Analysis of a current issue affecting criminal justice policy

¶ … corruption as well as various theories that have attempted and done well in explaining the causes and propagation of corruption in the society. The paper will also highlight at the applicability of these theories to the existing society as well as the probable elucidation to the corruption cases through the theories that have been stated herein.

The thought of corruption, predominantly in the midst of the police force has not been an issue that troubles the American society alone but is an extensive spread right through the entire world. Various societies have invested their efforts to stop the vice but the consequence has always been similar; too much effort giving too little change in the police force corruption cases.

The slippery slope as it is in the view of Richard Nordquist, (2011) is a misleading notion in which there is an protestation to a course of action on the grounds that once a petite leeway is given then it would consequence into further erroneous being done or further actions until detrimental consequences originate. It is a understated way that is used by many to caution of the calamitous consequences of an action without inevitably condemning the action itself in a strong as well as absolute manner.

In terms of corruption, there is a considerable tendency that is taking rot among the a range of calibers of civil servants. In particular the police are known to slide easily on the slippery slope. It all begins with the policeman accepting a simple tip or a cup of coffee offer from an acquaintance. The next thing would be if he gets the same person in a misdemeanor then he is bound to compromise the action that they would take against them as compared to the previous time if he had not taken the cup of coffee or the tip. The policeman will then be bound to receive further gratuities from the same suspect so that he can cover up the ills. In turn the person will have the confidence that even if found in a bigger mistake by the same policeman in the future, all he will have to do is to part with bigger gratuities and all will be well.

The structural/affiliation theory was initially founded by Arthur Niederhoffer who proposed that public officers become indoctrinated to participate in corruption by seeing and observing the actions and behaviors of the senior people in the department and that the junior officers do not start the corruption themselves. It is the response to such actions propagated by the seniors from the law enforces that that will pave path for the precedence on actions or lack of it in dealing with the vices and consequently kick start a corruption cycle. Delatrre, E., (2006) notes that the rookies are just taught the behavior by the seniors, who in turn learnt of the same from other seniors there before.

This behavior will be passed on through several generations as long as strict action is not adhered to in stopping it. This theory states that corruption is fed by the mushroomed secrecy around it and can only be encountered by external remedies like the civilian commissions.

Rotten apple hypothesis is another theory that we can use safely in looking at the civil servants corruption and the police in particular. This theory postulates that the corruption in any sector, like the police are as a result of putting into the forces individuals who are already corrupt and have the zeal to find opportunity to further propagate it. This theory point out that corruption is facilitated by the indiscriminate as well as insufficient hiring and training outlines as well as lacking supervision as was observed by Prof. Robert B. Reich (2004). A stricter guideline for the recruitment and training of officers would help militate against the vice. The two theories above then lead to another theory that compounds them known as the society-at-large hypothesis. This theory portends that the total sum of the behavior of an officer is the pile up of the actions and the activities that individual sees in the daily society. The society structure is at fault for the corruption that is predominant among the police force. It encompasses the structural theory since the superiors teach the society the corrupt ways, then the same society drafts a system that lacks thoroughness in the recruitment and training, hence the ground is automatically formatted to fuel a corruption cycle from both ends.