Hackers Underworld 2: Forbidden Knowledge/Hackers Underworld 2: Forbidden Knowledge.iso/LEGAL/2CORRUPT.05

Text File | 1991-10-01 | 17KB | 356 lines

September 1991


                         CORRUPTION:
         A CONTINUING CHALLENGE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

                              By

                       Otis E. Cooksey
                Major, Military Police Advisor
                  U.S. Army Readiness Group
                   Fort Sam Houston, Texas


     All too frequently, the public's confidence in law
enforcement is shaken by reports of officers falling victim to
corruption.  While no profession is untouched by corruption, its
effect on law enforcement is especially damaging.  As guardians
of law and order in a free society, law enforcement officers
must maintain a consistently high standard of integrity.

     Combating crime claims many victims from the ranks of law
enforcement.  As criminals become more violent, increasing
numbers of officers are being killed or injured in the line of
duty.  But increasing numbers of officers are also being lost to
corruption.  The lure of fast money associated with the drug
trade and other temptations are creating new and potentially
devastating problems for police departments and law enforcement
managers across the country.

     While there is no proven approach to eliminate all
corruption, there is an emerging understanding that an effective
strategy must begin with recruitment and continue into training.
In addition, a procedure should be instituted to investigate
charges of police misconduct within an agency.  To combat
corruption successfully, police managers must acknowledge that
it is a serious threat to the organization, and they must work
to reduce its damaging effects.

ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM

     The key to any effort aimed at preventing corruption in a
law enforcement agency is acknowledging that corruption, or the
potential for corruption, exists.  Given the current environment
wherein drug dealers regularly transact business while carrying
more cash than an officer makes in a year, law enforcement
managers can no longer ignore the issue of corruption.

     For the most part, managers use three general approaches
when failing to deal with corruption.  First, managers attempt
the "ostrich" approach, denying the existence of a problem.  As
a result of this approach, when the manager is faced with an
allegation of corruption, there is no effective mechanism in
place to deal with the problem.  This may force the manager into
courses of action directed by those outside the department.

     Second, managers try to deal with corruption by taking a
"pollyanna" approach.  Here, the manager acknowledges that
corruption exists in the organization, but downplays its impact.
Again, in a situation where the manager fails to respond
effectively to an incident, the course of action may be directed
from outside the agency.

     The third, and potentially most damaging, approach occurs
when a manager responds to corruption with a "cover-up."  Here,
the manager not only acknowledges corruption in the organization
but also takes overt action to cover it up.  This tactic
violates the special trust and confidence society places in law
enforcement and establishes a climate in the agency for
corruption to flourish.

     Fortunately, the law enforcement manager can overcome the
shortfalls of these approaches by taking a more-realistic
approach to corruption.  To respond effectively to corruption,
the manager must acknowledge the devastating impact it can have
on an agency.  A manager with a realistic appreciation of the
potential effects of corruption is in a position to develop a
strategy to deal with corruption internally.  This will enable
the department to minimize the damaging effects of the
corruption.

ESTABLISHING A POLICY

     Once the manager is committed to preventing corruption, the
next step is developing a policy before a crisis situation
develops.  While no one policy will meet the needs of all law
enforcement agencies, any effective policy should cover
recruitment, training, and investigation. (1)

     Before an effective strategy can be established, however,
the manager must decide on a suitable definition of corruption.
Arthur Niederhoffer defines corruption to include activities
ranging from the acceptance of a free cup of coffee to the
actual commission of criminal acts. (2)  But, including acts on
such a wide continuum creates a potential problem for the
manager.  The dilemma is whether to include this whole range of
activities in the policy or to draw a line on the continuum to
mark when seemingly innocent acts become corrupt.

     The problem for those managers who attempt to "draw the
line" or separate degrees of corruption will be the tendency
toward interpretation and rationalization.  Managers faced with
complex situations must then try to decide on which side of the
line an act falls.  At the same time, officers serving under
this policy can rationalize their actions, and given a healthy
imagination, one can rationalize almost any action.

     The alternative to defining specific corrupt acts is the
approach adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of
Police (IACP), which established a definition of corruption by
using the intended results of an action, not by the specific
acts.(3)  The IACP defines corruption as acts involving the
misuse of authority by a police officer in a manner designed to
produce either personal gain or gain for others.  This approach
simplifies the managers role in identifying corrupt actions and
provides officers with a simple way of determining where their
actions fall in relation to agency policy.

     The Model for Management-Corruption Prevention, prepared by
the IACP, is an effective tool to aid the law enforcement
manager in preparing a corruption prevention policy.  This model
policy covers the key aspects of a corruption prevention
strategy--recruitment, training, and investigation.  This model
can also be tailored to the specific needs of departments,
regardless of size.

PREVENTION STRATEGY

Recruitment

     As Edwin J. Delattre notes in his book, "Character and
Cops," people do not just happen to wear badges.  They wear
badges because police managers recruit and hire them. (4)  It is
only commonsense, then, that a comprehensive corruption
prevention policy address recruitment.  No agency knowingly
hires people who will commit corrupt acts in the future.  Yet,
many departments suffer the devastating effects of corruption.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department discharges
approximately 20 officers a year, primarily as a result of
misconduct. (5)

     There are, of course, many reasons why police agencies
should screen recruits and eliminate those who may become
corrupt.  One important factor is money.  For all agencies,
training is an expensive resource that cannot be wasted.  If an
officer completes training and then commits corrupt acts, the
department faces a potentially more complex and more serious
problem, mainly because rehabilitation and disciplinary actions
are more difficult and expensive the longer an individual is
employed. (6)  Law enforcement managers should be alert for
signs indicating trouble during the recruitment, initial
training, and probationary periods.

     An additional concern for departments in the coming years
is the declining number of qualified recruit applicants.
Reasons for this include low pay and the deteriorated image of
law enforcement.  Other factors include the increased demand for
police officers nationwide and a declining trend in the
population of 18 to 25 year olds. (7)

     A model that may assist recruitment managers is the
Standards Manual of the Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation
Program.  This model stresses the following guidelines:

     *  The department should advertise broadly for cand