Prepared by: Lodi Presley, Angelica Rutland, Ann Swab, Stacey Thompson, Briana Valencia, Lynn Webb, and Denelia Wurzburg
POLICE DEVIANCE: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
“The police environment is a subculture, unlike any other. What do we know about police deviance as a manifestation of the structure of the police and society, police organization or policing as an institution of social control? Is there something about the development of the unique police role and function, and the creation of situational opportunities which might facilitate police deviation in those few cases where it happens? Is it a necessary evil which allows the rest of the police organization to exist within the framework of society?”
Chappell, A., & Piquero, A. (2004). Applying social learning theory to police misconduct. Deviant Behavior, 25, 89-108.
Through grant money provided by the National Institute of Justice, Allison Chappell and Alex Piquero, both professors for the Center for Studies in Criminology and Law at the University of Florida, Gainsville, were able to conduct research to find whether social learning theory can account for police misconduct. With data gathered from a random sample of Philadelphia police officers, the authors examined how officer attitudes and perceptions of peer behavior related to citizen complaints of police misconduct. Police officers enjoy many freedoms that are not accorded to regular citizens, such as speeding, using deadly force, and seizing property. Not only does the occupation provide many opportunities for deviance, but it also provides justifications if the behavior is questioned. Moreover, deviant officers are unlikely to be detected because of loose supervision and the fact that officers often work in isolation from public observation. The researchers found that as recruits advanced from the police academy to the streets, exposure to the police subculture increased, and their attitudes became more permissive regarding deviance. The officers began to favor less severe punishments for various forms of misconduct, such as accepting bribes and theft. A random survey questionnaire was conducted on 499 of the 3,810 officers within the Philadelphia Police Department. 68% of the responders were male, with an average age of 35 years old. Forty-six percent were married, and the average amount of experience on the job was 7.5 years. Police misconduct was measured by the presence of citizen complaints. In this study, they compared officers who had no complaints to those who had received citizen complaints. The three conclusions of the research findings were that accepting gifts from the public or from businesses is considered, by this sample of officers, to be normative and not indicative of other more serious forms of misconduct. Officer attitudes about the use of excessive force were related to citizen complaints more so than attitudes about theft or accepting gifts. Third, officers anticipated more punishment for theft than for using force, but variables related to force were the most consistent predictors of citizen complaints. The research evidence as a whole, supports the hypothesis that police deviance is a learned behavior that is passed on within departments. Only through advanced training and routine testing of officers’ opinions regarding definitions of misconduct and deviance, can measurable change be achieved.
Prepared by: Stacey Thompson
Cochran, J. K., & Bromley, M. L. (2003). The myth (?) of the police subculture [electronic version]. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 26(1), 88-117.
In this study, John K. Cochran and Max L. Bromley of the University of South Florida, using a sample of sheriffs’ deputies from two Hillsborough County districts within the Sheriff’s Office; attempt to determine whether or not there is evidence of an established police subculture. The authors examine different levels of adherence to police subculture and attempt to create an empirically ensuing taxonomy using cluster analysis and then corroborate that taxonomy using discriminate function analysis. To examine the extent of evidence of a police subculture, the taxonomy the authors created was divided into three separate groups according to the sheriffs’ deputies’ levels of adherence. The data was collected over a two year span from self-administered questionnaires which yielded a 98% response rate. The authors found that while evidence of police subculture does indeed exist; adherence to it is not pervasive. The authors also found “evidence of a potentially nouveau police sub-culture that is strongly oriented toward community-service.” However, we are cautioned by the authors that this research may be impetuous due to the sample size, type, and biases of the study group. The authors also note the unique environment that criminal justice professionals are exposed to that can give rise to the police sub-culture and potentially lead to “abuses of police authority.”
