Nature of Police Corruption

Police corruption has been defined as the "misuse of authority by a police officer in a manner designed to produce personal gain for the officer or for others" (Carter and Stephens 6). Corruption in this sense can take on a variety of forms. For example, an unscrupulous officer may indulge in corrupt practices for the purpose of financial gain. In another instance, an officer may engage in corruption in order to cover up a serious mistake made in the line of duty which could bring about public shame or perhaps even removal from the force. In recent years, a great deal of attention in the mass media has centered around the relationship between police corruption and involvement in drug abuse or drug trafficking. However, there are many other ways in which a police officer may be involved in corruption. These may include bribery, robbery, racism, rape and murder.

Using the case of drug abuse as an example, it has been noted that even if a police officer indulges in drugs for purely recreational reasons, it is clear that the potential for corruption

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s possible to become hooked on drugs and require increasing amounts, it is possible for officers to become hooked on the money involved in corrupt practices and thereby require growing levels of involvement. Furthermore, it can be seen that one form of corruption is readily linked to others and that this further enhances the tendency for officers to become more deeply involved over the course of time. As such an officer who has become conditioned to the idea of being involved in corrupt practices on one level may soon find it easier to become involved on the more serious levels where such crimes as extortion and murder take place. In the realm of corrupt practices, it appears that there is truly no limit to how far a person might go once the pattern has been set into motion. There have been numerous case examples of police corruption in recent years which help to highlight the extent and severity of the problem. One case in Miami in late 1985 drew a great deal of media attention and caused many to comment on the misrepresentations of such television shows as "Miami Vice." As such, it would seem that real life police officers in Miami are rarely as upstanding and moral as the television show would have people believe. One a
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