Shades of police corruption: are predictors of the code of silence related to corruption seriousness?

The Prevention of Police Corruption and Misconduct: A Criminological Analysis of Complaints Against Police

This research is an analysis of the ‘economic activities' of Russian police officers. ‘Economic activities' include acts defined as police corruption and police misconduct. Some of the activities are those which, if pursued in police agencies in the United States, would be defined as ‘moonlighting’. The Russian Law of the Militia defines not only police corruption and other forms of misconduct but defines and limits police participation in what would be considered legal economic activities. This law limits police ‘moonlighting’ to teaching, research or the arts. Other legitimate work such as private security, sales, etc comes to be defined as ‘misconduct’. The findings are based on surveys from 2,209 police officers stationed in eight regions of Russia during 2002. The surveys solicited self-report information on a variety of forms of police misconduct and corruption as well as attitudes concerning police misconduct and corruption and public attitudes toward police. In addition to the survey, interviews were conducted with police to gather qualitative information. The results showed that Russian police are highly involved in ‘economic’ activities in addition to their regular responsibilities as police. Many of the economic activities involve corruption. Many are those prohibited by the Law of the Militia. In fact, most of the reported activity was police misconduct created through the application of the Law of the Militia. It would not be considered illegal, immoral or unethical if the individual involved were not a police officer. This Law of the Militia plays a significant role in the institutionalisation of corruption and the creation of secondary deviance within this police force.

PurposeThis study examines the relationship between police culture and support for corruption among Ghanaian police officers.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on data from a survey of 616 police officers across three regions in Ghana. The research questions and hypotheses are addressed through a hierarchical regression analysis.FindingsThe results show that perception of corruption prevalence, lack of deterrence (i.e. perceived oversight measures) and the Upper East Region significantly predicted officers’ support for corruption. Particularly, lack of deterrence was a consistent predictor of support for corruption across different models compared to corruption prevalence. Contrary to previous studies, code of silence was found not to predict officers’ support for corruption.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the police culture and corruption debate an African perspective, where little research has explored the relationship between police culture and corruption. The code of silence not predicting support for corruption contradicts previous studies and contributes to the debate, literature and theory development.

Since the second half of the XX century, political parties as a socio-political institution were in a state of global crisis, the manifestations of which were the decline in the number of their members and the fall in the level of trust in them. The study aims to analyze the factors affecting the level of trust in political parties in the European Union; the objective -to identify these factors and determine the correlation between them and the level of trust in political parties. In this study, the level of confidence in the national government, the national Parliament, regional and local authorities, as well as levels of economic development and corruption, are considered as indicators correlating with the level of confidence in parties on a pan-European scale. The study is based on comparative and statistical methods. The source of the analysis is the data of sociological surveys on trust in political parties published on the official website of the European Commission on the results of population surveys in the framework of the “Eurobarometer” study for the period from 2000 to the present. The dependent variable is the level of trust in political parties, determined as a percentage of the number of respondents who trust this social institution. The analysis suggests that the lowest level of trust in political parties is typical for countries that have a low level of trust in the national government and Parliament, regional and local authorities, as well as for states where non-democratic regimes have existed for a long time. In addition, the level of trust in political parties correlates with the level of corruption in General and corruption of political parties in particular, and with the level of economic development, but the degree of their correlation is lower compared to other indicators considered. The level of trust in political parties below the Central European level is typical mainly for countries that have recently embarked on the path of democracy - the Baltic States, Eastern and Southern Europe.

Re-emergence of conflict instigated by post-conflict police corruption is a real global concern. Contemplating this risk, most peace deals incorporate anti-corruption police reforms. Police reforms were adopted in Kenya following the 2007/8 post-election violence, in which high levels of police corruption were featured as one of the grievances that triggered the violence. However, despite more than a decade of reforms, positive peace is still elusive. International and national actors have voiced concerns over the fear of a repeat of the 2007/08 violence due to police impunity. This study, therefore, aimed to examine the effect of police reforms on post-conflict police corruption management in Migori County. The study was informed by the organizational theory of police corruption. A sequential exploratory design was used. The study area was Suna East Subcounty of Migori County. The total study population was 427 participants, comprising 398 household heads, 6 Focus Group Discussions (FGD) participants representing common victims of police corruption, and 23 key informants drawn from Boda Boda and Matatu operators, business owners, MYWO, youth, media, Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (MYWO), youth, media, Faith-Based Organizations (FBO), Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), magistrates, prosecutors, Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), and police, Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU), and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) commanders. Results show that police reforms (IAU, salary increment strategy, recruitment, training, IPOA, and vehicle leasing program) have had no effect at all on the management of police corruption in Migori County. The study concludes that citizens perceive that the influence of police reforms on post-conflict police corruption management has been insignificant in Migori County. The study recommends the government should: restructure, reengineer, and remodel NPS, IAU, IPOA, and EACC to enhance their efficiency in police corruption management.

