Corruption in Law Enforcement

Corruption in Law Enforcement There are times within all careers that we ask ourselves, don’t we deserve better? We show up to work every day on time with a great attitude and ready to give one hundred per cent focus and hard work. Some job are more tedious than others, some people choose careers that demands physical and mental strength, like police officers. Chasing down criminals, dealing with drug abusers, long hours and less time with their family without making the kind of money that they deserve can be a mental strain. Every day they arrest people that illegally and immorally bring in money, more money than they would ever make, while barely lifting a finger. Police officers wonder, where is my compensation? Acts of corruption by people of power, like police officers, has become a regular occurrence in law enforcement. It starts off as a minute gift from a business owner, discounted meals or free coffee, and turns into a wide spread epidemic. In some cultures they look at gift giving and taking is a normal tradition in non-western cultures. Public procurement and bribing public officials did not exist. They gave gifts for negotiation purposed and a way to build a relationship between both parties. The western world openly gives gifts to officers because in their culture it is expected (Transparency International, 2012). If you look at the United States our corrupted officers are mostly undercover, hidden out of sight because bribery is not an excepted behavior. In the readings they say that corruption is unavoidable side effect of development (idebate.org). While, I think that this statement is an over exaggeration of the problem the idea of it holds true. In all decisions we make about our lives and careers, an action will be followed by an opposite reaction. The development of police officers brought about a group of citizens that put their life on the line for the safety of others. Law enforcement had honor, loyalty, trust and power.

Cited: Bayley, D., & Perito, R. (2011). Police Corruption. Washington: United States Institute of Peace. Transparency International. (2012). Corruption Q&As. Transparency International. White, S. A. (1999). Controlling Police Corruption. Edge. Williams, H. (2002). Core Factors of police Corruption Across the World. Washington: President of the Police Foundation.