The Mollen Commission testimony could also lead to second thoughts on the growth of community policing, the "back to the beat" philosophy that in recent years has been returning officers to neighborhood patrol in cities around the country, including New York. Getting to know the neighborhood can mean finding more occasions for bribe taking, which is one reason that in many places beat patrolling was scaled back since the 1960s in favor of more isolated squad car teams. The real test of a department is not so much whether its officers are tempted by money but whether there is an institutional culture that discourages them from succumbing.

Gambling syndicates in the 1950s were protected by a payoff system more elaborate than the Internal Revenue Service. Pervasive corruption may have lessened in recent years, as many experts believe, but individual examples seem to have grown more outrageous. In March authorities in Atlanta broke up a ring of weight-lifting officers who were charged with robbing strip clubs and private homes, and even carrying off 450-lb. safes from retail stores. (Washington Post, Jan 18,1993: p.11) The deluge of cash that has flowed from the drug trade has created opportunities for quick dirty money on a scale never seen before. In the 1980s Philadelphia saw more than 30 officers convicted of taking part in a scheme to extort money from dealers. In Los Angeles an FBI probe focusing on the L.A. County sheriff's department has resulted so far in 36 indictments and 19 convictions on charges related to enormous thefts of cash during drug raids -- more than $1 million in one instance. "The deputies were pursuing the money more aggressively than they were pursuing drugs,'' says Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Bauer. (Washington Post, Jan 18, 1993:p.11)

This is where Marxian theory really tackles our system. We find ourselves stuck in a culture that monetarily awards those who actively violate the law. Lawmen succumb to the rule of dollar. An absolute cultural upheaval for a system of honor is needed to replace our current system of reward to the devious.

a system that awards bravery and honor will police officers be turned away from a life of corruption.

Finally, many police departments, especially large ones, have an Internal Affairs unit which operates to investigate improper conduct of police departments. These units some times are run within the department or can be a total outside agency to insure that there is not corruption from within the Internal Affairs unit, as was alleged in the 1992 NYPD corruption scandal. Such a unit may be all that is needed to prevent many officers from being tempted into falling for corrupt behavior. However a system of fear is the least effective because there are always those who are willing to risk the consequences. Although the police agency could be the main source of controlling its own corruption problem, support and assistance from the local community is also required. It is important that the public be educated to the negative affects of corruption on their police agency. They should be taught that even 'gratitudes' (the most basic and common form of police corruption) is only a catalyst for further future corruption. Actual cultural revolution/renaissance would stand to change the way in which the police force views their duty. By revamping our system to a code of military like honor, the problem of corruption would fade away. Unfortunately, this is either not going to happen or won’t happen until our country’s citizens rise up against the corrupt overseers. Since this may take a while the community should establish review boards and investigative bodies to help keep a careful eye on the agency. If we do not act to try and control it, the costs can be enormous, because it affects not only the individual, the department and the law enforcement community as a whole, but society as well. Police corruption can be controlled; it j

Some topics in this essay:
Enforcement Police, Internal Affairs, York City, Knapp Commission, Mollen Commission, Clean Graft, Post Jan, Little Despite, York Getting, York TimesApril, police corruption, knapp commission, internal affairs, mollen commission, york city, corruption police, york timesapril, police officer, drug raids, police brass, washington post jan, internal affairs unit, york city police, york timesapril 31993p5,