Exam 7: Police Corruption and Responses

After completing your observations of Officer Jones, you are asked to summarize your observations for a study being conducted by an ethicist studying police behavior. Assume that the waitress at the diner was new and did not know about Officer Jones' arrangement with the owner. She brought a check for the food and coffee, and Officer Jones grudgingly paid. Because the choice of the diner was motivated by Officer Jones' desire for a free meal, ______________ would consider his actions immoral even though he paid.

___________ refers to any exploitation of one's role, such as accepting bribes, protection money, or kickbacks.

While on patrol, Officer Jones notices a car that is parked illegally. He uses his cell phone to call a towing company, identifying himself as a "friend" on the phone. When the tow truck arrives, the driver thanks Officer Jones for calling in the job, and discreetly hands him a twenty-dollar bill. This is an example of:

Research on abuse and corruption complains finds that:

Studies indicate that gratuities do not influence the way that officers patrol.

You are a police officer working highway patrol. A car whips by you, measured by your instrument at 30 miles over the speed limit. You turn on your rollers and pull over the vehicle. The man behind the wheel smiles as he sees you: he's your partner, who is on vacation this week. Analyze the social pressures you would feel to not write him a ticket, the types of justification you could use to not write him a ticket, and the ethical arguments that refute each.

Many people do not trust that police departments will be able to root out individuals who are corrupt. You are the head of a nonprofit organization that collects databases of news items in order to put public pressure on police departments to reform. Analyze the studies, which have already been published. Then discuss how you will work with civilian review and complaint boards and the police departments themselves in order to make sure the reforms are put in place.

The phrase ________________ was used by the Knapp Commission to describe deviant NYC police officers who engaged in shakedowns, shopped at burglary scenes, and engaged in more serious practices.

The Buddy Boys operated in which city?

According to Kania, gratuities _______

According to Gilmartin and Harris, an officer's "continuum of compromise" begins when he or she perceives a sense of victimization on the job.

Discuss the difference between on-duty and off-duty misbehavior by police, and distinguish between police corruption and police crime.

Most of the victims of sex-related arrests by sworn officers are ____________.

An analysis of sex-related arrests of sworn officers found that most of the victims were minors.

If any of the above scenarios were arranged specifically to observe Officer Jones to see how he would react to an opportunity for misconduct, the activity would be an example of a(n):

There is no evidence to indicate that police behavior is influenced by the possibility of civil lawsuits.

You are the Commissioner of Police in a major city in the East Coast. A corruption scandal has made your department the object of ridicule in the local media, and you need to institute a new program. You are considering integrity testing. What are the benefits, and the drawbacks to instituting such a program?

Lack of background checks, poor internal discipline procedures, and poor supervision are all examples of what type of explanations for police deviance?

Discuss the research concerning on-duty use of force. What factors seem to lead to use of excessive force?

Discuss the origin of the Knapp Commission, and evaluate its conclusions.