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... ely than they were pursuing drugs, ''s ays Assistant U. S. Attorney Steven Bauer. (Washington Post, Jan 18, 1993: p. 11) When cities enlarge their police forces quickly in response to public fears about crime, it can also mean an influx of younger and less well-suited officers. That was a major reason for the enormous corruption scandal that hit Miami in the mid- 1980 s, when about 10 % of the city's police were either jailed, fired or disciplined in connection with a scheme in which officers robbed and sometimes killed cocaine smugglers on the Miami River, then resold the drugs. Many of those involved had been hired when the department had beefed up quickly after the 1980 riots and the Mariel boat lift. ''We didn't get the quality of officers we should have, ''s ays department spokesman Dave Magnusson. (Carter, 1989: pp. 78 - 79) When it came time to clean house, says former Miami police chief Perry Anderson, civil service board members often chose to protect corrupt cops if there was no hard evidence to convict them in the courts. ''I tried to fire 25 people with tarnished badges, but it was next to impossible, '' he recalls. (Carter, 1989: pp. 78 - 79).
The Mollen Commission testimony could also lead to second thoughts on the growth of community policing, the back-to-the-beat philosophy that in recent years has been returning officers to neighborhood patrol in cities around the country, including New York. Getting to know the neighborhood can mean finding more occasions for bribe taking, which is one reason that in many places beat patrolling was scaled back since the 1960 s in favor of more isolated squad-car teams. The real test of a department is not so much whether its officers are tempted by money but whether there is an institutional culture that discourages them from succumbing. In Los Angeles the sheriff's department ''brought us the case, ''s ays FBI special agent Charlie Parsons. ''They worked with us hand in glove throughout the investigation. '' (Washington Post, Jan 18, 1993: p. 11) In the years after it was established, following the Knapp Commission disclosures, the New York City police department's internal affairs division was considered one of the nation's most effective in stalking corruption. But that may not be the case anymore. Police sergeant Joseph Trimboli, a department investigator, told the Mollen Commission that when he tried to root out Dowd and other corrupt cops, his efforts were blocked by higher-ups in the department.
At one point, Trimboli claimed, he was called to a meeting of police officials and told he was under suspicion as a drug trafficker. ''They did not want this investigation to exist, '' he said. (New York Times, April 3, 1993: p. 5) It was at this time that New York City police commissioner, at the time, Raymond Kelly announced a series of organizational changes, including a larger staff and better-coordinated field investigations, intended to improve internal affairs. His critics say those changes don't go far enough. Much of that happened after Kelly's reforms had been announced. The Mollen Commission is recommend the establishment of an outside monitoring agency, a move that Kelly and other police brass have expressed some reservations about. ''No group is good at policing itself, ''s ays Knapp Commission counsel Armstrong. ''It doesn't hurt to have somebody looking over their shoulder. '' An independent body, however, might be less effective at getting co-operation from cops prone to close ranks against outsiders. ''You have to have the confidence of officers and information about what's going on internally, ''s ays former U. S.
Attorney Thomas Puccio, who prosecuted a number of police-corruption cases. (New York Times, April 3, 1993: p. 5) Getting that information was no easier when officers were encouraged to report wrongdoing to authorities within their own department. In many cities that have them, internal affairs divisions are resented within the ranks for getting cops to turn in other cops -- informers are even recruited from police-academy cadets -- and for rarely targeting the brass. ''One of the things that has come out in the hearings is a culture within the department which seems to permit corruption to exist, ''s ays Walter Mack, a one time federal prosecutor who is now New York's deputy commissioner of internal affairs. ''But when you " re talking about cultural change, you " re talking about many years. It's not something that occurs overnight. '' (New York Post, June 14, 1993: p. 28) Dowd, who was sentenced prison on guilty please, put it another way. ''Cops don't want to turn in other cops, '' he said. ''Cops don't want to be a rat. '' And even when honest cops are willing to blow the whistle, there may not be anyone willing to listen. (New York Times, Mar. 29, 1993: p. 14) Is there a solution to the police corruption problem? Probably not because since its beginnings, many aspects of policing have changed, but one thing that has not is the existence of corruption.
