Police Corruption

Drug-Related Police Corruption: An Increasing Problem Throughout Law Enforcement Agencies In The United States In the United States, drug-related police corruption is becoming an increasingly, unjustifiable problem throughout the ranks of law enforcement agencies. Many variables exist to explain the reason for their actions, but ultimately, what makes them do it? Knowing how to recognize a corrupted officer or one exhibiting signs of traveling down the wrong path is essential in order to mitigate the problem.Law enforcement leadership also plays a vital role in the identity and prevention of drug-related corruption. Drug-related police corruption is any act by a sworn police officer that is the sale, manufacture, distribution or supporting of drug activities for the personal gain of the officer. Why is this corruption a problem? Many law enforcement officers who are sworn in to protect the lives of our citizens, to abide and uphold the law, are doing the exact opposite, and this is a problem. The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of drug-related police corruption.It identifies and describes incidents in which police officers are arrested for criminal offenses associated with drug-related corruption. Data was analyzed on 221 drug-related arrest cases of officers employed by police agencies throughout the USA. Findings show that drug-related corruption involves a wide range of criminal offenses and that cocaine is the most prevalent drug. Older officers and those used by large companies are less likely than others to lose their jobs after a drug-related arrest (Philip Stinson, 2013). Drug-related police corruption is a problem that will not go away on its own which is evident by the statistics.The first step in preventing corruption would be to recognize the signs of a corrupted officer. Learn what puts an officer at risk of becoming corrupted, and what makes them defy the law they swore to uphold, protect and defend. Drug corruption is b orn out of police attitudes because if an officer is lacking the right attitude then corruption can become a mainstay for that officer (Cheurprakobkit, 1998). For example, if any officers believe that the enforcement of drug laws is a waste of their time and that they are underpaid, they may accept a bribe from a drug trafficker to allow the trade.This places a little more money in their pocket and allows them not to worry about enforcing a law they may not agree with. Knowing how to identify the signs of a corrupted officer is a necessary step to decreasing the amount of drug-related corruption, and may one day lead to mitigating the issue. What leads law enforcement to corruption? After looking at yearly sales of different drugs in the United States, it was found that weed brings in about $3 billion dollars, heroin $10 billion, and cocaine, a whopping $38 billion dollars annually (Stevens, 1999).If you pay attention to these numbers, you can clearly see how easy it would be for a low paid, frustrated police officer to turn corrupt and help with the sale, transport, or manufacturing of illegal substances. To reduce police corruption, the commissions recommend creating external oversight over the police with a unique focus on integrity, improving recruitment and training, guidance from supervisors of all ranks about integrity, holding all commanders responsible for the misbehavior of subordinates, and changing the organization’s culture to tolerate misbehavior less (Perito, 2011).While drug-related police corruption continues to pose a threat at some level in every law enforcement agency, it does not necessarily mean there is a high percentage of corrupt law enforcement officials. While it is a problem, it could be prevented with proactive steps – observing the actions and lifestyles of these police officers. There is an opportunity for corruption wherever there are drugs present, and no law enforcement official should be above suspicion. Corrupt ion has been identified at the lowest and highest levels. Police Corruption Police corruption is the misuse of police authority for personal gain. Examples include extortion (for example, demanding money for not writing traffic tickets) and bribery (for example, accepting money in exchange for not enforcing the law).The costs of police corruptionPolice corruption carries high costs. First, a corrupt act is a crime. Second, police corruption detracts from the integrity of the police and tarnishes the public image of law enforcement. Third, corruption protects other criminal activity such as drug dealing and prostitution. Protected criminal activities are often lucrative sources of income for organized crime. The causes of police corruptionAccording to the rotten apple theory, corruption is the work of a few, dishonest, immoral police officers. Experts dismiss this theory because it fails to explain why so many corrupt officers become concentrated in some police organizations but not others. Another explanation pinpoints U.S. society's use of the criminal law to enforce morality.Unenforceable laws governing moral standards promote corruption because they provide criminal organizations with a financial interest in undermining law enforcement. Narcotic corruption, for example, is an inevitable consequence of drug enforcement. Providers of these illegal goods and service use part of their profits to bribe the police in order to ensure the continuation of criminal enterprises. Rooting out police corruptionWhen police controls break down and a scandal occurs, special investigating commissions can mobilize public opinion and rally public support for anticorruption and antiviolence reforms. Commissions get information from the police department, pinpoint where the internal controls of the police have failed, and recommend changes in policy. The problem with these commissions is that they usually disappear after finishing their reports. Paul Chevigny asserts that continuing independent auditors would be more effective than commissions. He envisi ons the function of such auditors as investigating a range of police problems, including corruption and  brutality. Prosecuting corrupt police officersSince corruption involves criminal behavior, prosecution of corrupt police officers is possible. Since prosecutors depend on the police to gather evidence and develop cases, however, they often don't want to â€Å"bite the hand that feeds them.† Legislative controlLegislators could reevaluate laws that create the potential for corruption. Such a reassessment would be based on the recognition that a major portion of police corruption is an outgrowth of laws that criminalize drug use, prostitution, and gambling. Any serious attempt to fight police corruption must wrestle with the decriminalization issue. Decriminalization involves removing the criminal label from victimless crimes by legalizing and regulating them. Decriminalization would contribute significantly to improving the police corruption problem. It is doubtful, howev er, that Congress or any state legislature will seriously consider legalizing drugs or any other prohibited goods and services in the near future.