Ethics and Corruption: Ethics and Corruption CORRUPTION IN POLICING: CORRUPTION IN POLICING
Police are no more deviant than any other group.
Corruption has been a reality since the beginning of policing.
Most incidents of police misconduct involve marginal behavior.
A few incidents involve blatant misconduct.
Police Abuse of Authority: Police Abuse of Authority
Unlawful searches or seizures
Corruption: Corruption Exploiting one’s position for personal gain at the
expense of those one is authorized to serve.
Police corruption is a worldwide problem.
Protection of illegal activity
Other ethical violations enabled by police authority
Corrupt Officers: Corrupt Officers
Opportunistic ethical violations
Take bribes and gratuities
Accept unsolicited protection money
Regular ethical violations
Participate in shakedowns
Rob drug dealers
“Shop" at burglary scenes
Engage in criminal activities
Gratuities: Gratuities Items of value given because of role or
position, rather than personal relationship.
A gift is personal and has no strings attached.
Common police gratuities include
Free movie/sports tickets
Discounted or free meals
Discounted or free merchandise
Gratuities for police: Unethical?: Gratuities for police: Unethical? Erode public confidence in police
May become expected
Cement relations between police and public
Help officers stay informed
Often given by those who use police the most YES NO Arguments against gratuities: Arguments against gratuities
Professionals (including police) don’t take gratuities.
Lead to expectation of different treatment.
Abuse of authority; create a sense of entitlement.
Can add up to substantial amounts of money.
May lead to more serious forms of corruption.
Contrary to democratic ideals (fee-for-service.
Leads to public perception police are corrupt.
Using Drugs/Alcohol on Duty: Using Drugs/Alcohol on Duty
Police work factors that foster drug use
Exposure to a criminal element
Relative freedom from supervision
Uncontrolled availability of contraband
Drinking on duty
Creates less vulnerability to corruption than drug use
Creates an ethical dilemma for other officers
May lead other officers to isolate themselves from or avoid working with those who drink
Measures Against Drug Corruption: Measures Against Drug Corruption Leadership
Management and supervision
Better training and discipline
Better evidence handling
Early warning systems
Internal auditing of the use of informants
Audit controls for drug enforcement units
Periodic turnover of staff
Exploitation of one’s role by accepting
bribes or protection money.
Also applies to kickbacks from defense attorneys, bail
bond companies, etc.
Internationally, bribes are rated as a serious problem.
Graft Euphemism for graft in the Middle East, Southwest Asia.
Officials expect baksheesh in order to do their job.
بخشش (from Persian for “gift”: ) Sexual Harassment and Assault : Sexual Harassment and Assault
Viewing a victim's photos, etc., for prurient purposes
Deception to gain sex
Trading favors for sex
Excessive Force : Excessive Force Occurs when an officer:
Goes beyond what is necessary for arrest
Has no lawful reason to use force at all
One of the most serious and divisive human rights
violations in the U.S.
The use of force may be perfectly acceptable and justified.
Use of force depends on discretion of the individual officer.
Individuals who question or refuse to recognize police authority become vulnerable to the use of force.
Culture of Force: Culture of Force
L.A.P.D. policy was to use escalating force proportional to a
suspect's "offensive" behavior.
This policy justified all but the most blatant abuse of police power.
L.A.P.D. culture tolerated, even encouraged, a high level of
Leadership did not actively discourage excessive force.
L.A.P.D. management was responsible, to some extent, for the brutality of the Rodney King incident.
The Los Angeles Police Department
and the Rodney King Incident The Research on Excessive Force: The Research on Excessive Force
The true number of excessive force incidents is difficult to detect.
Few encounters end in the use of any force, much less excessive force.
A small percentage of officers are responsible for most excessive force incidents.
Race and socioeconomic status are associated with excessive force.
But other factors (such as demeanor) are more influential.
Who Uses Excessive Force?: Who Uses Excessive Force? Certain characteristics associated with
officers who use excessive force:
Lack of empathy
Antisocial and paranoid tendencies
Proclivity toward abusive behavior
Inability to learn from experience
Tendency to not take responsibility for own actions
Strong identification with the police subculture
Some factors in the use of excessive force: Some factors in the use of excessive force
Suspect being male
Suspect agitation / emotionality
Suspect’s use of force
Suspect having a weapon
Suspect’s use of force
Socioeconomic status of suspect
Officer being male
Age of officer (younger)
Officer having prior injuries
Encounter involving a car chase
Number of citizens present
Number of police officers present
Knowledge suspect committed
prior (especially violent) crimes
Measures of Corruption: Measures of Corruption
Countries with high scores for police honesty
Countries with low scores for police honesty
Police on Corruption: Police on Corruption U.S. Police Rankings of Ethical Misconduct
Stealing from a crime scene
Theft of a found wallet
Accepting free drinks to ignore an open bar
Taking kickbacks from an auto repair shop
(Officer was deviant before hiring)
Development of a police personality
(Officer became deviant after hiring)
Both implicate screening / recruiting process.
