Police Corruption Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Police Corruption - Research Paper Example There is a wide range of police jurisdictions and considerable costs are paid by the society in general as well as the police services as a result of such misconduct. Herman Goldstein defines it as â€Å"acts involving the misuse of authority by a police officer in a manner designed to produce personal gain for himself or others.† It is a larger systematic problem which is due to the lack of overall transparency, no check and balances, weak rule of law and insubstantial institutions. Police Corruption generally occurs at two levels: In the office i.e. behind the scenes or on the streets such as bribery or involvement with criminals. The backroom corruption activities involve irregular practices such as negligence in enforcing internal discipline, stopping of investigations, payments for transfers or appointments and contracting. All these unethical and mischievous acts involve very large transactions and are committed by officers having command authority (mid or senior-level o fficials) and access to the privileged information. Officers avail such opportunities in pairs or alone in the absence of supervisors or any higher authorities. The extent may vary from petty corruption to large scale criminal acts which are endowed by the extra ordinary powers given to the police officials. In the 1980s and 1990s, corruption cases occurred on a very large scale involving and later charging police officers for drug dealings, robberies, batteries and even murders etc. It can be observed that there are two major elements of police corruption namely misuse of authority/power and misuse of personal attainment. At each level, these elements are misused in one way or the other posing a great hindrance in the efficient and effective working of the police department. It can be said that police officials have been a part of encouraging and creating crime rather than deterring it. In this report the causes of police corruption will be discussed and ways such as increased sala ries, training, education incentives, health and insurance benefits and policies that focus on such issues will be identified to eliminate or reduce corruption. Types of Police Corruption: Some major forms of police corruption are discussed below: Gratuity: This refers to the illegal or inappropriate use of power by police officers in order to arrest, coerce, harass, intimidate or assault people. It is a serious crime because the society in general relies on police to safeguard their social security and rights. They are given power to use it for the right purpose and intention but wrongful use of this authority has resulted in many unjust incidents. Police brutality, sexual harassment, illicit use of weapons, fake encounters are the most common ways of misusing the authority. Brutality is a form of physical abuse which occurs when officers want to teach a lesson to any citizen or unnecessary force them for the intended action. Police officers also engage in crimes that has nothing t o do with their professional duty such as insurance of fraudulent activities. It is very difficult to get the accurate statistics of police misconduct and abusive behaviour as they normally don’t release any detailed information on disciplinary issues. Kickbacks: It is a secret payment made to the police officers in the form of contracts or transactions in order to change the course of action and support a wrongdoing/ illegal action. They are considered as fringe benefits of the job by the officers. The