Prepared by: Angelica Rutland
Hickman, M. J., Piquero, A. R., Lawton, B. A., & Greene, J. R. (2001). Applying Tittle’s control balance theory to police deviance. Policing, 24(4), 497-519. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from Criminal Justice Periodicals database. (Document ID: 95499161). http://www.emeraldinsight.com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=
Article&Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/1810240403.pdf
The authors, Matthew J. Hickman, Alex R. Piquero, Brian A. Lawton, and Jack R. Greene applied Tittle’s Control Balance Theory to police deviance through a survey of police officers.
This theory states that a person’s behavior is affected by their control ratio and an unbalanced ratio presents potential for deviance. The deviance is a product of complex interactions between three key variables: motivation, constraint, and opportunity. An example of motivation given in this article is a citizen challenging an officer’s authority which then leads to verbal abuse from the officer or the secrecy of officers within an organization protecting each other. This variable depends on the frequency and intensity in which it occurs. Constraint is the perceived risk of detection for deviance and when it is greater or equal to motivation, and then the chance of an officer being deviant is low. The third variable, opportunity, is an absolute requirement for deviance to occur and Tittle states that some level of opportunity is always present. This is especially true for police officers since they are frequently unsupervised and have to practice their own control.
The authors’ survey of 499 Philadelphia police officers turned up results that were consistent with Tittle’s theory since control deficits were found to predict one form of deviance, in this case defiance to report a fellow officer of any wrong-doing.
Prepared by: Lodi Presley
Jiao, A.Y., Lau, R.W. K., & Lui, P. (2005). An institutional analysis of organizational change: The case of the Hong Kong police. International Criminal Justice Review, 15(1), 38-57.
This study focuses on institutional analysis of organizational change of the Hong Kong Police (HKP) based on an institutional perspective. After many years of British colonial ruling and communist paramilitary tradition the HKP is reforming its focus on customer-based service culture. HKP is a powerful institution with strong paramilitary rituals and practices that have undermined the inculcation of a services culture. HKP’s organizational changes resemble its Western counterparts. Similar to many large police departments in the United States, HKP’s institutionalized values and traditions may create great obstacles to any reform effort. Many studies require empirical evidence to support concepts of such as sovereigns, legitimacy, myth building, and ceremonial and ritual activities explaining why police organizations adopt certain practices and establish new units, even when these practices and units would not enhance their efficiency. This article examines the change of the Hong Kong Police (HKP) and related issues during this transition. Based on an institutional perspective, it is argued that the HKP’s paramilitary traditions greatly constrain changes. HKP has been under scrutiny by the public with the allegations of corruption by high ranking officials, police officers brutality, unnecessary street-level stop and search conducted routinely by patrol officers. What called for the organizational changes is the constant complaint of mistreatment of citizens by HKP. One of the biggest scandals of police corruption was caused by high ranking official Peter F. Godber, a Deputy District Commissioner of the Royal HKP Force that was caught in a bribe scandal in 1973. He was convicted and served four years in prison, which lead to the creation of the Independent Commission against Corruption in 1974. HKP is taken the approach of Western police departments on demanding accountability by the HKP. The Republic of China under a communist regimen is taking democratic approach in response to its citizen’s demand for stronger anticorruption measures. Change has occurred; it has been induced by an extra institutional impetus that is strong enough to overcome institutionalized obstacles. The citizens of Hong Kong are consistently in the street protesting against the police corruption and demanding accountability from officials. The citizens are demanding the implementation of Miranda v. Arizona rights during arrest activities. Police procedures were “arrest now and ask questions later.” The police were proud of their unlimited authority and the respect that they received from the public. Police officers were viewed as enforcers of law and order. Officers could and would arrest or search any one suspected of breaking the law. This power is the thing of the past according the HKP. According to Jiao et al. (2005), as one officer express “We have increased service quality, but paid a price at the same time. We are not as proud being police officers as we used to.” “Another laments, we have become servants.” Police officers feel that their top commanders are not giving them the support that they need to perform their job. The citizens’ complaints, accountability, etc., has weakened the police authority and is making the police officers job more difficult. Many high ranking officials are also complaining about the high level of paperwork HKP Force accountability is creating for them. According to Jiao et al. (2005), “one officer stated that policing should never become a form of service industry and that they view citizens as criminals and not clients.” HKP would like to see their department go back to a more traditional role of police practices, from service-oriented policing to paramilitary. Can this British colonial ruling and communist paramilitary tradition adopt a customer-based service culture? Could police corruption be a global dilemma?
