Caleb Williams

Mrs. Debock

English IV

9 March 2017

Corruption Amongst Cops

Plenty of good and bad police officers reside amongst the millions of Americans living in

the United States. As we all know corruption among cops has been a serious topic of concern

and needs to be addressed (Martin). Diving deep into the cause and possible solutions to this

issue and examining why it remains a problem is necessary. 63 million people are encountered

yearly and many more are increasingly worried of being harassed themselves (Bruno).

Corruption has always been a problem regarding police officers and continues to be on the rise

(Stefani).

Routine traffic stops have been a common opportunity for corruption. Throughout

America 1000s of routine traffic stops are conducted daily opening the door for some sort of

corruption to take place on a daily basis (BJS). Numerous simple signals can set cops off

including attitude, disrespect, and other sorts of mouthing off. Them being human this can

cause them to act out of duty or character. This has been an issue for a long time and possible

solutions need to be addressed. Racial profiling is another problem that results from corruption.

Weather admitted or not countless cops have a pre determined mind set upon seeing the racial

ethnicity of the person being stopped or dealt with (Barry M. Baker). This stems from human

nature and can be an involuntary thought process. The person being dealt with may be treated

unfairly or differently as a result. Ever since our Countrys creation racism has been a problem

(Ibram Kendi). This spills over into politics and police forces as well as almost every other

aspect of everyday life.

 Shakedowns are another possible point of corruption when it comes to police (CBS

News). A possible occurrence is the cops shaking someone down for all of their valuables and in

some cases drugs and choosing to keep some things without reporting it. The police know they

can get away with this in some instances and that can be the reason behind them doing it.

Money is one thing, the cop will simply put his word and his other fellow officers word over the

person and that will be that. Drugs such as marijuana and cocaine can be another subject of

corruption. When confiscating drugs from someone the cops can take some initially before

reporting the amount they found. They can then use or sell the drugs for personal benefit.

Many police officers have been found guilty of fixing trials and other issues in order to

get off free or not have to take the wrong end of things (Kleinfield). If in trial against another

civilian cops have been known to have their fellow police officers lie or cover up for them in

order to benefit or avoid punishment. An example could be a cop punching a civilian with no

motive during a traffic stop and then having his fellow cop lie and say the civilian came at the

cop initially. Another point of concern is officers fixing or adjusting tickets and ticket prices. When

an officer is giving a ticket, the person receiving the ticket may receive an unfair advantage

based on being a friend, relative, or someone else involving favoritism (Kleinfield). The ticket

may be reduced or rescinded all together based solely on this fact. This is yet another highly

corrupt act that tends to anger the general public when it comes to light (Hague). For those not

friends with or related to a cop it's simply unethical and not the right way to go about doing

things. Obviously those benefiting from the practice are going to feel that the policy should

remain light and the same.

The next point of emphasis id like to focus on is what makes cops behave this way and

what rationale they use to explain their actions to themselves and fellow cops. Through my

research It's been discovered that the physiological aspect can be explained through three

paradigms. The anthropological paradigm, sociological paradigm, and the psychological

paradigm. To touch briefly on the three, the anthropological paradigm represents everyday
civilians attitude and tone changing upon being in the presence of an officer. The officer may

become aware of this and also change himself based on the character confusion (Bruno). The

sociological paradigm tunes in on what training and police academy experience an officer may

face upon becoming official (Mccafferty). All of these little aspects affect how the officer may

conduct himself on the job. The third and final paradigm, psychological focuses on the officers

youth, how they were brought up and how this may affect the use of their power. For example

an officer brought up in an abusive single parent household may handle a crisis situation

entirely different than that of an officer brought up in a normal two parent household

(Mccafferty).

After touching heavily on corruption the focal point needs to shift towards the many

positive acts police officers conduct and the silent majority of good law abiding cops. As people

we tend to focus on the bad in things rather than the good. While there is much corruption

amongst cops there's more kind acts being carried out. To cite a few in 2016 Officer Kent Green

spotted a homeless man behind a dumpster. Seeing the man in need the officer pulled over and

offered the man a few pairs of shoes since he always kept running shoes in the back of his car.

A civilian saw the act occurring and helped Officer Green go viral for his small courageous act

(Wade). One day Officer Olivia Liggio was running late to work, caught behind a school bus. As

the school bus left one stop she saw two kids run out appearing to be distraught due to missing

the bus. Wanting to help she offered to give the kids a ride to school to avoid being late. The

mother of the two children was highly pleased by this act and made sure to make Officer Liggio

go viral (Johnson). A third and final police kindness story would be that of Officer Dillon Ramsey.

On the way to work one morning he spotted a civilian on the side of the road with a flat tiring

appearing desperate for help and an emotional wreck. Officer Ramsey proceeded to pull over

and help remove the flat and get a new fresh tire for the womans car. The act was caught on

the cell phone camera of a passing civilian and Officer Ramsey was met with much appraise

(WJHG).
 In conclusion there are many good and bad cops amongst the many of us Americans

(Bruno). Change is needed and is quite possible moving forward. Its up to us to make the right

decisions and help encourage positivity and the well being of all. We must focus on what we can

control and remain kind and positive when encountering a police officer. We must remember

they are people too with emotions, feelings, and families themselves (Hennessey). Understanding

is key and is a huge step towards a better future (Craen). Change starts with us.