ABSTRACTStrategies for the prevention of police corruption, for example, bribery, commonly neglects its social dimension in spite of the fact that police corruption has societal causes and undertaking a reform of the police requires, to some extent, reforming society. In this paper, we built a decision tree from socioeconomic profiles of 103 countries classified according to their level of police corruption using data from the United Nations Statistics Division and Transparency International. From the rules of the resultant decision tree, we identified and analyzed social determinants of police corruption to assist policy-makers in designing societal level strategies to control police corruption by improving socioeconomic conditions. We found that school life expectancy, involvement of women in society, economic development, and work-related indicators are relevant to police corruption. Moreover, empirical results indicate that countries should gradually improve social indicators to reduce police corruption.

There are many factors influencing police corruption. Some of these factors are considered to be organizational in nature while others are more specifically related to the nature and context of police work itself. The majority of these factors influence the relationship between the police and the society and causes police corruption. For example, organizational culture is enormously important in determining the level of police corruption. This study aims to determine the influence of organizational culture on corruption among members of the Libyan police force. A total of 348 Libyan police members participated in the study. Regression and correlational analyses were performed as a methodology to this study. The study shows that organizational culture has an inverse negative relationship with police corruption. The study results have practical implications for policy makers in the Libyan National Police to increase the employee management loyalty to the organization and have successful criterion could prevent or reduce corruption. Thus, effort should be made to foster a better management, organization glue and criteria of success among the police to reduce the tendency for corruption.

PurposeThe study aims to examine the effect of organizational socialization into police culture on officers' attitudes toward community policing in South Korea.Design/methodology/approachThe study sampled 694 Korean police officers. Policy implication and direction for future research is discussed.FindingsThe results indicate a positive relationship between the degree of organizational socialization and police officers' attitudes toward community policing, contrary to hypothesized directions. Police officers who report higher levels of socialization into police culture are more likely to support the philosophy of community policing and line officers' autonomy/participation, and to perceive a positive relationship with citizens. The findings may indicate that police culture in Korea is fundamentally different from those of other countries, even though the Korean police share some common characteristics of police culture (i.e. machismo, isolation, or conflict with citizens) with its counterparts.Originality/valueThe study provides useful information on the effect of organizational socialization into police culture on officers' attitudes toward community policing.

Can corruption be combatted? Yes, but only under certain circumstances! That appears to be the experience of Asian countries where corruption is ubiquitous with the exception of Singapore--a that proved to be the only success story with a strong political leadership and better pay sales. Can this experience be replicated? Three decades ago, Gunnar Myrdal (1968, 938-939) identified the taboo on research on South Asian corruption as one of the factors inhibiting the research of his book, Asian Drama. However, this taboo no longer exists, judging from the increasing amount of research on corruption in Asian countries in recent years. According to the Far Eastern Economic Review, corruption was the biggest story of 1996, the Year of the Rat, as a great deal of newsprint and television time was devoted to reports and discussions on corruption in (Ghosh et al., 1997, 18). Furthermore, the financial crises in Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia in 1997 have highlighted the problems of corruption, cronyism, and nepotism on one hand, and the need for more accountability and transparency in government and banking operations in these countries on the other hand. Why is corruption such a serious problem in Asian countries? Is it possible to control or to minimize corruption in these countries? This paper contends that the extent of corruption in Asian (and other) countries depends on two factors: (1) the nature of the causes of corruption in these countries; and (2) the degree of effectiveness of the measures initiated by political leaders to combat corruption. In order to curb corruption in Asian countries, the causes of corruption must first be correctly diagnosed so that political leaders can take appropriate action to minimize, if not eliminate, such causes. Asian countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, which observe this logic of corruption control, are more successful in combatting corruption than other countries (Quah, 1995). This paper is divided into three sections. In the first section, the different levels of corruption in Asian countries are discussed. Section two describes the anticorruption strategies employed in several Asian countries. The concluding section focuses on Singapore's experience, demonstrating that, while it is difficult to curb corruption, it is nonetheless possible to do so if a country's political leaders have the commitment or will to impartially implement effective anticorruption measures. Levels of Asian Corruption In September 1974, the Far East Economic Review featured the cover story Corruption: The Asian Lubricant, which surveyed corruption in 10 Asian countries. The article concluded that: If you want to buy a Sherman tank, a Red Cross blanket, or simply speed up the installation of a telephone, there is probably no easier place in the world in which to do just that than in Asia--if you are willing to part with some cash, that is. With pathetically few exceptions, the countries in this region are so riddled with corruption that the paying of tea money has become almost a way of life (Far East Economic Review, 1974, 3). This picture of pervasive corruption in Asia is supported by individual portraits of corruption in such countries as Bangladesh, the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Thailand (Far East Economic Review, 1974, 22-31). As it is not possible to measure the actual extent of corruption in a country, scholars usually rely on the reported extent of corruption. Lancaster and Montinola (1997, 16) have observed that students of political corruption use written documents (press reports, judicial records, and records from anticorruption agencies) and survey data to measure corruption. As these instruments are not problem-free, they have recommended the use of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), published by Transparency International in 1995 and updated in 1996 and 1997, because it is a robust index that captures more than a single indicator and combines several measures of political corruption for each country (Ibid. …