Prepared by: Denelia Wurzburg
Pollock, J. M. (2004). Ethics in crime and justice: Dilemmas and decisions (4th ed.). Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth.
Police misconduct and brutality has been a controversial issue for many years. Many argue that police misconduct is a violation of individuals’ civil rights and others argue that “roughing up” criminals are often necessary. Unfortunately, examples of police corruption in law enforcement agencies are not difficult to find.
There are many types of police corruption and many different reasons why police engage in these forms of corruption. Pollock (2004) states, “Explanations of corruption can be describes as individual, institutional (or organizational), and systematic (or societal).” The author goes on to explain the “rotten apple” idea, which assumes that individual police officers have deviant inclinations prior to entering the police department, therefore, exploiting their position. Another explanation for corruption in the department is sloppy recruiting and “the development of police personality” (Pollock, 2004). Whatever the reasons for police deviance, it can be found throughout many departments in the U.S. and in many forms.
Pollock (2004) states that, “Corruption, theft, graft (exploitation of one’s role, such as accepting bribes or protection money), and accepting other gratuities (such as free coffee and free or half-priced meals),” are all examples of law enforcement misconduct. The author goes on to inform on the other, more damaging forms of police deviance. Pollock (2004) states, “Police have an uncontested right to use force when necessary to apprehend and/or subdue a suspect of a crime.” However, there are many reports of excessive, and/or even deadly force being used by police officers, such as that of the Los Angeles police in the Rodney King case.
Loyalty or whistle blowing? This tough question is one that officers are often faced with when in a situation involving police corruption within the agency. “The code of silence” is another issue that is highlighted by Pollock. Pollock (2004) claims that, “One of the most difficult ethical dilemmas that officers confront is when faced with the wrongdoing of another officer.” In the police subculture, the group often negatively perceives testifying or informing against a fellow officer.
Ultimately, the author’s point is as follows, “As long as the public relays a message that crime control is more important than individual liberties and rights, then we should not be surprised when police act on that message.” Of course, those sentiments could be debated hotly.
Prepared by: Briana Valencia
Sechrest, D. K., & Burns, P. (1992). Police corruption: The Miami case. Criminal
Justice and Behavior, 19(3), 294-313.
Dale Sechrest from the Department of Criminal Justice at California State University-San Bernardino and Pamela Burns from Florida International University-Miami analyzed data gathered from Delattre’s (1989) investigation into the hiring practices of the Miami Police Department in the early 1980’s. The hypothesis that police corruption occurred as a result of both social structural (community) changes and departmental problems are examined. The authors
found that this hypothesis was supported in that “The River Cops case” within the Miami Police Department involved both rotten apples and rotten structures. Community problems including increased drug trafficking, The Mariel influx, and several racially sensitive incidents led to problems in hiring practices related to affirmative action and the lowering of standards for police recruitment and supervision. Although corruption was found to involve many elements, McCarthy (1976) suggests that no measures can guarantee individual integrity. Hancock and McClung (1984) add that a uniform set of valid and reliable hiring criteria does not exist and problems of selection and hiring are further complicated by the limited and constrained resources of many police departments.