Police agencies, in an attempt to eliminate corruption have tried everything from increasing salaries, requiring more training and education, and developing polices which are intended to focus directly on factors leading to corruption. What have all these changes done to eliminate or even decrease the corruption problem? Little or nothing. Despite police departments' attempts to control corruption, it still occurs. Regardless of the fact, police corruption cannot simply be over looked.
Controlling corruption is the only way that we can really limit corruption, because corruption is the by-product of the individual police officer, societal views, and, police environmental factors. Therefore control must come from not only the police department, but also must require the assistance and support of the community members. Controlling corruption from the departmental level requires a strong leadership organization, because corruption can take place any where from the patrol officer to the chief. The top administrator must make it clear from the start that he and the other members of the department are against any form of corrupt activity, and that it will not be tolerated in any way, shape, or form. If a police administrator does not act strongly with disciplinary action against any corrupt activity, the message conveyed to other officers within the department will not be that of intimated nature. In addition it may even increase corruption, because officers feel no actions will be taken against them.
Another way that police agencies can control its corruption problem starts originally in the academy. Ethical decisions and behavior should be promoted, because failing to do make officers aware of the consequences of corruption does nothing but encourages it. Finally, many police departments, especially large ones, have an Internal Affairs unit which operates to investigate improper conduct of police departments. These units some times are run within the department or can be a total outside agency to insure that there is not corruption from within the Internal Affairs unit, as was alleged in the 1992 NYPD corruption scandal. Such a unit may be all that is need to prevent many officers from being tempted into falling for corrupt behavior patterns. Although the police agency should be the main source of controlling its own corruption problem, there also requires some support and assistance from the local community.
It is important that the public be educated to the negative affects of corruption on their police agency. They should be taught that even 'gratitude's' (the most basic and common form of police corruption) is only a catalyst for more and future corruption. The community may even go as far as establishing review boards, and investigative bodies to help keep a careful eye on the agency. If we do not act to try and control it, the costs can be enormous, because it affects not only the individual, his department, the law enforcement community as a whole, but society as well. Police corruption can be controlled; it just takes a little extra effort. And In the long run, that effort will be well worth it to both the agency and the community. (Walker, 1992: p. 89).
The powers given by the state to the police to use force have always caused concern. Although improvements have been made to control corruption, numerous opportunities exist for deviant and corrupt practices. The opportunity to acquire power in excess of that which is legally permitted or to misuse power is always available. The police subculture is a contributing factor to these practices, because officers who often act in a corrupt manner are often over looked, and condoned by other members of the subculture.
As mentioned from the very beginning of this report the problem of police deviance and corruption will never be completely solved, just as the police will never be able to solve the crime problem in our society. One step in the right direction, however, is the monitoring and control of the police and the appropriate use of police style to enforce laws and to provide service to the public. Bibliography: Works Cited Beals, Gregory (1993, Oct 21). Why Good Cops Go Bad.
Newsweek, p. 18. Carter, David L. (1986). Deviance & Police. Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co. Castaneda, Ruben (1993, Jan. 18). Bearing the Badge of Mistrust.
The Washington Post, p. 11. Dantzker, Mark L. (1995, ). Understanding Today's Police. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. James, George (1993, Mar. 29). Confessions of Corruption.
The New York Times, p. 8. James, George (1993, Nov. 17). Officials Say Police Corruption is Hard To Stop. The New York Times, p. 3. Sherman, Lawrence W (1978). Scandal And Reform.
Los Angeles: University of California Press. Simpson, Scott T. (1993, June 14). Mollen Commission Findings. New York Post, p. 28 Walker, J.
T. (1992). Briefs of 100 leading cases in the law enforcement. Cincinnati: Anderson Publishing Company. Weber, Bruce (1993, April 3). Confessions of Corruption. The New York Times p. 5
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