Exam 8: Police Ethics and Police Deviance

What Would You Do? You are Bear Lake's chief of police. You witnessed the scene when Smith brought Horne in; you also noticed Horne's condition and couldn't help but notice his loud rantings against his arresting officer. You are faced with a dilemma. On one hand, you know that Horne is a career criminal and are 95 percent sure he's the one responsible for the eight home burglaries being investigated. You also know that his cousin is a local lawyer who has defended him for years and managed to keep his jail time down to a minimum. You understand that a confession is the only thing that will put Horne in jail for what you'd consider a "just amount of time." Lastly, you consider that Horne has filed a police brutality complaint against Smith once before, and believe this might be the suspect's most recent tactic toward undermining the strength of the case against him. On the other hand, you have worked with Smith for the last five years and recognize that he often skirts the letter of the law to maintain "what's just and right" in his own mind. He has been known to be careless with details on police reports, having been caught embellishing the facts on three known occasions and purposefully omitting facts two other times. Twice in the last two years, he's been caught sleeping in his patrol car when he was on duty, and six years ago he was accused of offering to "make charges go away" in exchange for sex with a local businesswoman who was arrested, though nothing ever came of those accusations. In the back of your mind, you realize that Smith probably roughed up Horne so that the charges would stick this time and that he was only doing what he thought was right. -You are faced with the option of ignoring Horne's complaint or filing a police brutality complaint against Smith on his behalf. What do you do?

Officer Bloom accepted a $100 gift card from a grateful neighbor for not ticketing his car. Officer Ramirez visits an elderly parolee every day and buys him coffee. Officer Anderson misplaced a large package of cocaine that was supposed to go in the evidence locker and now he has a new car. Captain Brown received tickets for a cruise in exchange for backing a political candidate. Whose actions meet the definition of corruption?

An unarmed suspect died while being transported to jail by two police officers. If they are found guilty of murdering the suspect, the officers will be held __________.

Officers who use excessive force on suspects in order to "teach them a lesson" are exhibiting __________.

Captain Washington has noticed that Officer Fields pulls over female drivers three times as often as he pulls over male drivers. The captain documents the activity in the officer's file to help determine whether there is a pattern after recognizing this as one of the warning signs of ____________.

The term for accepting money or goods to do (or not do) something while acting in one's capacity as a police officer is __________.

What technology has been increasingly used recently to help officers remember to make good decisions during police-citizen interactions?

Smith finishes processing Horne into the system and deposits him in a holding cell. Smith is working on his case paperwork when Horne's lawyer arrives. After speaking with his client for two minutes, the lawyer asks to speak to you, the chief of police, and the arresting officer. -Which of the following is a method that internal affairs divisions use to investigate corruption?

Officer Franks has violated one of the police department's internal rules and is facing a demotion. This is an example of __________.

Smith finishes processing Horne into the system and deposits him in a holding cell. Smith is working on his case paperwork when Horne's lawyer arrives. After speaking with his client for two minutes, the lawyer asks to speak to you, the chief of police, and the arresting officer. -If Smith did engage in unreasonable force against Horne, which of the following explains why?

The basic ethical dilemmas of policing stem from an inherent conflict between ___________.

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!" -What is the first step in responding to an accusation of corruption?

What is the difference between "excessive force" and "police brutality"?

Detective Smithson investigates allegations of wrongdoing within the police force as a member of the __________.

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. -If Smith did engage in unreasonable force against Horne, which of the following explains why?

How is the term "applied ethics" defined?