Prepared by: Lynn Webb
Sherman, L. W. (1980). Causes of police behavior: The current state of quantitative research. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 17(1), 69-100. doi:10.1177/002242788001700106, Retrieved on February 10, 2009, from http://jrc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/17/1/69?eaf
Lawrence W. Sherman an Associate Professor at the School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York, organized and analyzed quantitative (large amounts) of research on aspects of police behavior. Professor Sherman’s analysis of 62 studies included categorizing the aspects of police behavior in the areas of detection, arrest, service and violence. Sherman further broke down the data and analyzed by the variables of situations that officers were in, the type of organizations they were in, the characteristics of the community and the legal variables. The purpose of Sherman’s study was to gather the information from the numerous studies as a “step toward codification of knowledge about the causes of police behavior”. Though Sherman found that the studies had similar findings, he acknowledges that this analysis is no an exhaustive review of all the studies that have been conducted and acknowledges that some of the studies have methodological weaknesses. The general weakness was that there were so few variables addressed in some of the studies. Even with this information, Sherman acknowledges that there is only a week relationship between the causes and police behavior. Sherman’s codification so found that we clearly need more detailed research in order to determine what might aid police officers to depart from the appropriate behaviors. Sherman also suggests that there is no reason to assume that the causes of a police officer’s behavior to have been caused by the organization itself.
Prepared by: Ann Swab
Maria Ochoa wrote,
This is in reference to the topic of how a police subculture, or police peer groups, can influence police corruption. Using a previously developed ten-pattern typology of corruption (Barker and Roebuck, 1973), Barker’s (1977) study examined police perceptions of these patterns. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that police distinguish between “clean and dirty money forms of police corrupt behavior” (p.109). The study concluded that the “clean and dirty” dichotomy over-simplifies patterns of police corruption; instead, police perceptions of deviance are based on multiple factors. The most relevant finding is that, “many patterns of corruption were forms of ‘approved deviance’ which did not reflect unfavorably on the individuals’ overall identity” (Barker, 1977, p. 110).
Reference
Barker, T. (September 1977). Social definitions of police corruption: The case of South City. Criminal Justice Review 2(2), 101-110.
Link | March 8th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
David Killeen wrote,
From reading this week’s blog it is clear that police corruption is not new and it has been part of policing from the very beginning. Police corruption is pervasive. Police corruption affects many police organization, but there are some organizations that are completely corruption-free. Most police organizations have examples of corruption within their ranks, but an example of organized police corruption very frequently will never reach the public. Because the “individual case” of corruption is more visible and can easily be explained as “bad apples” the reluctance police administration refuses to admit or investigate corruption on an organizational level even when there is evidence that corruption is entranced within the organization.
This “bad apple theory” of police corruption, for the most part has been discredited by official inquiries finding many examples of highly organized, systematic corruption. Most often this corruption has been found in highly specialized units like, drug or vice units (Schur,1965). This would suggest it should be possible to focus any anti-corruption plan toward those units.
Tim Newburn, 1999, Understanding and preventing police corruption: suggest eleven key points related to police corruption:
• Police corruption is pervasive, continuing and not bounded by rank;
• Any definition of corruption should cover both ‘financial’ and ‘process’ corruption, and should acknowledge the varying means, ends and motives of corrupt activities;
• The boundary between ‘corrupt’ and ‘non-corrupt’ activities is difficult to define, primarily because this is at heart an ethical problem;
• Police corruption cannot simply be explained as the product of a few ‘bad apples’;
• The ‘causes’ of corruption include: factors that are intrinsic to policing as a job; the nature of police organizations; the nature of ‘police culture’;
• The opportunities for corruption presented by the ‘political’ and ‘task’ environments’ and, the nature and extent of the effort put in to controlling corruption;
• Some areas of policing are more prone to corruption than others;
• l although there are many barriers to successful corruption control, there is evidence that police agencies can be reformed;
• Reform needs to go beyond the immediately identified problem;
• Reform must look at the political and task environments as well as the organization itself
• Reform tends not to be durable, and
• Continued vigilance and skepticism is vital.
