have to face, especially in America, civilians who cannot speak or understand English, higher occurrences of illegal immigrants, and constantly being recorded. The stress from dealing with various problems everyday can lead to corrupt behavior in individuals within the police force. Understanding the demands of a growing society on police can better assist with providing long term solutions to deter criminal activities within law enforcement. Tankebe explains his results led to corruption related to level of trust and procedural justice. "The findings show that both vicarious experiences of corruption and satisfaction with reform measures explain assessments of police trustworthiness, procedural justice and effectiveness, but that personal experiences of police corruption do not do so" (Tankebe, 2010, p. 296). If police officers feel as though justice is upheld overall, and have faith in the system, they will be less inclined to become corrupt. As earlier mentioned, a police officer stated he does not follow the constitution because Obama does not follow the constitution. His lack of faith in the system led him astray, making him a corrupt cop. The influence of the government is important when considering ways to end police corruption because it has an impact on the trust level of police officers in regards to upholding and obeying the law. Punch & Gilmour also examined the stress experienced by police officers. "And the pressures, rationalizations, and opportunities for deviance - for or against the institution - are always related `collectively' to the social nature of work, the diverse cultures, and the structure of the organization" (Punch & Gilmour, 2010, p. 10). Police officers normally have fairly low salaries, combined with the daily stress of the job duties, they will be more prone to commit crimes due to stress and inability to handle personal and professional responsibilities. Money plays an important role in how police officers carry out their job duties. If police officers see their actions are not being rewarded with sufficient pay, they will look elsewhere to supplement their income. It can either be solved by minimizing the responsibilities of police officers which can lead to disastrous consequences in relation to crime rate, or increase salaries for all in the police force. Lee et al. explains the need for research on the attitudes of police officers towards corruption not just on the act of corruption itself in relation to organizational structure. Police corruption is one of the most significant law enforcement issues to citizens, practitioners, and researchers. Prior research on the impact of police organizational structure on corruption has remained mostly descriptive or comparative. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the current study reports that line officers' attitudes toward corruption are highly influenced by their supervisors in the chain of command and deviant subculture (Lee et al., 2013, p. 386). If police officers demonstrate a lack of care in relation to corrupt behavior, this will be a clear indicator of the level of problems within the police force. Many cops feel as though the government is working against them and are not supporting them in relation to their job and families. Therefore, they feel more inclined to commit criminal acts because they feel a need to provide for themselves and their families as well as a disregard and lack of faith in the government. Gottschalk discusses white collar crime and the misconduct of police officers. "Occupational crime is often emphasized at the expense of corporate crime. In the research literature on misconduct and crime by police officers, however, there seems to be a tendency to claim systems failure" (Gottschalk, 2012, p. 169). Just like the previous articles, police blame the collapse of the system or constitution for their behavior. They using the excuse of a corrupt government to then behave in a corrupt manner. Attitudes and trust are tied into police behavior. These articles reveal the importance of government behavior in relation to policing. If police see the government doing whatever they want, the police will follow suit. The government's influence then becomes a key deterrent or propellant of police corruption. Gottschalk continues further by stating police crime is caused by a multitude of things and not just simply the crimes committed. "It is argued that police crime is a result of bad practice, lack of resources or mismanagement, rather than acts of criminals" (Gottschalk, 2012, p. 169). This is true in many regards. As seen through this essay, many aspects of society go into the corruption of police officers. It is not just as simple as desire to do the crime. Many things, including the public, enable police corruption. An excerpt from a website explains the case of Former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge who was caught and tried with justice and perjury charges concerning the torture of inmates: Four of Burge's victims of torture, who were on death row because of their coerced confessions, were granted innocence pardons by the governor after Burge's police misconduct was brought to light. In all, there were 14 documented cases where death sentences were based on confessions involving allegations of torture. In most police misconduct cases, the misconduct is more subtle than torture. Often time's police simply push the envelope in order to obtain a witness statement. In the case of Timothy Atkins, Atkins was convicted after a witness, Denise Powell, testified that Atkins had confessed to the crime. After Atkins was incarcerated for more than two decades, the California Innocence Project presented evidence that Powell was pressured by police to testify. When reversing Atkins' conviction, the judge held that the officers who interviewed Powell threatened her with jail if she did not provide information about the case ("California Innocence Project"). It is cases like these that propel the need for police corruption to be controlled. Innocent people are being tortured and sent to jail for crimes they did not commit in order to line the pockets of corrupt law enforcement. Summary and conclusion Police corruption is a serious problem upsetting society. Although there are few statistics on police corruption made available to the public, the consequences of police corruption reverberate throughout society. Various forms of police corruption examined here such as: opportunistic thefts, safeguard of illegal undertakings, venality of authority, direct criminal activities and impairing criminal cases. Practices of corruption such as these lead to an increase in organized crime like human trafficking and reduce prosecutions of serious and powerful criminals. Answers to the dilemma of police corruption consist of legislation, effective remuneration, informing the public and police as well as recording contact of police with the public. Once these recommendations are realized and executed, instances of police corruption will radically decrease. People need to realize the importance of policing in a society. The government has to invest and properly manage not only law enforcement agencies but also other branches of government like congress and judicial. The government and the public are key influences in how corrupt police become. References Aremu, A. O., Pakes, F., & Johnston, L. (2011). The moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the reduction of corruption in the Nigerian Police. Police Practice and Research, 12(3), 195-208. Retrieved July 30, 2014, from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15614263.2010.536724#.U9sFVvldWa8 Beggs, J., & Davies, H. (2009). Police misconduct, complaints, and public regulation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. California Innocence Project. (n.d.). Police Corruption Cases \ Police Misconduct Statistics \ CIP. Retrieved August 1, 2014, from http://californiainnocenceproject.org/issues-we-face/police-misconduct Einstein, S., & Amir, M. (2003). Police corruption: paradigms, models, and concepts: challenges for developing countries. 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