Understanding Police Corruption

In a society that appears to have lost its moral compass in so many ways, the escalation of petty and violent crime, and the constant threat that substance abuse poses on the modern community model as example, civilians are relying on the police more than ever before. The role of law enforcement as fearless, and flawless public servants, beyond the moral standards of the criminals that they pursue in the interest of public safety has come to be expected 100% of the time. Reality, however, paints a different picture; the humanity of law enforcement personnel can, and does sometimes lead even the most respected and devoted police officers into the abyss of criminal activities, including assaults inflicted on innocent victims, organized crime, substance abuse, and other forms of corruption. This paper explores the various areas of corruption in law enforcement, and concludes with recommendations to prevent flawed individuals from becoming police officers from the outset.
Overview of Police Corruption

To begin to discuss police corruption, it is important to understand exactly what police corruption consists of and how it can be defined. Generally speaking, there are no set standards of what can be identified as corruption (Ivkovic, 2003) but there are may areas upon which experts worldwide generally agree when asked for examples of corruption. These examples include the obvious such as murder, assault, extortion, racketeering, drug trafficking and so forth, and may include other unique examples depending upon the laws of the defined territory in which the police officer works, be it a city, county, state, nation, etc. Generally speaking, when talking of police corruption, most sources would agree that police corruption consists of those actions which violate the very laws that police officers are entrusted to uphold.

Having given a broad definition of police corruption, the question arises as to why any police officer would break the law, especially since these individuals have made a choice to enforce the law as a profession and they especially have an in-depth knowledge of what is legal and illegal, as well as the effect that criminal activity has on victims and communities at large. However, maybe one of the reasons that police corruption exists is because police personnel, generally speaking, forego big salaries and perks in the pursuit of a professional police career. In the course of this career, however, they soon learn that crime can in fact pay, thereby giving the police officer what is seemingly the best of both worlds- a respectable career as well as criminal activities which provide easy cash, connections, and more power (Ray, 2001).

Sources have also shown that the high level of stress that exists in police work can drive even the most seasoned officer to irrational behavior such as corruption (Glenn, et al, 2003). Amazingly enough, while most people will glibly say that they are under stress or feeling stressed, these same people would be hard pressed in most cases to define what stress actually is. Reality is that even the "experts" on stress are unable to develop a convenient definition for stress, or more precisely, a definition that truly projects the complexity and variety of stress in the modern world. As a matter of fact, the concept of stress that we speak of actually emerged in the nineteenth century, as such events as the Industrial Revolution gave rise to large cities, hectic lifestyles, and the challenges and problems that contribute to stress (Kugelmann, 1992). Therefore, perhaps the best way to define stress is that it is a combination of human interaction, environment, and life events, working in combination, to create the feeling of worry, anger, depression, and the like in individuals. In other words, the stress experience actually varies by individual, but the effects can be seen clearly in some very "stressful" occupations, like law enforcement. With this in mind, manifestations of stress in police officers, for example, become more relevant. One of the most common of these manifestations is the unusually high percentage of alcohol related problems among police officers, in comparison to the general population (Glenn, et al, 2003). Alcohol related problems among police officers are generally higher than those in a cross-section of the rest of the general population of a given community. While one would think that in seeing how alcohol holds the awesome potential to destroy lives on a daily basis, police officers would be less likely to become involved with alcohol. Interestingly enough, however, there is evidence to suggest that police officers become involved in excessive alcohol consumption because they are police officers. This can be found on its most basic level in the modern day public perception of police officers. While police officers have admittedly had good and bad officers in their ranks since police officers have existed, the public perception of police officers, as well as other law enforcement personnel has become tarnished over the years. This is due to the typical portrayal of police officers in the media, in movies and books as corrupt individuals whose aim is to hurt rather than help civilians (Ray, 2001). This is the classic story of bad news selling more newspapers and attracting a larger audience than good news. In fact, most people can even remember being told as children that if they did not behave, a police officer was going to lock them in jail and throw away the key. Therefore, we are almost born with a poor view of police officers, and this is fed as we grow older and begin to follow current events. For the new police officer, who strives to be a respected professional and build a solid career, this false generalization can lead them into despair, accompanied by such behaviors as the abuse of alcohol.

