Ethical Theory in Criminal Justice
The police serve the public, and they rely on public trust to effectively perform their functions (Coleman, 2002). There are numerous ethical issues that affect the performance of police officers. There are ways in which leaders can assist other members in police departments to have good character as an element of a strong police force. Delattre (2011) explains significant law enforcement aspects and the circumstances surrounding policing which increase the vulnerability of the police to corruption and public scrutiny.
The “slippery slope” and its relationship to gratuities
Delattre (2011) points out that any gratuity such as a free cup of coffee may lead to the beginning of the slippery mode of corruption. He acknowledges that for some police officers, small gestures of kindness such as a restaurant offering fresh coffee in the middle of night is just that and there is nothing that can lead to a slippery slope. Police appreciation and acceptance and acceptance are not illicit, due to the fact that the restaurant personnel are often equally innocent. Some policemen feel that they deserve special consideration due to the feeling of being underpaid or burdened with so much hardship in their work. This attitude may be an indication of vulnerability to a slippery mode if it resembles self-pity. Vulnerability is caused by indulgence in the free coffee, and it leads to worse things. According to Withrow and Dailey (2004), older police are quick to acknowledge the benefits of socializing with other members within the department. Some young officers begin by rationalizing that accepting minor gratuities such as free coffee and meals is relevant for acceptance into the substructure of the police. After the young officer survives the moral dilemma, he eventually finds it easier to try more serious crimes lie free drinks from bartenders (Withrow & Dailey, 2004).
Delattre (2011) recommends that it should be a department’s policy to tell the truth that not all who accept small gratuities like a cup of coffee step onto a slippery mode that results into more serious corruption. However, some do, “and some is too many”. Police should perceive gratuities as a threat, if they want the professional status. In this regard, police departments must view all gratuities as unacceptable. Gratuities damage public respect and lead to resentment. Thus, free coffee is too expensive to be entertained. Young policemen need to be contented with their compensation and nothing more, or else they will encounter question on how far to go, and once it reaches that point, the matter will be out of hand.
Delattre (2011) further argues that other police departments compromise by allowing policemen to accept free meals and coffee in their assigned districts. This increases risks of injustice with regards to distribution of benefits to the officers and envious feelings in relation to districts of assignment. The chit system allows a police officer to accept free coffee, and the restaurant can see reimbursement from the city. Though this system intends to remove incentives for corruption, Delattre (2011) is of the view that it would be better if the city and police department made it clear that gratuities are unacceptable. The money for the chit system should rather be channeled to the salary pool of police officers, who can make decisions on how to spend it.
The slope begins with the acceptance of small tips like a free cup of coffee, and progresses to complacency on acceptance of free drinks, to traffic violation bribes, to bribes from prostitutes and gamblers, then to graft from narcotics. This slope slips basing on availability of enabling circumstances. Accordingly, there is a particular stage of deviance where policemen stop depending on the definition of ‘limits’ by the group. Corruption is uniform in degree within police departments, depending on the basic categories; “grass-eaters” and “meat-eaters”. Grass-eaters are those police who accept the payoffs in the course of their work. Meat-eaters aggressively misuse their authority for personal gains (Delattre, 2011). Coleman (2004) also condemns gratuities on grounds that professionals are meant to serve the community and it is awkward to accept tips.
Theories regarding public corruption
- Society-at-Large Hypothesis
The society-at-large-hypothesis is of the view that everyone is corrupt. According to Delattre (2011), society itself may influence the police to engage in corruption. For instance, Chicago experienced high levels of corruption due to the fact that the community provided gratuities to doormen, and other public servants. Police officers were given small portions of money in return for protection and other favors. Police officers ended up expecting these gratuities as a bellhop. It is believed that gratuities often result into even worse corruption, “a slippery slope”, including the aid of organized crime or profiting from robberies and other serious crimes. The recommendation is that strong policies strictly prohibiting gratuities should be enacted (Delattre, 2011).
- Structural or Affiliation Hypothesis
This hypothesis is almost similar to the Society-at –Large hypothesis. There are other reasons than avarice that a police officer may accept graft. Usually the first wrongful act is inadvertent. They may also be slowly introduced into transgressions by older policemen. They may start with feelings of shame, but as they progress, they harden and engage in corruption without any remorseful feelings. Departmental and individual corruption is caused by loss of faith in the public by the police. The policeman views mankind as dirty, exploitative and ill-willed; and himself as a victim of injustice, defiled and misunderstood. His intention is meeting those people acting contrary to the law or employing the law to meet their own ends. The policeman becomes cynical due to exposure to public immorality. He perceives a society which emphasizes the unscrupulous, the weak and the crooked. He has an expedient morality and a martyrical self-conception. These conditions typically result into anomie in police organizations. The police adopt a cynical attitude which constitutes feelings of impotent hostility, envy, hate and the sour-grapes pattern. Anomie leads to lack of solidarity with societal positive norms and collective sentiments. Police corruption is characteristic of organizational deviance, whereby the members of the organization adopt a behavior guided by contradictory norms (Delattre, 2011).
The view is that deviance is considered an appropriate behavior in the police department and this is the reason for emergence of corruption within the police department. Young police men are socialized by older colleagues in corruption traditions within the department. In this regard, corruption relies on secrecy. Thus the best way to achieve police reforms is through external reviews. However, police commissioners do not usually have adequate resources and authorities to fight corruption from within. Thus the cynical police officers engaging in corruption will employ all means to ensure that their status quo is preserved and prevent external reforms (Delattre, 2011).
- Rotten Apple Hypothesis
This hypothesis places emphasis on the kind of police officers on the force. The rotten apple spoils the bunch. The Chicago Crime Commission, in examination of the main causes of criminal behavior in police departments, concluded that unsuitable men were permitted to enter the police department due to poor recruitment methods. There are people who are just bad, may be due to exposure to bad models at childhood or from peer groups. These people, when recruited to the police department engage in criminal activities, like murder, robbery and selling drugs. Some departments only have a bunch of rotten apples that have succeeded in turning the agencies into gang groups. The recommendation of the commission was that all candidates were to undergo a complete investigation of character. Critics of this hypothesis argue that it does not consider the influence of socializing within departments and it is too individualistic. The rotten-apple-hypothesis has been repeatedly confirmed by corruption cases within departments (Delattre, 2011). The Knapp Commission that carried out an investigation on corruption in the 1970s concluded that various police departments used the rotten apple hypothesis in minimizing backlash against corruption.
Conclusion
The vulnerability of police officers to public corruption is caused by various factors inside and outside the police department. Gratuities are incentives for corruption and strict laws should be enacted to prohibit the issue of gratuities. The slippery slope perspective holds that accepting minor gratuities establishes a process which subverts the recipient’s integrity, and he eventually engages in more unethical conduct. There are three theories which explain the causes of corruption; the society-at-large theory, the structural theory and the rotten theory hypothesis.
References
Coleman, S. (2004). Police, Gratuities, and Professionalism: A Response to Kania. Criminal Justice Ethics, 23(1), 63.
Delattre, E. J. (2011). Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing, 6th ed. AEI Press.
Withrow, B. L., & Dailey, J. D. (2004). A Model of Circumstantial Corruptibility. Police Quarterly, 7:159.
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