References:
Newburn, T. (1999) Understanding and Preventing Police Corruption: lessons from the literature, Policing and Reducing Crime Unit Research, Development and Statistics Directorate
Link | March 9th, 2009 at 12:14 am
Angelica Mejia-Rutland wrote,
As Jon Flick mentions, law enforcement professionals are human beings who too are capable of making mistakes and/or deviating from the norm. It is unfortunate that the integrity of a few officers, or the lack thereof, can reflect upon an entire department. We must not lose sight of the thousands of upstanding police officers who risk their lives every day to protect us.
Link | March 10th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Wurzburg-D Posting wrote,
As Jon mentioned “Police misconduct can be found all over the United States. One State that is under the radar is California. An Orange County prosecutor mishandled a molestation case. According to Reza et al. (2009), the DA has accused the Sheriff’s Department of botching child molestation.” The DA wrote “to sheriff’s officials and suggested their investigators were merely going through the motions as they investigated a deputy suspected of molesting young boys earlier this year.” The accused sheriff’s detective committed suicide. This is an vivid example of police misconduct.
Reference
Orange County prosecutor says sheriff mishandled molestation case
Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas says agency was ‘merely going through the motions’ in investigating charges against detective, who avoided arrest by killing himself.
By H.g. Reza and Stuart Pfeifer
September 19, 2008
Link | March 10th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Tashema Eubanks wrote,
Author Thomas Baker is the dean of the School of Law Enforcement at Jacksonville State University. Mr. Baker tested this hypothesis: the perceived extent of one or more forms of police corrupt behavior varies inversely with the perceived deviance which exists in the police organization. In other words, depending on the group of officers some actions may or may not be considered deviant. A questionnaire which asked various questions about what the officers felt was “right” or “wrong” when it came to performing job duties (i.e. ticket writing, accepting free meals, “fixing” charges, internal payoffs) was distributed to each officer within the department: there were a total of 45 officers. The officers of the South City Police Department defined corruption as being closer to continuum of deviance based on a number of factors (the identity of the corruptors and corruptees, the nature of the material reward or gain, whether it is goods, services, money, or liquor). Without a doubt the questionnaire successfully identified the existence of various social definitions of corruption in the South City Police Department. Yet, the officers didn’t consider the forms of corruption as such; instead they consider deviant acts as “approved deviance”.
Reference
Barker, T. (1977). Social Definitions od Police Corruption: The Case of South City . Criminal Justice Review , 101-110.
Link | March 12th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Layla McKinnon - Group 2 wrote,
Early research studies conducted in the 1950’s and 1960’s by Westley, Skolnick and Niederhoffer first pointed to the existence of a police culture or personality which “emphasizes secrecy, solidarity and violence” and ultimately shapes the attitudes and behaviors of police officers (Walker & Katz, 2005, p.154). Their findings suggested that these three characteristics can lead to a general mistrust of the public, a willingness to turn a blind eye to misconduct by fellow officers and the possible abuse of authority. In other words, opportunities for deviancy and corruption were abundant in law enforcement. Furthermore, researchers noted that this type of culture can also serve to obstruct police accountability when corruption is exposed. On the other hand, scholars such as Herbert, Lefkowitz and Bayley & Mendelsohn have argued that police subculture and personality are more complex and comprised of many dimensions which can place officer attitudes and behaviors into context. According to Herbert, the demands of the job (crime control, maintaining order), constraints of the law and bureaucratic structure within which officers must operate combined with their concerns for safety and effectiveness in job performance can help illustrate why secrecy and solidarity become coping mechanisms for police officers (Walker & Katz, 2005).
Additionally, the notion of a single police culture has been refuted in recent typology studies conducted by Paoline (2004) and others which suggest that multiple contrasting subgroups exist within law enforcement rather than one monolithic culture. According to Paoline (2004), attitudes and behaviors vary but occasionally overlap among these groups, with some conforming to the traditional concept of police culture, but most embracing more modern and less authoritarian views. As Paoline (2004) and Walker & Katz (2005) have noted, this is largely due to the changing face of police organizations through the addition of women, minorities and more stringent educational requirements in recent decades. While aspects of traditional police culture may have facilitated deviancy, and even though many of these same characteristics and opportunities for corruption still exist, recent changes in the makeup of police organizations seem to have influenced officer attitudes and conduct in a positive direction. The result being that deviant behavior has hopefully become less acceptable or as likely to be tolerated rather than a permanent fixture in police culture.
