Police Corruption Essay

1623 Words7 Pages
Police Corruption and Misconduct All over the world many police officers abuse the power they are given. In general the job of police is to protect and serve its citizens, to keep them from harm. But instead there are many officers who do the opposite. According to Pollock (2010), “police corruption does not occur just in the United States” (p. 175). In general, the police comes into contact more often with citizens then any other government official. The key role of the police is to be able to maintain a civil and safe society for all. This particular role has a great amount of authority as well as power in any society. When there is so much power and authority then problems of corruption and or misuse of these powers occur. Corruption among police is an issue that has been known for many years. In many parts of the United States as well as in other countries the citizens do not trust the police and are even scared of them. Mexico is a very well know country in which many officers are corrupt. In instances such as these, police officers are persuaded and even threatened to work with different drug cartels around different parts of Mexico (Pollock, 2010). This paper will discuss police corruption and misconduct in different areas of the world as well as the ethics involved. Police Corruption First we start with what corruption is and what is considered to be police corruption. According to Pollock (2010), “ Corruption has been described as acting on opportunities, created by virtue of one’s authority, for personal gain at the expense of the public one is authorized to serve”(pg.178). Corruption occurs in different situations that include corruption of authority, kickbacks, theft, illegal activities, payoffs, and shakedowns (Pollock 2010). Police corruption has become a big deal and can be taken back to years ago when Rodney King who was a harmless civilian at
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