© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Police in America Chapter Thirteen Police Corruption

2 A Definition of Police Corruption ► Police Corruption: A form of misconduct or deviant behavior by police officers that involves the misuse of authority in a manner designed to produce personal gain for themselves or for others. ► Occupational Deviance: Criminal and improper non-criminal behavior committed during the course of normal work activities or under the guise of a police officer’s authority. ► Abuse of Authority: An action by a police officer “that tends to injure, insult, trespass upon human dignity…and/or violate an inherent legal right” of a citizen.

3 The Costs of Police Corruption 1. A corrupt act by a police officer is a criminal act. 2. Corruption usually protects other criminal acts. 3. Corruption undermines the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. 4. Corruption undermines the professionalism of a police department. 5. Corruption is a secret tax adding up to millions of dollars a year. 6. Corruption undermines public confidence in the police.

4 Types of Corruption Gratuities  Free meals, dry cleaning, or discounts  Receive or not receive?  Why would business persons give gratuities?  Grass eaters” vs. “meat eaters” Bribes  For not enforcing the law  Selling information  Protecting illegal activities Theft and burglary  Taking money from people arrested for drunkenness  Stealing property, money, or drugs Corruption and Brutality  Officers bust drug dealers, steal their drugs or money and then sold drugs to other dealers or officers  “Rite of initiation”

5 Corruption and Brutality Brutality - new form of corruption that emerged in the 1980s & 1990s  New York City  Los Angeles

6 Levels of corruption Type I: Rotten apples and rotten pockets  Rotten apples - Only a few corrupt officers  Rotten pocket - a few corrupt officers cooperating with one another Type II: Pervasive unorganized corruption  Majority of personnel are corrupt but have little relationship to each other. Type III: Pervasive organized corruption  Penetrates higher levels

7 Theories of Police Corruption Individual-officer explanations  Rotten apples The criminal law  Regulation of activities that people regard as legitimate or matters of private choice  Regulatory ordinances Culture conflict  Conflict over the goals of the system Local Political Culture  Corruption pervades other parts of government Neighborhood Explanations  Organizations foster corruption  High levels of poverty, racial diversity, population turnover, and low levels of informal social control may lead to police misconduct Nature of police work  Opportunity  Low visibility  Officer attitude

8 Theories of Police Corruption Cont. Police organization  Quality of management and supervision  Exists because the department tolerates it Police subculture  Initiates officers into corrupt activities  Covers up corrupt activities

9 Becoming Corrupt ► The Moral Careers of Individual Officers according to Sherman:  Police officers are often all honest at the outset of their careers  Moral career begins with minor gratuities ► Peer pressure involved ► Small bribes like free meals  Second and third phases involve regulatory offenses ► Officer more likely to engage in these activities if he/she knows other officers are doing it  Fourth, fifth and sixth phases involve more serious offenses ► Accepting large amounts of money ► Protection of certain activities such as prostitution and drug trafficking ► Corrupting Organizations  Initial stage involves individuals or isolated groups  Second and third stages involve all officers becoming corrupt  Final stages involve “pervasive organized corruption:

10 Controlling Corruption Internal Mechanisms  Attitude of Chief of Police  Rules and Regulations  Internal Affairs investigations ► Parting the “blue curtain” ► Proactive Integrity tests  Effective Supervision  Rewarding good officers  Personnel Recruitment

11 Controlling Corruption External Mechanisms  Special investigations  Criminal prosecution  Mobilizing public opinion  Altering the external environment Media

12 The Limits of Anticorruption Efforts ► Anechiarico and Jacobs argue anticorruption efforts have been ineffective and have made government itself ineffective ► Corruption persists in the NYC police department despite special investigations every 20 years ► However, NYC is unique and other police departments in other cities have been successful in reducing corruption