References:
Paoline III, E. A. (2004). Shedding light on police culture: an examination of officers’ occupational attitudes. Police Quarterly, 7(2), 205-236. doi:10.1177/1098611103257074
Walker, S. & Katz, C. M. (2005). The police in america: an introduction (5th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
Link | March 12th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Theo Krause - Group 2 wrote,
I think that a good topic for discussion – one of the several topics framed here regarding police deviance – is the question, ‘Is there something about the development of the unique police role and function..?’ The literature reviews here do refer to perspectives on law enforcement officers’ opportunity for deviance, the possibility that in a compromised, imperfect world it is a necessary evil, and that it can be battled with measures of social control. But does this deviance begin very early once an individual starts down the police career path? Can deviance be battled effectively very early on, in changes in police hiring standards?
It is argued that the tedious screening processes for police applicants does a very good job of eliminating those that might be wolves in sheep’s clothing, and that police deviance is an anomaly of bad apples in an otherwise fruitful barrel of pro-social law enforcers. Bannish and Ruiz (2003) argue that on the contrary, police deviance is pervasive because of the insular nature of the group, the dubious selection processes, and paramilitary training, which result in officers with immature – and malleable – personality traits:
‘… the usefulness of psychological testing for police officer selection is, at best, questionable … police applicants are expected to display deference to a middle-class lifestyle that has a tendency to give rise to a homogenous group… recruits are grossly misled regarding the dangers of policing … and from their field-training officer after graduation from the police academy they develop a warped sense of danger peculiar to policing. This, in turn, adds greatly to a distorted police interpretation, which causes police officers to regard citizens as likely origins of violence…officers who are unable to conform to the police interpretation or who, in police terms, ‘‘can’t cut it’’ will usually quit or be driven out of policing, thereby consolidating the police interpretation.’
With all of the scrutiny, testing and challenges facing police applicants there is generally a very low educational standard. Would the requirement of a college education result in officers better able to resist the temptations that might lead to deviant behavior?
Bannish, H. & Ruiz, J. (2003). The Antisocial Police Personality: A View
from the Inside. International Journal of Police Administration. Vol. 26, No. 7
Link | March 14th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Ann Swab - Group 3 wrote,
Theo:
It seems to reason if an officer is not able to resist the temptations that might lead to deviant behavior that no matter what the education level of an officer is if he or she has the personality to conduct deviant behavior their education level will not make a difference.
Many educated persons are criminals and carry out deviant behavior. I would think that the only difference may be is the type of deviant behavior that is carried out. What do you think?
Ann
Link | March 14th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Theo Krause - Group 2 wrote,
Ann Swab,
Excellent points. I am just responding quickly, having just read your response. Yes, I would agree that there are many educated criminals! They might just be more successful too.
Without having any numbers to go off of, I have to just venture that while there surely is some innate ‘nature’ to the deviant, a lot of deviant behavior is ‘nurtured.’
I didn’t develop the idea all that well - which is turning out to be good for discussion purposes - but the examined life of higher education might protect one from becoming just another member of the crowd which might justify deviant behavior with an attitude of ‘us against them.’
I remember reading about the Stanford prison experiment that showed how some subjects easily behaved in sadistic ways when introduced to the role of prison guard. I think the subjects were students, so you would have this example to back your position. It may be that the mod does rule, whatever your education level…
Link | March 14th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Theo Krause - Group 2 (Correction) wrote,
Regarding the last sentence in my above submission, that would be MOB, not MOD.
