criminal ethics lesson 4 HWlesson4

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CHAPTER 7:

Police Corruption and Misconduct

Lecture Slides prepared by Cheryn Rowell

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The majority of police officers are professional and ethical. However, a small minority abuse their power. This leads to close scrutiny by the public of all police.

Police officers have tremendous power in our society:

  • The power to arrest
  • The power to mediate or to charge
  • The power to use force
  • The power of life and death

Abuse of Power by Police

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Police Corruption:
A Worldwide Problem

  • Baksheesh
  • Countries with high scores for police honesty
  • Finland
  • Denmark
  • New Zealand
  • Sweden
  • Countries with low scores for police honesty
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bolivia
  • Kenya
  • Uganda
  • Bangladesh

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Types of Corruption

  • 1973 Knapp Commission:

Grass eaters—accepting bribes, gratuities, and unsolicited protection money

Meat eaters—shakedowns, “shopped” at burglary scenes, and engaged in more active deviant practices

  • 1993 Mollen Commission:

Criminal cops—burglary rings, selling drugs, robbing drug dealers

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Police Abuse of Authority (Barker and Carter)

Physical abuse

  • Excessive force
  • Physical harassment

Psychological abuse

  • Disrespect
  • Harassment
  • Ridicule
  • Intimidation

Legal abuse

  • Unlawful searches or seizures
  • Manufacturing evidence

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Corruption (Fyfe and Kane)

  • Police crime —police officers violate criminal statutes.

  • Police corruption —officer uses his or her position, by act or omission, to obtain improper financial benefit, bribes, extra-job policy abuse, gratuities (may be criminal or not).

  • Abuse of power —officers physically injure or offend a citizen’s sense of dignity (“brutality” or unnecessary force, deception in interrogation, intimidation on the street, perjury, planting evidence, and hiding exculpatory evidence, off-duty misconduct).

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Gratuities

Items of value given because of role or position, rather than personal relationship.

  • A gift is personal and has no strings attached.
  • Common police gratuities include:

Free coffee

Free movie/sports tickets

Discounted or free meals

Discounted or free merchandise

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Professional Courtesy

The practice of not ticketing an officer who is stopped for speeding or for other driving violations.

Using Drugs/Alcohol on Duty

Police work factors that foster drug use:

  • Exposure to a criminal element
  • Relative freedom from supervision
  • Uncontrolled availability of contraband

Drinking on duty:

  • Creates less vulnerability to corruption than drug use
  • Creates an ethical dilemma for other officers
  • May lead other officers to isolate themselves from or avoid working with those who drink

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Exploitation of one’s role by accepting

bribes or protection money.

  • Also applies to kickbacks from defense attorneys, bail bond companies, etc.

  • Bribes rated in one study as second most serious ethical transgression (after theft from burglary scene).

Graft

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Sexual Misconduct (Kraska & Kappeler)

  • Viewing a victim's photos, etc., for prurient purposes

  • Strip searches

  • Illegal detentions

  • Deception to gain sex
  • Trading favors for sex

  • Sexual harassment

  • Sexual contact

  • Sexual assault

  • Rape

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Criminal Cops

  • “Buddy boys” (NYC)
  • Mafia Cops (Eppolito & Caracappa)
  • Boston (Pulido)
  • Cleveland cocaine cops
  • Chicago (robbery, extortion, theft)
  • Miami River Rats
  • Drug crimes (in all cities: protection, theft, robbery)

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Explanations

  • “Rotten-apple” argument (Officer was deviant before hiring)
  • Development of a police personality (Officer became deviant after hiring)
  • Possible predictors: gender, age, education, race, military experience, academy performance, prior history of wrongdoing

Target: screening/recruiting process; training

Individual:

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  • Poor management and supervision
  • “Noble Cause” (improper rewards)
  • Corruption continuum (Trautman)

- Administrative indifference toward integrity

- Ignoring ethical problems

- Hypocrisy and fear

- “Survival of the fittest”

  • Continuum of compromise (Gilmartin & Harris)

- Sense of victimization

- Cynicism and entitlement

- Wrongdoing

Explanations

Institutional/Organizational:

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  • If the public does not comply with the law, officers may rationalize non-enforcement of the law.

  • If the public engages in illegal activities, officers may feel justified in doing the same.

  • If the public believes crime control is more important than due process, police will act on that message.

Explanations

Systemic/Societal:

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Thinking Point

On May 25th, 2010 a Winfield, MO police officer was arrested for buying 2 grams of cocaine from a police informant. The officer was later taken into custody in his uniform. Bud Chrum was hired in December of 2009 making $14.97 per hour.

What explanation can be offered as to why this officer became corrupt?

Was he simply a rotten apple or did he develop the police personality?

Is there ever a time when this type of behavior is justified?

Reducing Corruption (Malloy)

  • Increase pay

  • Eliminate unenforceable laws

  • Establish civilian review boards

  • Improve training

  • Improve leadership

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  • Set realistic goals and objectives

  • Provide ethical leadership

  • Provide a written code of ethics

  • Provide a whistle-blowing procedure that ensures fair treatment for all parties

  • Provide training in law enforcement ethics

Reducing Corruption (Metz)

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Education and Training

  • Higher formal education standards are not, themselves, the key to ethical behavior

  • Academy and in-service ethics training are common and recommended for all departments

  • Many courses use a moral reasoning approach

  • Some advocate an emphasis on character

  • Others recommend case studies

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Integrity Testing

  • Very controversial

  • Not well-received by most officers

  • Comparing integrity testing to undercover operations reveals that:

- Most officers oppose integrity testing

- Most officers support undercover operations

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Early Warning or Audit Systems

  • Seek to identify problem officers by trends of abuse or corruption complaints
  • Identified officers may be subject to:

- Reassignment, retraining, or transfer

Referral to an employee assistance program

A fitness-for-duty evaluation

Dismissal

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Internal Affairs Model

  • Police investigate themselves

  • Police use an internal discipline system

  • Widely seen as ineffective

  • May discourage civilian complaints

  • Does not evoke public confidence

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Civilian Review/Complaint Model

  • An independent civilian agency audits complaints and investigations

  • Police still investigate and conduct discipline proceeding

  • Using departments receive more civilian complaints

  • Internal and external substantiation rates about the same—approximately ten percent

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�Ethical Leadership

  • Mistrust of police administration is pervasive among the rank-and file

  • Two cultures of policing: street cops and management

  • Most agree that supervisor behavior has greater influence on employee behavior than directives or ethics

  • Leaders lead most effectively by example

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