Arguments Against Police Corruption

“Frequent exposure to media reports of police abuse or corruption is a strong predictor of perceptions of misconduct and supports the belief that is common.” (France-Respers 1). But unfortunately, it also brings me disheartened feelings. Recently, I was on twitter and I stumbled across a video of a young white male who was roughly about twenty to twenty-five years of age who was being handled so aggressively by about six officers while he was NOT resisting.

Rampart Scandal One of the most notorious police scandals of all time was the Rampart affair in the 1990s. This was one of the most widespread of documented of police misconduct in US history. More than 70 police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department in the Rampart division’s Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (A.K.A CRASH) anti-gang squad were implicated in numerous crimes including planting evidence, framing suspects, unprovoked beatings, stealing and dealing narcotics, bank robbery, perjury, and unprovoked shootings. What was even more shocking was that many of these officers were on the payroll of known Death Row Records CEO Suge Knights.

Every time I decide to watch the news, there always seems to be a story about an officer of the law shooting an innocent victim. This problem never truly resonated with me until reading an article about “The Myth of Police Reform.” Throughout this editorial there are countless examples of incidences where police intervention should be deemed unnecessary. There are some scenarios where extreme force may be needed, but a majority of them do not. Ta-Nehisi’s editorial supports this, even though it may have a few drawbacks related to the ethos, but he still manages to support his main claim with sufficient logos and pathos.

Police corruption is a hot topic displayed everyday through media and everyday life. Conversely, police is not as corrupt as what is presented through media today. But definitely there are always rotten apples, rotten barrels and even rotten orchards in police that ruin it for everyone else. Canadian policing mostly seems to have rotten apples rather than the barrels or orchards idea. This topic of police corruption became a hot topic specify in the U.S due to the LAPD Rampart scandal, as all three of these ideas of the rotten apples, rotten barrels and even rotten orchards were present.

The Political Era The police reform movement occurred in New York City in the 1840s which entailed efforts to improve policing. Although previous efforts to improve policing were made, none had such an effective impact as the murder of Mary Cecilia Rogers who disappeared for three days; her body was found in the Hudson River. The murder received a huge amount of publicity including demands for the police to solve the crime; however the police seemed unwilling to investigate the case until they were offered a substantial reward. There after the old policing system was transformed based on Peel’s model which entailed the development of an ethical police force. Some of the changes included hiring 800 officers, better hiring selections,

As defined by Bob Harrison in Noble Cause Corruption and the Police Ethic, “Noble Cause Corruption is the concept of officers acting illegally,not for personal gain, but to fulfill moral obligations, stands as a testimony to the difficulties encouraged by those entrusted with the public's safety”. It is “a mindset or sub-culture which fosters a belief that the end sjustify the means, law enforcement is engaged in a mission to make our streets and communities safe and if that requires suspending the constitution or violating laws ourselves in order to accomplish our mission then for the greater good of society,so be it” (Steve Rothlien). Officers as well as other law enforcement officials are faced with ehtical dilemmas nearly everyday and have

Officers abuse their power and most of the time get away with it which is not right, they are figures that the public trust to enforce the laws and keep them

Those against police reform would say, the police have every right to use force to protect the citizens. This in fact false because an officer shouldn’t be using extensive force to arrest someone. The power that is given to officers shouldn’t be used to hurt civilians who could be innocent of the suspicions that the officer has theorized. No one should be driven to hurt someone only because of race, gender or age. This is also false because police should know how to act in situations that may require communication skills and police officers shouldn’t be using so paranoid that they should everything that moves without a logical reason besides he may have had a hidden gun.

The main example throughout the documentary was the “rotten pocket” example that is used to describe a corruption in the prescient where more than one officer is corrupt, and are cooperating to fulfill this illegal act. In the documentary, Michaels partner described how everyone, even up to the captain was corrupt and in on their ring. This is a big problem within police departments since other officers will lie to protect their own, instead of doing what is in the best interest of the station, and the criminal justice system. Many programs like the early intervention systems and the mixed approach to police accountability The main goal of these programs being implemented, is to protect the agency from double-crossing officers and protect the

The media makes the severity of the situation much worse. In some instances, a situation is represented in way that conveys a case as deceptive. Police misconduct, in this situation, is preposterously distorted. For example, the scene one sees on television may be completely inaccurate. In the article Unpacking Public Attitudes to the Police: Contrasting Perceptions of Misconduct with Traditional Measures of Satisfaction, Miller states, “…research found that people's fear of crime was related to crime content in the newspapers they read…”( 6).

In the case Swinney v Chief Constable of Northumbria No.1, the court affirmed that the police officers only owe a public duty of preventing crimes. No duty of care in negligence is owed by the police to individual citizens for failure to prevent crime. This rule is further confirmed in the case Hill v. Chief Constable of West

I personally think corruption within law enforcement is the biggest ethical problem we're facing today. More and more police officers are getting arrested for stealing here lately. One good example is what happened last year in Cherryville, North Carolina. Four law enforcement officers were arrested and charged with conspiracy to transport and/or receive stolen property, four counts each of transportation of stolen property, one count of conspiracy to extort under color of official right, one count of money laundering conspiracy, four counts of money laundering and aiding and abetting, and three counts of possession of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence (Troop, 2012). The police officers helped criminals get tractor trailers filed

The reason as to why police brutality is unethical is simple. It kills a lot of people and is not necessary. However, what are the reasons as to why police brutality has become such a problem in the United States? One can argue the police officers take advantage of how much authority their occupation comprises of. If a cop shoots and murders a person, they claim that they were using self-defense or some other kind of excuse.

With the wide availability of video taping equipment these days—from cellphone cameras to mounted motorcycle helmet cameras—police officers are finding that their every move is subject to the scrutiny of thousands of people once the footage hits the Internet. More often than not, this footage is posted in order to expose police behavior than some deem “brutal.” Commenters throw out phrases like “excessive force” and “unconstitutional,” while police departments hit back stating that officers acted appropriately and according to police guideline.

Reducing Police Corruption In 1990, Metz, suggested several ways which can encourage reduce officers misconduct for example, a. Provide a written code of ethics-these are polices written to guide the police to make ethical choices when situations arise. b. Provide training in law enforcement ethics- these trainings would help the police officers what is expected of them. Malloy in 1982, suggested that a salary increment for the police officers would encourage them to stop taking bribes, also suggested that unenforceable laws to be eliminated, this would help the police officers not to feel too much pressure in enforcing them.