NCJ Number
193783
Date Published
2001
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Drawing on Barker and Well's typology of police corruption, this paper identifies and discusses various categories of criminal activity committed by police officers throughout the United States.
Abstract
Barker and Wells (1981) characterized police corruption as behavior forbidden by some norm, regulation, or law that involves the misuse of the officer's position and material gain, no matter how insignificant. In addition, Barker and Wells identified 10 types of corrupt police behavior: corruption of authority, kickbacks, opportunistic theft, shakedowns (taking money from persons caught in a law violation), protection from illegal activities, traffic fix, misdemeanor fix, felon fix, direct criminal activity, and internal payoffs (sale of days off, work assignments, etc.). This paper focuses its discussion of police corruption on violent crimes and sexual assault committed by police, drug crimes committed by police, and other miscellaneous crimes committed by police. The latter include burglary, the fabrication of evidence, perjury, shoplifting, and theft from fatality victims. In suggesting options for countering police corruption, the author recommends improving hiring mechanisms, aggressively recruiting minorities into policing, strengthening supervision through effective training, placing greater emphasis on the service aspect of policing, continuing community-based policing, and enhancing recruit training in the areas of police corruption and misconduct. Further, police executives and commanders must commit to breaking the code of silence in the police subculture. 44 references