Police Corruption Why is policing so susceptible to corruption Police have authority to enforce law Police also have the discretion to not enforce the law Police receive relatively low pay but have important responsibilities Police become cynical about the court s soft treatment of criminals Society in general is ambivalent about vice Types of Corruption The Knapp Commission in 1972 identified two kinds of corrupt officers o Grass eaters officers who occasionally engage in illegal and unethical activities such as accepting small favors gifts or money for ignoring violations of the law during the course of their duties o Meat eaters while on duty officers who actively seek ways to make money illegally Stoddard identified a more complete list of police misconduct o Bribery accepting cash or gifts in exchange for non enforcement of the law o Chiseling demanding discounts free admission and free food o Extortion the threat of enforcement and arrest if a bribe is not given o Favoritism giving breaks on law enforcement to family and friends o Mooching accepting free food drinks and admission to entertainment o Perjury lying for other officers apprehended in illegal activity o Prejudice unequal enforcement of the law with respect to racial and ethnic minorities o Premeditated theft planned burglaries and theft o Shakedown taking items form the scene of a theft or a burglary o Shopping taking small inexpensive items from a crime scene Corruption Example Camden NJ 2010 Corruption charges were filed against two Camden police officers accused of falsifying evidence in drug cases that led authorities to dismiss more than 200 criminal cases Were indicted by a jury Assigned to police hot spots to crack down on open air drug markets started trafficking drugs themselves Stole drugs from suspects kept drugs for themselves planted drugs on others Had to discard 200 criminal cases Corruption Example Joseph Gray 2001 Joseph gray was on his way home from drinking to start his shift ran a red light and killed four people Officers failed to collect evidence properly Gray was released on bail the next day but was later charged with second degree murder and the officers who covered for him were fired Controlling Corruption Some of the ways to control and reduce corruption in policing are High moral standards Police policies and disciplines Proactive and internal affairs investigations unit Uniform enforcement of the law Outside review and special prosecutors Court review and oversight Police Use of Force Examples 1 Firm Grip 3 Batons nightsticks 4 Pushing shoving 5 Kicking punching 6 Swarming 7 Sprays chemical 8 Taser Stun Gun 9 Choke holds 10 Shooting Continuum of Force 1 No force typical verbal commands 2 Slight force strong directive language and or minimal force 3 Forcibly subdues suspects with hands uses arm wrist lock takedown block punch or kick 4 Forcibly subdues suspect using methods other than hands gun or baton Police Encounters with Citizens 45 million of these people will come into contact with police 19 million of these 45 million will be stopped in a vehicle 24 million of these 45 million will be stopped not in a vehicle About 209 million people 16 or older in US Of the 19 million stopped in cars only about 140 000 will encounter force Of 24 million of the individuals stopped not in a car about 282 000 will encounter force Police Encounters with Citizens A police officer is legally justified in using force to protect him herself from physical attack or to subdue a suspect who is resisting arrest Any force beyond that is improper BJS 1999 Report 1999 BSJ reported that police officers used force or threatened to use force in about 1 of all encounters with citizens average 421 000 force incidents each year nationally includes justified and unjustified Studies estimate that approximately 1 3 are unjustified 140 000 annually What we know about police use of force o Officers use force infrequently o Police use of force typically occurs at the lower end of the force spectrum involving grabbing pushing or shoving o A small proportion of officers are disproportionately involved in use of force incidents o Use of force appears to be unrelated to an officer s personal characteristics such as age gender and ethnicity o Use of force typically occurs when police are trying to make an arrest and the suspect is resisting Factors That Influence Police Abuse of Force Such as Excessive and Deadly Force 1 Jurisdiction Cities vs rural areas Population characteristics economic Level of violence in the area 2 Police Workload Ratio of number of calls arrests to officers Police stress 3 Firearm Availability 4 Social Variables Non residents transient population 5 Administrative Policies Departments The greater number of crimes committed with firearms the higher police violence Gen density proportion of suicides and murders with guns Restrictive vs non restrictive policies Poorly written or ambivalent policies create undue tension and stress on officers higher use 6 Race Racial disparities in use of deadly force and excessive force 80 in some cities regardless of race of officers In the 1970s the police fatally shot 8 African Americans for every 1 white person 8 to 1 By 1998 the ratio had been reduced to 4 to Controlling Excessive and Deadly Force 1 Supreme Court Fleeing Felon Rule tried to flee avoid arrest Tennessee v Garner 1985 prior to 1985 okay to shoot someone who resisted arrest or 2 Memphis police officers shot and killed Garner who was a black 15 year old male Garner was shot multiple times in the head who was fleeing the scene after Declared the Fleeing Felon Rule unconstitutional because it was a violation stealing a purse that had 10 in it against the 4th Amendment Defense of Life Rule use of deadly force to incidents where a suspect presented a clear danger to officer or public 16 reduction in incidents Graham v Connor Deals with excessive force Reasonable Standard force is excessive when considering all the circumstances known to the officer at the time he or she acted the force used was unreasonable Objective Reasonableness Standard measure the reasonableness of a particular use of force 1 What was the severity of the crime that the officer believed the suspect to have committed or to be committing 2 Did the suspect present an immediate threat to the safety of officers or the public 3 Was the suspect actively resisting arrest or attempting to escape the court used a 3 question test to Controlling