Obviously, alcohol abuse causes problems for any individual in any occupation or walk of life, but the police officer has some very unique and dangerous problems that accompany the alcohol use and misuse in their lives. The police officer has to make split second decisions, regarding not only their own life and death, but the lives and deaths of countless civilians on a daily basis. When reasoning ability is dulled or distorted by alcohol, indeed the outcome can quite literally become deadly. Ironically enough, these poor decisions only serve to add to the poor public image of police officers, driving officers deeper into despair and destructive lifestyle choices like alcoholism. Fortunately for police officers, the alcohol related problems that often "come with the territory" have not gone unnoticed. Across the law enforcement community, agencies worldwide have begun to utilize programs and services to help afflicted officers to put their lives back in order (Henry, 2004).

Corruption Exists in Police Forces Small and Large Alike

When the average person thinks about police corruption, their first vision is probably something out of a television program, such as the fictional backwoods powerbroker Boss Hogg using his police officers to do his dirty work and advance his own best interests. Although the research presented here indicates that self advancement is a key factor in many cases of police corruption, the impression should not be given that corruption only takes place in tiny towns, out of the main spotlight of public scrutiny. Events in recent years, however, have indicated that even the largest, and ostensibly most professional police departments in the world are not immune from the plague that is police corruption. In the United States, two glaring examples of corruption of this level readily come to mind. The New Orleans of the late 1970s and early 1980s had such a high level of crime, for example, that its huge number of homicides gave the city the dubious distinction of being one of the murder capitals of the US (Henry, 2004). Just as frightening, however, was the crime that was happening on the other side of the badge, so to speak. The police department of New Orleans, from the top brass to the cops on the beat, was engaged in all forms of corruption, ranging from taking bribes from criminals and drug peddling to assaults and even murder for hire. It was only after years of investigation and a thorough overhaul of the department that the corruption was put under control.

Although the corruption of New Orleans took place behind closed doors, or more precisely in dark alleys, recent cases of police corruption have literally been broadcast across the television screens of America, courtesy of the Los Angeles Police Department. All of the ugliness of police corruption was captured by the video camera of a passerby when Rodney King, a black motorist pulled over by LAPD officers, was pulled from his vehicle and mercilessly beaten by several police personnel, even after he apparently was incapacitated and begging for mercy, which he only received once he nearly died on the scene (LC, 1999). Ultimately, the King case would lead to the Los Angeles riots, when police corruption, in the form of an assault of a civilian, erupted into street violence, as thousands of Los Angelinos took to the streets as a form of open protest when the officers accused of beating King were acquitted of all charges in an LA court.

Screening of New Officers to Minimize the Risk of Hiring Corrupt Individuals

After understanding the scope and seriousness of police corruption, the logical person would want to take steps to eradicate police corruption; therefore, this possibility needs to be looked at as well. Prevention of police corruption can, and should, become a top priority for the law enforcement community, for while the monitoring of police who are already on the job is important, the issue of the hiring of police officers who are flawed in some way before joining law enforcement is also important. One area of particular interest is the screening of potential new officers to reduce the possibility that those hired are already domestic abusers/offenders, for placing them in the stressful environment of police work is akin to throwing fuel on a flame. With this prevention in mind, beyond the background checks and other devices which indicate prior behavior, psychological analysis tools have been developed which can also show potential behavior trends, thereby allowing for the aversion of problems before they occur- namely, the hiring of domestic offenders as police officers (Henry, 2004).

Conclusion

In this paper, we have looked at corruption in law enforcement. As a conclusion, perhaps what is most important to take away from this research is the realization that law enforcement personnel, be they police or otherwise, are critical to the maintenance of domestic order and civility. If we do not protect these individuals from others who are corrupt, and give them every opportunity to thrive in their daily duties, we have no one to blame but ourselves for the disastrous outcome that is sure to follow.

References

Glenn, R. W., Panitch, B. R., Barnes-Proby, D., Williams, E., Christian, J., Lewis, M. W., et al. (2003). Training the 21st Century Police Officer : Redefining Police Professionalism for the Los Angeles Police Department /. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.
Henry, V. E. (2004). Death Work: Police, Trauma, and the Psychology of Survival. New York: Oxford University Press.
Inglehart, M. R. (1991). Reactions to Critical Life Events: A Social Psychological Analysis (1st ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Ivkovic, S. K. (2003). To Serve and Collect: Measuring Police Corruption. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 93(2-3), 593+.
Kugelmann, R. (1992). Stress: The Nature and History of Engineered Grief. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
L. C. (1999). Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Ray, G. (2001, October). The EMOTIONS HIDDEN Behind A Badge. Corrections Today, 63, 98.