BUT: What is “acceptable” vs. what is “deviant”
Individual Explanations: Explanations
Low management and public visibility
Peer group secrecy
Police role as front-line interface with criminals
Tension between discretion and bureaucraticism
Role of commanders in spreading corruption
These implicate structure and supervision.
Institutional / Organizational Explanations: Explanations
If the public does not comply with the law, officers may rationalize non-enforcement of the law.
If the public engages in illegal activities, officers may feel justified in doing the same.
If the public believes crime control is more important than due process, police will act on that message.
These implicate the relationship between police and the public.
Systemic / Societal NOBLE-CAUSE CORRUPTION: NOBLE-CAUSE CORRUPTION
Involves officers employing unethical means to catch criminals because “it’s the right thing to do”
Perceived by officers as fulfillment of their profound moral commitment to make the world a safer place to live
Is a euphemism for perjury, which is a serious crime. NOBLE-CAUSE CORRUPTION: NOBLE-CAUSE CORRUPTION Ends-Oriented Thinking:
Police culture supports “whatever it takes” approach
Police work attracts those who hold such values
Police training internalizes these values more deeply
Police feel great responsibility to keep the world “safe”
Police discretion provides latitude to create and apply ends-oriented solutions
NOBLE-CAUSE CORRUPTION: NOBLE-CAUSE CORRUPTION Underlying Questions:
Is breaking the law to catch a criminal a “good” act?
Does the “good” end of crime control justify “bad” means? REACTIVE INVESTIGATION: REACTIVE INVESTIGATION Attempts to reconstruct a crime after it occurs
Consists of gathering evidence to identify and prosecute the offender
Investigator(s) may develop early prejudice about likely perpetrator, which might cause them to:
be tempted to engage in noble-cause corruption to obtain a conviction;
ignore or conceal evidence that contradicts their beliefs;
overstate existing evidence; and/or
manufacture or alter evidence. PROACTIVE INVESTIGATION: PROACTIVE INVESTIGATION Attempts to document crime as it occurs
Requires a more active police role
Often involves deception by police
Requires “targeting” based on reasonable suspicion
Changes police role from discovering who has committed a crime to discovering who might commit a crime TYPOLOGY of LIES: TYPOLOGY of LIES Placebos, such as lying to a person about how a loved one was killed
Blue lies, used to control a person and make the police officer’s job easier
Accepted lies, such as those used during undercover investigations or sting operations
Tolerated lies, “necessary evils” such as lying during interrogations
Deviant lies, such as false testimony in court to make a case, or covering up police wrongdoing ENTRAPMENT : ENTRAPMENT When police encourage or entice a person to commit an illegal act.
Subjective – Focuses on the defendant and his/her predisposition to crime
Objective - Focuses on the government and whether it has broken the law ENTRAPMENT : ENTRAPMENT
Allows police to tempt former offenders who might otherwise not have been tempted
May rely on hearsay and rumor
May stigmatize the individual charged
Allows police to choose their own targets
Degrades the criminal justice system through the use of deceit POLICE and the MEDIA : POLICE and the MEDIA Should the police lie to the media if it might help them prevent a crime or catch a criminal?
Should the media have complete power to report crime activities, even if this creates fear or panic or interferes with an investigation?
How do the media affect an individual’s ability to get a fair trial?
INFORMANTS: INFORMANTS Individuals who are not police officers but assist police by providing information about criminal activity.
