tollerated in any way, shape, or form. If a police administrator does
not act strongly with disciplinary action against any corrupt
activity, the message conveyed to other officers within the department
will not be that of intimated nature. In addition it may even increase
corruption, because officers feel no actions will be taken against
them. Another way that police agencies can control its corruption
problem starts orginally in the academy. Ethical decisions and
behavior should be promoted, because failing to do make officers aware
of the consequences of corruption does nothing but encourages it.
Finally, many police departments, especially large ones, have an
Internal Affairs unit which operates to investigate improper conduct
of police departments. These units some times are run within the
department or can be a total outside agency to insure that there is
not corruption from within the Internal Affairs unit, as was alleged
in the 1992 NYPD corruption scandal. Such a unit may be all that is
need to prevent many officers from being tempted into falling for
corrupt behavior patterns. Although the police agaency should be the
main source of controling its own corruption problem, there also
requires some support and assistance from the local community. It is
important that the public be educated to the negative affects of
corruption on their police agency. They should be taught that even
‘graitudes’ (the most basic and common form of police corruption) is
only a catalyst for more and future corruption. The community may even
go as far as establishing review boards, and investigative bodies to
help keep a careful eye on the agency. If we do not act to try and
control it, the costs can be enormous, because it affects not only the
individual, his department, the law enforcement community as a whole,
but society as well. Police corruption can be controlled; it just
takes a little extra effort. And In the long run, that effort will be
well worth it to both the agency and the community. (Walker, 1992: p.
89)
The powers given by the state to the police to use force have
always caused concern. Although improvements have been made to control
corruption, numerous opportunities exist for deviant and corrupt
practices. The opportunity to aquire power in excess of that which is
legally permitted or to misuse power is always available. The police
subculture is a contributing factor to these practices, because
officers who often act in a corrupt manner are often over looked, and
condoned by other members of the subculture. As mentioned from the
very begining of this report the problem of police deviance and
corruption will never be completely solved, just as the police will
never be able to solve the crime problem in our society. One step in
the right direction, however, is the monitoring and control of the
police and the appropriate use of police style to enforce laws and to
provide service to the public.
—
Works Cited
Beals, Gregory (1993, Oct 21). Why Good Cops Go Bad. Newsweek, p. 18.
Carter, David L. (1986). Deviance & Police. Ohio: Anderson Publishing
Co.
Castaneda, Ruben (1993, Jan. 18). Bearing the Badge of Mistrust. The
Washington Post, p. 11.
Dantzker, Mark L. (1995, ). Understanding Today’s Police. New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, Inc.
James, George (1993, Mar. 29). Confessions of Corruption. The New York
Times, p. 8.
James, George (1993, Nov. 17). Officials Say Police Corruption is Hard
To Stop. The New York Times, p. 3.
Sherman, Lawrence W (1978). Scandal And Reform. Los Angeles:
University of California Press.
Simpson, Scott T. (1993, June 14). Mollen Commission Findings. New
York Post, p. 28
Walker, J.T. (1992). Briefs of 100 leading cases in the law
enforcement. Cincinnati: Anderson Publishing Company.
Weber, Bruce (1993, April 3). Confessions of Corruption. The New York
Times, p. 5.