Police Corruption
Introduction

In a society that appears to have lost its moral compass in so many ways, the escalation of petty and violent crime, and the constant threat that substance abuse poses on the modern community model as example, civilians are relying on the police more than ever before. The role of law enforcement as fearless, and flawless public servants, beyond the moral standards of the criminals that they pursue in the interest of public safety has come to be expected 100% of the time. Reality, however, paints a different picture; the humanity of law enforcement personnel can, and does sometimes lead even the most respected and devoted police officers into the abyss of criminal activities, including assaults inflicted on innocent victims, organized crime, substance abuse, and other forms of corruption. This paper explores the various areas of corruption in law enforcement, and concludes with recommendations to prevent flawed individuals from becoming police officers from the outset.
Overview of Police Corruption

To begin to discuss police corruption, it is important to understand exactly what police corruption consists of and how it can be defined. Generally speaking, there are no set standards of what can be identified as corruption (Ivkovic, 2003) but there are may areas upon which experts worldwide generally agree when asked for examples of corruption. These examples include the obvious such as murder, assault, extortion, racketeering, drug trafficking and so forth, and may include other unique examples depending upon the laws of the defined territory in which the police officer works, be it a city, county, state, nation, etc. Generally speaking, when talking of police corruption, most sources would agree that police corruption consists of those actions which violate the very laws that police officers are entrusted to uphold.

Having given a broad definition of police corruption, the question arises as to why any police officer would break the law, especially since these individuals have made a choice to enforce the law as a profession and they especially have an in-depth knowledge of what is legal and illegal, as well as the effect that criminal activity has on victims and communities at large. However, maybe one of the reasons that police corruption exists is because police personnel, generally speaking, forego big salaries and perks in the pursuit of a professional police career. In the course of this career, however, they soon learn that crime can in fact pay, thereby giving the police officer what is seemingly the best of both worlds- a respectable career as well as criminal activities which provide easy cash, connections, and more power (Ray, 2001).

Sources have also shown that the high level of stress that exists in police work can drive even the most seasoned officer to irrational behavior such as corruption (Glenn, et al, 2003). Amazingly enough, while most people will glibly say that they are under stress or feeling stressed, these same people would be hard pressed in most cases to define what stress actually is. Reality is that even the "experts" on stress are unable to develop a convenient definition for stress, or more precisely, a definition that truly projects the complexity and variety of stress in the modern world. As a matter of fact, the concept of stress that we speak of actually emerged in the nineteenth century, as such events as the Industrial Revolution gave rise to large cities, hectic lifestyles, and the challenges and problems that contribute to stress (Kugelmann, 1992). Therefore, perhaps the best way to define stress is that it is a combination of human interaction, environment, and life events, working in combination, to create the feeling of worry, anger, depression, and the like in individuals. In other words, the stress experience actually varies by individual, but the effects can be seen clearly in some very "stressful" occupations, like law enforcement. With this in mind, manifestations of stress in police officers, for example, become more relevant. One of the most common of these manifestations is the unusually high percentage of alcohol related problems among police officers, in comparison to the general population (Glenn, et al, 2003). Alcohol related problems among police officers are generally higher than those in a cross-section of the rest of the general population of a given community. While one would think that in seeing how alcohol holds the awesome potential to destroy lives on a daily basis, police officers would be less likely to become involved with alcohol. Interestingly enough, however, there is evidence to suggest that police officers become involved in excessive alcohol consumption because they are police officers. This can be found on its most basic level in the modern day public perception of police officers. While police officers have admittedly had good and bad officers in their ranks since police officers have existed, the public perception of police officers, as well as other law enforcement personnel has become tarnished over the years. This is due to the typical portrayal of police officers in the media, in movies and books as corrupt individuals whose aim is to hurt rather than help civilians (Ray, 2001). This is the classic story of bad news selling more newspapers and attracting a larger audience than good news. In fact, most people can even remember being told as children that if they did not behave, a police officer was going to lock them in jail and throw away the key. Therefore, we are almost born with a poor view of police officers, and this is fed as we grow older and begin to follow current events. For the new police officer, who strives to be a respected professional and build a solid career, this false generalization can lead them into despair, accompanied by such behaviors as the abuse of alcohol.