Motivated by monetary profit, revenge, dementia, kicks, a need for attention, repentance (guilt), and coercion
Able to operate under fewer restrictions than police
INFORMANTS: INFORMANTS Ethical Issues:
Becoming too intimate with informants
Overestimating the veracity of information provided
Potential for being duped by informant
Using informants to entrap people (“creating” crimes)
Engaging in unethical or illegal behaviors on behalf of the informant
Using coercion and intimidation to force informant’s cooperation UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS: UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS Criticisms:
May generate markets for illegal goods and services
May generate ideas for crimes
May generate motive
May provide a missing resource
May coerce or intimidate a person not otherwise predisposed to commit the offense
May generate a covert opportunity for undercover agent to commit crime
May lead to retaliatory violence
May stimulate various crimes by persons who are not the targets of the undercover operation UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS: UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS Suggested limitations:
Require a probable cause-based warrant for any interaction longer than 24 hours
Ban officers’ engagement in intimate relationships
Evidence obtained by violating the first two limitations should be excluded at trial UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS: UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS Police Objections to Limits:
There is no need for an undercover operation if probable cause exists
It is often impossible to get a warrant
Most undercover operations exceed 24 hours UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS: UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS Ethical system perspectives:
Religious ethics would condemn undercover operations due to inherent deception
Ethical formalism could not justify undercover operations under the categorical imperative
Egoism may or may not condemn undercover operations depending on the officer involved and his/her gain or loss
Utilitarian ethics would justify undercover operations based on the greater societal benefit they provide UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS: UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS Testing the Ethical Justification for Police Practices:
End must be a good
Means must be plausible
There is no alternative means to achieve same end
Means must not undermine other equal or greater end INTERROGATION: INTERROGATION Cannot involve physical force (the “third degree”)
Often involves deception by the interrogator, such as:
Calling an interrogation an “interview”
Negating the effectiveness of the Miranda warnings by method of presentation
Misrepresenting the seriousness of the offense
Manipulative appeals to suspect’s conscience
Making leniency promises beyond the interrogator’s power to offer
Interrogator misrepresenting his/her identity
Using fabricated evidence to make suspect think case against him/her is strong WHISTLEBLOWING: WHISTLEBLOWING Facing the wrongdoing of a fellow officer is a police officer’s most difficult ethical dilemma
The code of silence present in police work is also present in other occupations and professions
In policing, the code of silence is a form of noble-cause corruption
The police subculture reinforces a code of silence
Adherence destroys police credibility WHISTLEBLOWING: WHISTLEBLOWING Ethical Systems and the Whistleblower:
Egoism supports coming forward because doing so would prevent one from being among the accused if the wrongdoing is otherwise exposed
Egoism also supports not coming forward because doing so may not be in one’s best interests
Utilitarian ethics supports coming forward because not exposing the wrongdoing may lead to the greater harm of a scandalous cover-up
Utilitarian ethics also supports not coming forward because doing so may negate the unethically achieved good end WHISTLEBLOWING: WHISTLEBLOWING Ethical Systems and the Whistleblower:
Deontology supports coming forward because one has a higher duty to uphold the law than to defend one’s fellow officers
Deontology also supports not coming forward because one assumes obligations of discretion and secrecy when one joins the force LOYALTY: LOYALTY A component of the esprit de corps of policing
An absolutely essential element of a healthy department
Explained by officers’ dependence on one another, sometimes in life-or-death situations
A personal relationship, not a judgment
SANCTIONS ON WHISTLEBLOWERS: SANCTIONS ON WHISTLEBLOWERS A distressing aspect of loyalty
Are often extreme
Have resulted in state and federal legislation to protect whistleblowers
Legislation is ineffective against informal ostracism and rejection
REDUCING CORRUPTION: REDUCING CORRUPTION Possible Solutions:
Eliminate unenforceable laws
Establish civilian review boards
REDUCING CORRUPTION: REDUCING CORRUPTION Encouraging Ethical Conduct:
Set realistic goals and objectives
Provide ethical leadership
Provide a written code of ethics
Provide a whistleblowing procedure that ensures fair treatment for all parties
Provide training in law enforcement ethics
EDUCATION and TRAINING: EDUCATION and TRAINING Higher formal education standards are not, themselves, the key to ethical behavior
Academy and in-service ethics training are common and recommended for all departments
Many courses use a moral reasoning approach
Some advocate an emphasis on character
Others recommend case studies
INTEGRITY TESTING: INTEGRITY TESTING Very controversial
Not well-received by most officers
Comparing integrity testing to undercover operations reveals that:
Most officers oppose integrity testing
Most officers support undercover operations MISCONDUCT REVIEW: MISCONDUCT REVIEW Internal Affairs Model:
Police investigate themselves
Police use an internal discipline system
Widely seen as ineffective
Generally discourages civilian complaints
Does not evoke public confidence MISCONDUCT REVIEW: MISCONDUCT REVIEW Civilian Review/Complaint Model:
An independent civilian agency audits complaints and investigations
Police still investigate and conduct discipline proceeding
Using departments receive more civilian complaints
Internal and external substantiation rates about the same—approximately ten percent EARLY WARNING or AUDIT SYSTEMS: EARLY WARNING or AUDIT SYSTEMS Seek to identify problem officers by trends of abuse or corruption complaints
Identified officers may be subject to:
Reassignment, retraining or transfer
Referral to an employee assistance program
A fitness-for-duty evaluation
Dismissal OTHER MANAGEMENT METHODS: OTHER MANAGEMENT METHODS Surveyed officers identify strict, fair discipline as best response to corruption
Those same officers called for clear policies, superior performance by supervisors, and peer review boards OTHER MANAGEMENT METHODS: OTHER MANAGEMENT METHODS Additional proposals to minimize or reduce police misconduct and deter corruption include:
Decertification of offending officers
Community policing programs
College education requirements
Enhanced discipline policies
Use of surveillance techniques
Prosecuting offenders ETHICAL LEADERSHIP: ETHICAL LEADERSHIP Mistrust of police administration is pervasive among the rank-and file
Two cultures of policing: street cops and management
Most agree that supervisor behavior has greater influence on employee behavior than directives or ethics
Leaders lead most effectively by example