Exam 8: Police Ethics and Police Deviance

What is a standard used to identify police ethics?

Which of the following statements is most accurate?

What effect, if any, have civil liabilities had on police departments?

What are the leading explanations for police corruption?

If a corrupt police officer is fired, the police force can ensure that officer is not hired by another community who does not know about his or her past wrongdoing by beginning which procedures with the state police standards organization?

Perjury is a type of what that involves giving false testimony in court?

Examples of police corruption include everything from sleeping on the job to inappropriate sex-related behaviors in the course of duty. Officers may also engage in deception as part of their efforts to fight crime. This includes falsifying police reports; circumventing rules meant to protect citizens, like that of search and seizure; and committing perjury during court testimony. Noble cause corruption refers to situations where officers bend the rules to attain the "right" result. Frequently, the rights violation would be justified in the officer's mind by the ultimate good of putting the bad guy in jail where he or she "belongs." The first step in responding to an accusation of corruption in a police department is to conduct an investigation. The results of the investigation determine any necessary follow-up. This scenario focuses on the ethical decisions police officers face every day. At the small-town precinct of Bear Lake, Michigan, 12-year veteran officer Tony Smith has just brought in the primary suspect in a series of area burglaries that occurred over the previous month. The suspect, local petty criminal Jonah Horne, is well known to all members of the department, having been arrested by four separate officers over the last decade. Smith has arrested Horne twice before, though neither case resolution meant more than six months of jail time to the career burglar. You're the chief of police and walk by, noticing that Horne's lip is cut and swollen, and there's a cut over his eye that recently stopped bleeding. His shirt is torn in several places, and his jeans appear as though he'd rolled around in the dirt. He is screaming to anyone within earshot that Smith beat him up "for no good reason" and he wants to file a police brutality report. Smith responds by saying, "You confessed and now you want to recant? Get over it, sleazebag, you're busted!" -Which of the following is the extreme level of police officer misuse of force?

What is a positive side of civil litigation against police departments?

Malcolm is a young, African American man who works in the entertainment industry, makes a good living, and drives a new red sports car. Although he is a careful driver, in the last month he has been pulled over by the police 15 times on his way to work, although each time, the officers have been vague about the reason. Malcolm writes an angry rant on his blog, saying he is being racial profiled and stopped for _________.

In a 2015 study of 990 incidents of police using deadly force, what was found to be the critical factor in a police officer misinterpreting the behavior of a civilian as threatening?

What Would You Do? You are Bear Lake's chief of police. In your office, Horne's lawyer asks Smith if he was the arresting officer and the one responsible for the battery on his client. Smith instantly turns red and begins arguing over the lawyer's choice of wording. He states that the suspect was "in that condition" when he arrived on the scene, and asserts that he is in no way responsible for injuring his suspect. The lawyer looks to you as the commanding officer to continue the conversation. -Do you support your initial decision and continue to support Smith's actions, or in reassessing the situation and all probable outcomes, do you agree that this time Smith should not be allowed to get away with his unethical behavior?

The most typical kind of drug-related police misconduct involves _________.

Summary A On each shift, police officers face a variety of situations requiring sound judgment and the ethical use of discretion. If an officer fails to consider the right factors, those decisions may lead the officer down a slippery slope of deviation toward corruption. Experts believe that for police officers, there are no "minor" unethical behaviors. Smith is clearly in need of direction regarding the ethics of his behavior. Supporting Smith in front of the attorney is a good decision to protect the department. However, Smith has clearly been engaging in some unethical behavior and needs to be told that this is no longer going to be tolerated. It is important that you understand that, if there are no consequences for Smith, other officers may take this as a sign that such behavior is acceptable in your agency. To learn more about the ethics of police officers and their potential for corruption, see "The Dilemma of Law Versus Order." Summary B On each shift, police officers face a variety of situations requiring sound judgment and the ethical use of discretion. If an officer fails to consider the right factors, those decisions may lead the officer down a slippery slope of deviation toward corruption. Experts believe that for police officers, there are no "minor" unethical behaviors. Smith is clearly in need of direction regarding the ethics of his behavior. Telling Horne's attorney you will be filing a brutality complaint against Smith is a good decision to hold Smith accountable and to send a message throughout the department that this behavior will not be tolerated. However, it might have been better to wait to share this information at a later date in order to discuss the situation with the police department's legal counsel. Smith may not be the only one who will face consequences for his behavior. The department will feel repercussions as well. To learn more about the ethics of police officers and their potential for corruption, see "The Dilemma of Law Versus Order." You allow Smith to continue processing Jonah Horne into the system and close yourself into your office to begin the paperwork regarding the brutality complaint. You have it completed before Horne's lawyer arrives and requests a conversation about the condition of his client with you and the arresting officer. -Which of the following is a method that internal affairs divisions use to investigate corruption?

What is the process by which police actions are considered at various levels of the court system to be sure they are constitutional?

How extensive is police corruption?

What are the various forms of police misconduct other than corruption?

According to the Department of Justice, ___________ are more than three times as likely to be searched during a traffic stop as __________.

What Would You Do? You are Bear Lake's chief of police. In your office, Horne's lawyer asks Smith if he was the arresting officer and the one responsible for the battery on his client. Smith instantly turns red and begins arguing over the lawyer's choice of wording. He states that the suspect was "in that condition" when he arrived on the scene, and asserts that he is in no way responsible for injuring his suspect. You can tell by his mannerisms that he's trying to hide the truth of what really happened, confirming your suspicions of his guilt. The lawyer looks to you as the commanding officer to continue the conversation. -Do you support your initial decision to file the brutality complaint against Officer Smith, or do you determine that Smith should be supported in his decision because it was in the highest good of the Bear Lake community as a whole?

LAPD cadet scandal In February 2000, more than 70 Los Angeles Police Department officers were investigated in what came to be known as the __________.

Civilian review is designed to _________.