Link | March 14th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Melissa Forsythe-Group 1 wrote,
Arter, M. L. (2008). Stress and deviance in policing. Deviant Behavior, 29(1), pp. 43-69.
The author, Michael Arter, is a researcher associated with Penn State Altoona. In his article, Arter explores the connection between a police officer’s level of stress and the amount of deviance he or she is involved in. The author hypothesized that a positive relationship existed so that as stress increased, acts of deviance increased. The data were gathered through phenomological inquiry. By using both formal and informal interviews of undercover police officers, the questioning attempted to uncover the experiences and perceptions of the officers without judgment. Concepts of strain theory and literature on occupational stress guided the creation of the line of questioning. Two large Southern police departments were used to gather a sample of 32 total officers. They were then divided into three groups: currently undercover, formerly undercover and never undercover. Several independent variables were analyzed including administrative stressors, criminal justice stressors, family stressors, undercover stressors, social stressors and experiential stressors. Mediating variables pertaining to strain theory were negative emotions and coping strategy. The dependent variable was deviance. Ater was able to find a correlation between stress and deviance. The undercover group reported the most amount of stress along with the highest incidences of deviance, next were the formerly undercover officers followed by those who had never been undercover. Other findings discussed were the ability of adaptive coping strategies and/or supportive factors to lessen the response of deviance to stressors. Perceptions of stress were also connected to increased levels of negative emotions of anger and frustration. The study shows a need for adaptive coping techniques through departmental resources in order to reduce stress and consequently reduce deviance among its officers.
Link | March 15th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Alex Hurlbert wrote,
There have been numerous articles written and numerous studies performed but how can we measure the morality of a human. Individuals wishing to become police officers must pass psychosocial tests and personality tests before becoming police officers. Various individuals in their past are contacted and they are asked whether this applicant acts morally, justly and without bias. We then are taking the word of another, whom we do not know if they themselves are morally sound. No study performed will ever with a hundred percent certainty be able to tell us if an individual will act morally when faced with temptation, or act justly when angered. The best we can hope for is that the good apples outweigh the bad apples in each department.
Link | March 15th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Briana Valencia Team 3 wrote,
Alex.
I agree that it is difficult to identify who truly is capable of maintaining a moral and ethical conduct when faced with temptation or anger. Pollock (2004) states, “Learning theorists believe that children learn what they are taught, including morals and values as well as behavior. In other words, right or wrong is not discovered through reasoning; rather, all humans are shaped by the world around them, and they form completely subjective opinions about morality and ethics.” Therefore, no one can be sure what ones morals and values are nor can one tell the ethical conduct an individual follows. For example, a “good” law-abiding officer my be tempted or angered by something and may temporarily resort to deviant behavior. Does this make him or her a “bad” cop? Police deviance is a controversial topic, however, it is unfortunately, a very common one as well.
Reference:
Pollock, J. M. (2004). Ethics in crime and justice: Dilemmas and decisions (4th ed.). Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth.
Link | March 15th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Peter Burrell wrote,
Law enforcement has always been a closed culture because of the long developed mentality of “it’s us against them.” As a result of this, among the “enforcers”, there is a small percentage that is of the perception that to enforce the law, there are times when the law must be broken. The mentality that the public fails to understand what law enforcement must do and put up with to keep the peace is the very notion that gets cops into trouble. Ninety-nine percent of the cops who work the street are honest and do sometimes make mistakes. It’s the other one percent that is the problem. Unfortunately, the media fails to recognize the daily deeds done by the majority and concentrate on the minority because that is what drives public attention and ratings. Often times there is a culture of looking the other way in law enforcement and this is a reflection of the agency as looking out for their own. Those tasked with “policing the police” are held in low regard by their constituents. These individuals are tasked with the “necessary evil” of investigating corrupt and dishonest officers are maintaining the organizational integrity which is paramount to an agency’s reputation to the public.
Link | March 25th, 2009 at 10:07 pm