Obviously, alcohol abuse causes problems for any individual in any occupation or walk of life, but the police officer has some very unique and dangerous problems that accompany the alcohol use and misuse in their lives. The police officer has to make split second decisions, regarding not only their own life and death, but the lives and deaths of countless civilians on a daily basis. When reasoning ability is dulled or distorted by alcohol, indeed the outcome can quite literally become deadly. Ironically enough, these poor decisions only serve to add to the poor public image of police officers, driving officers deeper into despair and destructive lifestyle choices like alcoholism. Fortunately for police officers, the alcohol related problems that often "come with the territory" have not gone unnoticed. Across the law enforcement community, agencies worldwide have begun to utilize programs and services to help afflicted officers to put their lives back in order (Henry, 2004).

Corruption Exists in Police Forces Small and Large Alike

When the average person thinks about police corruption, their first vision is probably something out of a television program, such as the fictional backwoods powerbroker Boss Hogg using his police officers to do his dirty work and advance his own best interests. Although the research presented here indicates that self advancement is a key factor in many cases of police corruption, the impression should not be given that corruption only takes place in tiny towns, out of the main spotlight of public scrutiny. Events in recent years, however, have indicated that even the largest, and ostensibly most professional police departments in the world are not immune from the plague that is police corruption. In the United States, two glaring examples of corruption of this level readily come to mind. The New Orleans of the late 1970s and early 1980s had such a high level of crime, for example, that its huge number of homicides gave the city the dubious distinction of being one of the murder capitals of the US (Henry, 2004). Just as frightening, however, was the crime that was happening on the other side of the badge, so to speak. The police department of New Orleans, from the top brass to the cops on the beat, was engaged in all forms of corruption, ranging from taking bribes from criminals and drug peddling to assaults and even murder for hire. It was only after years of investigation and a thorough overhaul of the department that the corruption was put under control.

Although the corruption of New Orleans took place behind closed doors, or more precisely in dark alleys, recent cases of police corruption have literally been broadcast across the television screens of America, courtesy of the Los Angeles Police Department. All of the ugliness of police corruption was captured by the video camera of a passerby when Rodney King, a black motorist pulled over by LAPD officers, was pulled from his vehicle and mercilessly beaten by several police personnel, even after he apparently was incapacitated and begging for mercy, which he only received once he nearly died on the scene (LC, 1999). Ultimately, the King case would lead to the Los Angeles riots, when police corruption, in the form of an assault of a civilian, erupted into street violence, as thousands of Los Angelinos took to the streets as a form of open protest when the officers accused of beating King were acquitted of all charges in an LA court.

Screening of New Officers to Minimize the Risk of Hiring Corrupt Individuals

After understanding the scope and seriousness of police corruption, the logical person would want to take steps to eradicate police corruption; therefore, this possibility needs to be looked at as well. Prevention of police corruption can, and should, become a top priority for the law enforcement community, for while the monitoring of police who are already on the job is important, the issue of the hiring of police officers who are flawed in some way before joining law enforcement is also important. One area of particular interest is the screening of potential new officers to reduce the possibility that those hired are already domestic abusers/offenders, for placing them in the stressful environment of police work is akin to throwing fuel on a flame. With this prevention in mind, beyond the background checks and other devices which indicate prior behavior, psychological analysis tools have been developed which can also show potential behavior trends, thereby allowing for the aversion of problems before they occur- namely, the hiring of domestic offenders as police officers (Henry, 2004).

Conclusion

In this paper, we have looked at corruption in law enforcement. As a conclusion, perhaps what is most important to take away from this research is the realization that law enforcement personnel, be they police or otherwise, are critical to the maintenance of domestic order and civility. If we do not protect these individuals from others who are corrupt, and give them every opportunity to thrive in their daily duties, we have no one to blame but ourselves for the disastrous outcome that is sure to follow.

References

Glenn, R. W., Panitch, B. R., Barnes-Proby, D., Williams, E., Christian, J., Lewis, M. W., et al. (2003). Training the 21st Century Police Officer : Redefining Police Professionalism for the Los Angeles Police Department /. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.
Henry, V. E. (2004). Death Work: Police, Trauma, and the Psychology of Survival. New York: Oxford University Press.
Inglehart, M. R. (1991). Reactions to Critical Life Events: A Social Psychological Analysis (1st ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Ivkovic, S. K. (2003). To Serve and Collect: Measuring Police Corruption. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 93(2-3), 593+.
Kugelmann, R. (1992). Stress: The Nature and History of Engineered Grief. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
L. C. (1999). Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Ray, G. (2001, October). The EMOTIONS HIDDEN Behind A Badge. Corrections Today, 63, 98.

