Police Misconduct

Since their has been policing entities, it is understood by most that law enforcement officers have been performing a public service that is not easy to carry out. To assist law enforcement officers in diffusing situations, apprehending alleged criminals, and protecting themselves and others, officers are legally entitled to use appropriate means, including force. In discussing police misconduct, this report acknowledges not only the legal grant of such authority,

In order for a Police agency to prevent and deter Police misconduct, there must be a definition to what actions and behaviors that the term will encompass. The term ‘police corruption’ has been used to describe many activities: bribery; violence and brutality; fabrication and destruction of evidence; racism; favoritism or nepotism. Many different scholars differ in their own examples of the definition. Before attempting to the question of whether a precise definition is possible, it is worth examining the range of activities that might be included within a broad discussion of corruption. In (Bayley and Perito, 2011), it is defined as police corruption is a contested phrase with narrow and broad meanings. Narrowly

After reading all the material regarding Jeffery Bell, Darryl Forrest and Dustin Sillings all 3 whom were members of the Kansas City Police special unit known as (SCORE) Selective, Crime, Occurrence, Reduction Enforcement unit. I came up with several unethical behaviors throughout the course of the year from January 2010 to January 2011. One, all 3 officers violated the victims constitutional rights. Rights that were taken away were the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures and not to have their property taken without due process under the law. (The Criminal Indictment: United States of America v. Jeffrey M. Bell, Darryl M. Forrest, and Dustin Sillings) Each officer took it upon themselves to steal various items including money from

In this case an African American father wanted to send his daughter to a close school but the school was not a black friendly school do to segregation she was not allowed to attend. The court decided that it was not constitutional and that it went against our equal rights.

Allen versus the city of Oakland was one of the largest lawsuits filed and won against the Oakland Police Department for police misconduct. Misconduct has always been an issue with law enforcement. Starting in the early years of law enforcement there were policies set to keep officers from committing these actions. In time, the policies have been changed, reconstructed, and updated to increase effectiveness and efficiency. To get a better view on how these policies are implemented, the actions of the police officers in Allen versus the city of Oakland will be examined and the justifications for their actions will be reviewed. Not all actions can be justified though. For those types of actions with no justification, an

Law enforcers are supposed to behave in an ethical manner in order to achieve justice to the community. Where some of the police officers complete their duties ethically, others are caught in ethical misconduct that blurs their vision of administering justice. Several unethical practices have been noted in the course of duty of most police officers, and all corners of the world have their police officers affected by the practices (Klockars, Ivkovic, & Haberfeld, 2004).This paper looks into two most prominent and persistent ethical concerns in police systems, in the USA and worldwide.

1 out of every 116 officers allegedly engaged in misconduct. That means in almost every police department where there is there is at least one officer who is engaging in misconduct. Already this year of

The officers gather evidence against the person and end up doing it illegally and it ends up violating our Fourth Amendment rights. Offers often tend to perform any misconduct it tends to be while on the job mostly. There has to be a probable cause in order for the officer to be able to search and also have a warrant to be able to take any property that maybe used as evidence in the court. This often even violates the Fifth Amendment which states that the government must compensate the people when any private property is taken and displayed to the public (Cornell, Law, and Fifth Amendment). The biggest thing that we often hear about is the fact that officers plant drugs or something that they can arrest you for and file a report about it. Situations like this lead to corruption and the misconduct will continue. For example in 2006 police officers busted into an elderly ladies home and basically shot her to death. After this went down they then planted a bag of Marijuana, which was taken from a previous bust. Furthermore, the normal way to try and take out the police misconduct is general filing a suit against any officer you feel is violating your rights (C. England,

Police executives have always had different issues within the police department. Most police executives try to find a quick fix in order to solve the issue of police misconduct. Police misconduct is defined as inappropriate action taken by police officers in relation with their official duties (Police Misconduct Law & Legal Definition, n.d.). In order to solve this issue, one must acknowledge their different challenges, overcome the “code of silence”, and find out the role of organizational culture.

What is police misconduct? It can be defined as any action performed by a law enforcement officer that is unethical by established employment guidelines, unconstitutional, or a crime with in itself. When people hear the term “police misconduct” they automatically think of a police officer using unnecessary force against a civilian. While that is a form of police misconduct it is not only form. Throughout this paper I will bring light to the many types of police misconduct that can happen in the law enforcement industry.

Ethics, or moral conduct, are of major importance in the Criminal Justice field today. If the police force condoned unethical behavior, there would be very little, if any, justice being served. Official police misconduct is any “objectionable actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties, which can lead to a miscarriage of justice”. (wikipedia.com). However, “police misconduct may include a broader range of misconduct, reflecting the high standards that we expect of police officers. Unlike official misconduct, police misconduct can apply to off-duty behavior as well as conduct on the job”. (clc.qld.gov.au).

When people think of police misconduct, they immediately think of police brutality. While police brutality is a form of police misconduct, the term is much broader. Police misconduct is any conduct that is outside the ethical code that officers are sworn to follow.

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 corruption and misconduct is that of criminal cops. These officers have basically switched to criminal activity in their day to day tasks (Pollock, 2012).

Police officers are given a lot of power because it is needed to help protect citizens and the community. However, police often abuse their power by the over use of force, corruption, sexual misconduct, bias based policing, and failure to maintain police ethics. (Peak, 2011)

The “Code of Silence” is not simply something which applies only to the patrol officer or the officer that does not hold rank within the department. The