Discuss the three explanations for police corruption

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Explanations for police officer corruption come in three forms. These include a focus on individual officers, department problems, and problems external to the department. Individual explanations see the particular officer as the primary problem. If a few "rotten apples" were eliminated, corruption would disappear. Officers with low moral fiber are quick to misuse their authority for selfish ends. These individual explanations are popular, but rejected by most experts. Departmental explanations, on the other hand, focus not on the rotten apple, but on the rotten barrel. An example of this is the deviant police subculture where loyalty and secrecy are valued instead of a commitment to higher ideals. The department subculture, often wrought with cynicism, actually condones the illegal behavior. The third explanation for corruption focuses on factors external to the department, namely government actions that make honest policing difficult. Some laws, like those against personal drug use, prostitution, and gambling, are difficult to enforce because there is no real victim. In addition, local governments who fail to properly manage the police force allow departments to self-manage, thus increasing the chance of corruption. When politics meets policing, the battle for power and the accompanying indebtedness to public officials may obscure proper police administration.