Police Corruption
Introduction

In a society that appears to have lost its moral compass in so many ways, the escalation of petty and violent crime, and the constant threat that substance abuse poses on the modern community model as example, civilians are relying on the police more than ever before. The role of law enforcement as fearless, and flawless public servants, beyond the moral standards of the criminals that they pursue in the interest of public safety has come to be expected 100% of the time. Reality, however, paints a different picture; the humanity of law enforcement personnel can, and does sometimes lead even the most respected and devoted police officers into the abyss of criminal activities, including assaults inflicted on innocent victims, organized crime, substance abuse, and other forms of corruption. This paper explores the various areas of corruption in law enforcement, and concludes with recommendations to prevent flawed individuals from becoming police officers from the outset.
Overview of Police Corruption

To begin to discuss police corruption, it is important to understand exactly what police corruption consists of and how it can be defined. Generally speaking, there are no set standards of what can be identified as corruption (Ivkovic, 2003) but there are may areas upon which experts worldwide generally agree when asked for examples of corruption. These examples include the obvious such as murder, assault, extortion, racketeering, drug trafficking and so forth, and may include other unique examples depending upon the laws of the defined territory in which the police officer works, be it a city, county, state, nation, etc. Generally speaking, when talking of police corruption, most sources would agree that police corruption consists of those actions which violate the very laws that police officers are entrusted to uphold.

Having given a broad definition of police corruption, the question arises as to why any police officer would break the law, especially since these individuals have made a choice to enforce the law as a profession and they especially have an in-depth knowledge of what is legal and illegal, as well as the effect that criminal activity has on victims and communities at large. However, maybe one of the reasons that police corruption exists is because police personnel, generally speaking, forego big salaries and perks in the pursuit of a professional police career. In the course of this career, however, they soon learn that crime can in fact pay, thereby giving the police officer what is seemingly the best of both worlds- a respectable career as well as criminal activities which provide easy cash, connections, and more power (Ray, 2001).

Sources have also shown that the high level of stress that exists in police work can drive even the most seasoned officer to irrational behavior such as corruption (Glenn, et al, 2003). Amazingly enough, while most people will glibly say that they are under stress or feeling stressed, these same people would be hard pressed in most cases to define what stress actually is. Reality is that even the "experts" on stress are unable to develop a convenient definition for stress, or more precisely, a definition that truly projects the complexity and variety of stress in the modern world. As a matter of fact, the concept of stress that we speak of actually emerged in the nineteenth century, as such events as the Industrial Revolution gave rise to large cities, hectic lifestyles, and the challenges and problems that contribute to stress (Kugelmann, 1992). Therefore, perhaps the best way to define stress is that it is a combination of human interaction, environment, and life events, working in combination, to create the feeling of worry, anger, depression, and the like in individuals. In other words, the stress experience actually varies by individual, but the effects can be seen clearly in some very "stressful" occupations, like law enforcement. With this in mind, manifestations of stress in police officers, for example, become more relevant. One of the most common of these manifestations is the unusually high percentage of alcohol related problems among police officers, in comparison to the general population (Glenn, et al, 2003). Alcohol related problems among police officers are generally higher than those in a cross-section of the rest of the general population of a given community. While one would think that in seeing how alcohol holds the awesome potential to destroy lives on a daily basis, police officers would be less likely to become involved with alcohol. Interestingly enough, however, there is evidence to suggest that police officers become involved in excessive alcohol consumption because they are police officers. This can be found on its most basic level in the modern day public perception of police officers. While police officers have admittedly had good and bad officers in their ranks since police officers have existed, the public perception of police officers, as well as other law enforcement personnel has become tarnished over the years. This is due to the typical portrayal of police officers in the media, in movies and books as corrupt individuals whose aim is to hurt rather than help civilians (Ray, 2001). This is the classic story of bad news selling more newspapers and attracting a larger audience than good news. In fact, most people can even remember being told as children that if they did not behave, a police officer was going to lock them in jail and throw away the key. Therefore, we are almost born with a poor view of police officers, and this is fed as we grow older and begin to follow current events. For the new police officer, who strives to be a respected professional and build a solid career, this false generalization can lead them into despair, accompanied by such behaviors as the abuse of alcohol.

