Police Corruption In Corrections

There are many forms of unethical conduct that takes place in the criminal justice system that is the result of egoistic motivations (Williams & Arrigo, 2012). These criminal activities tend to range from police corruption which can encompass kickbacks, opportunistic theft, fixes, shakedowns as well as the corruption of authority (Williams & Arrigo, 2012).Whereas, corruption within prisons consists of organized drug trafficking, theft, misuse of authority, and even embezzlement (Williams & Arrigo, 2012). What can be gathered from both the police as well as correctional officers is that they are not immune to their willingness and opportunity to neglect moral and legal obligations for personal self-interest (Williams & Arrigo, 2012). Morality

For instance, the very idea that police officers are superior and thus above the law is first introduced at the training academy and then is reinforced on the streets (Johnson & Cox III, 2004). This notion is true in part because law enforcement has more power than the average public servant (Johnson & Cox III, 2004). Moreover, correctional officers abuse their authority generally by accepting bribes for special considerations, protecting illegal prison activities or even extortion of an inmate and/or mistreatment by staff for self-interest (Williams & Arrigo, 2012). What can be recognized and understood is that neither law enforcement nor corrections pay exceptionally well, which in turn leads to the staff being easily influenced to behave

After all, money is a very persuasive tool to get what want. It is apparent in the types of corruption that law enforcement partakes in, that money is the number one influencer especially when an officer accepts kickbacks, perform shakedowns, fixes, opportunistic theft, or even internal payoffs to name a few. As a result of this unethical behavior, officers, when they are in the field the integrity of their work, may be called into question. When the evidence gathered by the government to prove a defendant’s guilt is obtained through unconstitutional methods, the integrity of the justice system suffers and the defendant is personally and adversely impacted (Cook III, 2016). Through speculation, officers in their zeal to serve and protect the public may feel no regret about acting outside of the rules when they’re confronting those who they believe are not legitimate citizens or who they do not believe deserve constitutional protection (Cook III,