List and describe some ways to control and reduce corruption in policing.
What will be an ideal response?
The following list describes some ways to control and reduce corruption in policing.
1) High moral standards: Selecting and maintaining officers with high moral standards is a step in the right direction. Some police agencies in the United States still hire convicted felons to do police work. In-depth academy and in-service training on ethical issues that officers are likely to face would prepare officers for the compromises they may be asked to make later in their careers.
2) Police policies and discipline: A police department should develop rigid policies that cover the wide range of activities that corruption comprises. Drug testing of officers, particularly those in narcotics-sensitive positions, may be necessary although unpopular. Policies mean nothing unless they are enforced. Discipline should be imposed, and prosecutions should go forward when officers are found guilty of violating established policies and laws.
3) Proactive internal affairs unit: The internal affairs investigations unit of a police department should ferret out illegal and unethical activity. Any internal affairs unit that waits for complaints probably is not going to receive many of them. First-line supervisors should know whether their subordinates are engaging in unethical and illegal violations of department rules and state laws. They should also be held responsible for the actions of their subordinates.
4) Uniform enforcement of the law: If a police agency makes it clear that no group of citizens, no matter what their affiliation with the police department, is going to receive special treatment from the police department, the incentive for offering bribes and other forms of corruption will be minimized. This process starts with clear policies and procedures and must be backed up with discipline, when necessary.
5) Outside review and special prosecutor: Police leadership and police labor associations heavily resist any kind of outside review of their actions. However, both the Christopher Commission and the Knapp Commission are examples of outside reviews that brought about improvements in the agencies they investigated. Special prosecutors are recommended in serious cases to relieve the police and the government of any accusations of a whitewash.
6) Court review and oversight: Criminal prosecutions or civil liability suits deriving from police corruption cases can be very costly to a police agency. Such visible forms of oversight often result in adverse media coverage, civil liability awards, and higher insurance rates-all of which should encourage police agencies to control corruption.
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Explain the consequences for police officers engaging in racial profiling.
What will be an ideal response?
Judge Reynolds is coming up for re-election in his jurisdiction, and he is facing the case of his career. A serial armed robber, "The Pastor" Raymond Rob, has just been convicted in a jury trial in Reynolds's courtroom. Rob was found guilty on four counts of armed robbery. "The Pastor" earned his odd title because he always dressed as a pastor when entering the banks. The banks were in rural areas and were not equipped with cameras, so all descriptions of "The Pastor" had been flawed. His modus operandi consisted of passing the teller a note in his Bible and showing the tip of his gun's barrel under his sleeve in a discreet way. He was finally caught after the fourth bank had been hit, when Pastor Rob tripped going out the bank's door. A bank security guard apprehended him after he
dropped his gun.During the sentencing portion of the case, Pastor Rob's attorney raises the information about Pastor Rob. He stated that Pastor Rob's mother died during childbirth and his father died shortly thereafter in a car accident. Pastor Rob was raised in a series of foster homes, never having a family to call his own. At age 21, Pastor Rob left the foster care system and began preaching in a church he established. He helped many poor families through charity events held at the church, but during hard economic times, he just couldn't find additional funds. He started robbing banks in a nearby state where people did not know him. He got his gun from a parishioner who had found it in a deceased relative's belongings and had given it to Pastor Rob for safekeeping.The prosecutor has information about four clearly planned robberies by Pastor Rob, the use of a weapon, and the use of clerical clothing and a Bible.Judge Reynolds is also a former foster child, and he has great sympathy for Pastor Rob. He has been advised by the corrections department that prison space is limited and should be reserved for murderers and those involved in drug trafficking. His jurisdiction uses indeterminate sentencing, and the punishment for armed robbery is a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years. The judge would like you, his trusted law clerk, to provide him with some guidance in the sentence he should impose on Pastor Rob by researching the sentences imposed in similar jurisdictions for similar crimes. What information are you likely to find? What will be an ideal response?