How Does Police Corruption Affect Society

Police corruption becomes apparent in many different forms. A basic definition for police corruption is, when an officer gets involved in offenses in which the officer uses his or her position, by act or omission, to obtain improper financial benefit (“corruption”). The main reason for such corruption is typically for personal gain, such as bribery and gratuities; not only is this type of misconduct illegal, but it weighs a heavy toll on the local towns and state. The topic of police corruption has a major impact on today's society because people underestimate the severity of some of the allegations raised against police. Police corruption seems to have gone unnoted; however, with the growth of social media it has brought to light the negative impact it has on society. To really get a grasp on police corruption we have to understand the levels of corruption and the misconducts with in the levels. The most common levels of corruption are known as; rotten apples, rotten pockets, pervasive unorganized, and pervasive organized corruption. The first type of corruption and usually the most common and least serious of them all is known as the Rotten Apples. These individuals make up only a small percentage of uniformed officers - these “rotten apples” usually
The theories used most for explaining police corruption are sociological, sociocultural, and organizational. The sociological theories stress the Code of silence, and the solidarity within the police culture. This means that, once an officer is recruited he or she is introduced to corruption very early on into their career. Not only are they introduced to corruption, they are taught the Code of Silence, the code is usually used when one officer sees another officer doing and illegal act but will not report it. With the introduction of corruption very early on into their career of being