POLICE CORRUPTION IN THE UNITED STATES

Police Corruption in the United States

Police Corruption in the United States

Introduction

Police corruption is incompatible with the rule of law, and the degree to which it exists can seriously undermine the quality of life of citizens affected by it. A successful response to eliminate it, however, is contingent on the ability to properly define it, provide reliable data on its prevalence, and develop effective prevention and detection efforts (Roleff, T. L., 2002).

Police corruption is basically the abuse of police authority for personal or organizational gains. This paper is going to look at some of the view points and the investigations into and about police corruption. These things include money laundering, drug trafficking, or looking the other way on violations of the law. Some law enforcement officers are swayed to look the other way on certain violations of the law committed by their family and/or friends. Officers are usually persuaded by payments in forms of bribes, personal favors, or gratuities. More serious crimes of police corruption include drugs, brutality, and framing (whether they are innocent or actually guilty) (Palmiotto, M. J., 2000).

Problem Analysis

Police fraud is a complex occurrence, which is not always a simple examination. Police corruption is an issue which has and will continue to affect everyone. Whether it is law enforcement or civilians there is a definite affect on us all. Many characteristics of policing have been altered; yet one has remained the same and this one is the existence of corruption. One could look at just about any police related publication or local newspaper and find an article about an office getting caught up in some type of corruption. There has been a dramatic increase in police corruption with the illegal trade of cocaine. Officers will act alone or in groups to distribute the drugs themselves, or steal money from dealers.

There have been many corrupt officers within the police department, however one comes to mind right away and that name is Michael Dowd. Michael Dowd was the kind of cop who gave a completely new meaning to the word moonlighting. It wasn't just any job that the 10-year veteran of the New York City force was working on the side. Dowd was a big time drug dealer. From scoring free pizza as a rookie he graduated to pocketing cash seized in drug raids and from there simply to robbing dealers outright, sometimes also relieving them of drugs that he would confiscate and resell. Soon he had a whole army formed or "a crew" of 15 to 20 officers in his Brooklyn precinct who hit up dealers regularly for drugs and money. Eventually one of the drug dealers was paying Dowd and another officer $8,000 a week in protection money. Through his illegal activities Dowd bought four suburban homes and a $35,000 red Corvette. Though it sounds ridiculous nobody asked how he managed all that on take-home pay of $400 a week in New York City. Never the less he was caught in 1992 (Cops ...