Police Misconduct and Corruption

Police Misconduct and Corruption Student: Professor: Course title: Date: Police Misconduct and Corruption Write an essay describing what police organizations can do to prevent and deter police misconduct. Also, discuss what some of the obstacles to conducting empirical research on police corruption and misconduct are. Please provide at least 6 sources. The essay should be approximately 8-10 pages long (2000 words), double-spaced, using a 12-point font and APA format. Be sure to cite your sources and include a bibliography page. Police misconduct involves the inappropriate actions that police officers take as they conduct their official duties. In most instances, police misconduct and corruption leads to discrimination and miscarriage of justice (Garland, 2001). However, various civilian, law enforcement and government agencies are making significant efforts towards the control of police misconduct and corruption. This paper discusses police misconduct and corruption, and describes the measures that police organizations can undertake in order to prevent and deter such inappropriate actions. The paper also discusses some of the obstacles encountered when conducting empirical research on police misconduct and corruption. Prenzler (2009) stated that in the United States, police misconduct refers to the violation of federal and state laws, or the violation of a person’s constitutional rights by law enforcement officers. Prenzler added that typical forms of police misconduct include coercing confession, abusing women sexually, discriminatory arrest, deadly force or excessive use of force, selective enforcement of the law, and verbal or physical harassment (2009). On the other hand, police corruption occurs when a police officer commits crimes, and abuses police authority for his or her personal gain. Police corruption may involve material benefit or profit gained illegally as a result of the police officer’s authority, for instance extortion, redirecting...