Obviously, alcohol abuse causes problems for any individual in any occupation or walk of life, but the police officer has some very unique and dangerous problems that accompany the alcohol use and misuse in their lives. The police officer has to make split second decisions, regarding not only their own life and death, but the lives and deaths of countless civilians on a daily basis. When reasoning ability is dulled or distorted by alcohol, indeed the outcome can quite literally become deadly. Ironically enough, these poor decisions only serve to add to the poor public image of police officers, driving officers deeper into despair and destructive lifestyle choices like alcoholism. Fortunately for police officers, the alcohol related problems that often "come with the territory" have not gone unnoticed. Across the law enforcement community, agencies worldwide have begun to utilize programs and services to help afflicted officers to put their lives back in order (Henry, 2004).

Corruption Exists in Police Forces Small and Large Alike

When the average person thinks about police corruption, their first vision is probably something out of a television program, such as the fictional backwoods powerbroker Boss Hogg using his police officers to do his dirty work and advance his own best interests. Although the research presented here indicates that self advancement is a key factor in many cases of police corruption, the impression should not be given that corruption only takes place in tiny towns, out of the main spotlight of public scrutiny. Events in recent years, however, have indicated that even the largest, and ostensibly most professional police departments in the world are not immune from the plague that is police corruption. In the United States, two glaring examples of corruption of this level readily come to mind. The New Orleans of the late 1970s and early 1980s had such a high level of crime, for example, that its huge number of homicides gave the city the dubious distinction of being one of the murder capitals of the US (Henry, 2004). Just as frightening, however, was the crime that was happening on the other side of the badge, so to speak. The police department of New Orleans, from the top brass to the cops on the beat, was engaged in all forms of corruption, ranging from taking bribes from criminals and drug peddling to assaults and even murder for hire. It was only after years of investigation and a thorough overhaul of the department that the corruption was put under control.

Although the corruption of New Orleans took place behind closed doors, or more precisely in dark alleys, recent cases of police corruption have literally been broadcast across the television screens of America, courtesy of the Los Angeles Police Department. All of the ugliness of police corruption was captured by the video camera of a passerby when Rodney King, a black motorist pulled over by LAPD officers, was pulled from his vehicle and mercilessly beaten by several police personnel, even after he apparently was incapacitated and begging for mercy, which he only received once he nearly died on the scene (LC, 1999). Ultimately, the King case would lead to the Los Angeles riots, when police corruption, in the form of an assault of a civilian, erupted into street violence, as thousands of Los Angelinos took to the streets as a form of open protest when the officers accused of beating King were acquitted of all charges in an LA court.

Screening of New Officers to Minimize the Risk of Hiring Corrupt Individuals

After understanding the scope and seriousness of police corruption, the logical person would want to take steps to eradicate police corruption; therefore, this possibility needs to be looked at as well. Prevention of police corruption can, and should, become a top priority for the law enforcement community, for while the monitoring of police who are already on the job is important, the issue of the hiring of police officers who are flawed in some way before joining law enforcement is also important. One area of particular interest is the screening of potential new officers to reduce the possibility that those hired are already domestic abusers/offenders, for placing them in the stressful environment of police work is akin to throwing fuel on a flame. With this prevention in mind, beyond the background checks and other devices which indicate prior behavior, psychological analysis tools have been developed which can also show potential behavior trends, thereby allowing for the aversion of problems before they occur- namely, the hiring of domestic offenders as police officers (Henry, 2004).

Conclusion

In this paper, we have looked at corruption in law enforcement. As a conclusion, perhaps what is most important to take away from this research is the realization that law enforcement personnel, be they police or otherwise, are critical to the maintenance of domestic order and civility. If we do not protect these individuals from others who are corrupt, and give them every opportunity to thrive in their daily duties, we have no one to blame but ourselves for the disastrous outcome that is sure to follow.

References

Glenn, R. W., Panitch, B. R., Barnes-Proby, D., Williams, E., Christian, J., Lewis, M. W., et al. (2003). Training the 21st Century Police Officer : Redefining Police Professionalism for the Los Angeles Police Department /. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.
Henry, V. E. (2004). Death Work: Police, Trauma, and the Psychology of Survival. New York: Oxford University Press.
Inglehart, M. R. (1991). Reactions to Critical Life Events: A Social Psychological Analysis (1st ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Ivkovic, S. K. (2003). To Serve and Collect: Measuring Police Corruption. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 93(2-3), 593+.
Kugelmann, R. (1992). Stress: The Nature and History of Engineered Grief. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
L. C. (1999). Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Ray, G. (2001, October). The EMOTIONS HIDDEN Behind A Badge. Corrections Today, 63, 98.