Police Corruption and Misconduct Essay - 1684 Words

Police corruption and misconduct come apparent in many different forms. A basic definition for police corruption is, when an officer gets involved in offenses where the officer uses his or her position, by act or omission, to obtain improper financial benefit. The main reason for such corruption is typically for personal gain, such as bribery. Police abuse of authority occurs in three different general areas such as physical abuse, psychological abuse, and legal abuse. Physical abuse is such abuse where one uses excessive force or physical harassment. The psychological abuse occurs through disrespect, harassment, ridicule, excessive stops, or intimidation. Finally, legal abuse is abuse that occurs during unlawful search and seizure†¦show more content†¦This could occur if an officer sees an off duty police officer who is drunk driving, but does not take action in pulling them over and arrest them for their conduct. If he does, the streets are that much safer, but if he does n’t and the driver goes off and kills a person, that would make a bad use of selective enforcement (Lyman 2005). Many officers use alcohol and drugs while on duty. Although this commonly occurs in undercover agents, it can happen with even your regular patrol officers. This type of misconduct occurs because there is typically a lack of supervision, a massive availability of contraband, and an exposure to the criminal element. Graft on the other hand, is when the officer exploits their role by accepting bribes or money protection (Pollock, 2012). Such conduct occurs when officers use their uniformed authority to create a personal supply of money (Lyman 2005). Sexual misconduct occurs when officers use their authority as a way to receive sexual acts from citizens of society. This happens mainly with male officers towards female citizens. This type of misconduct also occurs within the department, mainly through sexual harassment of female officers. The final component of corrupt ion and misconduct is that of criminal cops. These officers have basically switched to criminal activity in their day to day tasks (Pollock, 2012). A perfect example of this happened in the movie Street Kings that we watched as a classShow MoreRelatedPolice Misconduct and Corruption2063 Words   |  9 PagesINTRODUCTION For as long as policing has existed in America, there has been misconduct and corruption associated with any given policing agency. Police officer malfeasance can range from minor cases of misconduct to the downright criminal acts that are considered to be corruption. 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