Police Corruption Essay

Does corruption within the Police Service interfere with the performance of its members?

Lawrence. W. Sherman reports, “For as long as there have been police, there has been corruption”.

    Police corruption can defined as any prescribed act involving the misuse of the officer’s official position for money or money’s worth or personal gain (Barker& Roebuck, 1983). Three elements identify police corruption 1) The behaviour must be forbidden by law, rule, regulation and ethical standard. 2) The behaviour must involve the misuse of the officers’ official position i.e. if the officer fails to do something he or she is supposed to do or does something against what he or she is supposed to. 3) The reward for corrupt acts should be money or money’s worth. Once an officer is involved in any type of form of corruption it can interfere with the police officer’s performance.
  Police corruption has been in existence for decades upon decades in the police service in many forms and fashion. Regardless if an officer takes a small bribe or is involve in a drug trade, corruption exists and results in the performance of law enforcement officers being affected.
  In the following essay the writer will attempt to identify the various forms or types of police corruption and provide an understanding on how police corruption interferes with the performance of its members.
  Ethics involve making moral judgments about what is right or wrong. It is said that ethics provides a way to make moral choices when we are uncertain about what to do in a situation. Police officers everyday life involves this type of thinking and their code of ethics help prevent them from engaging in various types of corruption. Added to that police discretion-   law enforcement officers ability to choose between arrest and non arrest solely on the basis of the officers judgment. This plays an important role whether or not to be involve in corruption.
  One of the most common and prevalent type of...