Corruption as a form of insurance

The emergence and functioning of two competing and sometimes conflicting cultures within police departments demonstrates how competition between street cops and "bosses" is at the heart of the organizational dilemma of modern urban policing. Unlike other works in this field that focus on the monolithic culture or familial quality of policing, this study demonstrates that which might look cohesive from the point of view of outsiders has its own internal dynamics and conflicts. The book shows that police departments are not immune to the conflict inherent in any large-scale bureaucracy, when externally imposed management schemes for increasing efficiency and effectiveness are imposed on an existing social organization.Based upon two years of extensive field work, in which the author covered every major aspect of policing at the precinct level in the New York City police department from manning the complaint desk to riding in squad cars. Ianni shows how the organized structure of the police department is disintegrating. The new "Management Cop Culture" is bureaucratically juxtaposed to the precinct level "Street Cop Culture," and bosses' loyalties to the social and political networks of management cops rather than to the men on the street causes a sharp division with grave consequences for the departments.The study concentrates on a series of dramatic events, such as the suicide of a police officer charged with corruption, a major riot, and the trial of an officer accused of killing a prisoner while in police custody. Ianni traces how these events affected relationships among fellow officers and between officers and "bosses."

The emergence and functioning of two competing and sometimes conflicting cultures within police departments demonstrates how competition between street cops and bosses is at the heart of the organizational dilemma of modern urban policing. Unlike other works in this field that focus on the monolithic culture or familial quality of policing, this study demonstrates that which might look cohesive from the point of view of outsiders has its own internal dynamics and conflicts. The book shows that police departments are not immune to the conflict inherent in any large-scale bureaucracy, when externally imposed management schemes for increasing efficiency and effectiveness are imposed on an existing social organization. Based upon two years of extensive field work, in which the author covered every major aspect of policing at the precinct level in the New York City police department from manning the complaint desk to riding in squad cars. Ianni shows how the organized structure of the police department is disintegrating. The new Management Cop Culture is bureaucratically juxtaposed to the precinct level Street Cop Culture, and bosses' loyalties to the social and political networks of management cops rather than to the men on the street causes a sharp division with grave consequences for the departments. The study concentrates on a series of dramatic events, such as the suicide of a police officer charged with corruption, a major riot, and the trial of an officer accused of killing a prisoner while in police custody. Ianni traces how these events affected relationships among fellow officers and between officers and bosses.

While much scholarly literature on police ‘canteen’ culture focuses on police storytelling, there is little research on the effects of camera phone technologies on police behaviours, particularly in organizational settings. This article introduces the concept of showability to examine how police officers use videos in their everyday police life, and how this relates to police culture. Based on an ethnographic study of the Dutch police, it illustrates that officers show, share, and discuss videos of various policing acts such as arrests, car chases, and use-of-force events, and do this in various locations such as office spaces, squad cars, and on the streets. First and foremost, officers show videos to entertain and to educate themselves and their fellow officers. Second, showing videos is a new occupational practice that, like in telling stories, reinforces and refutes aspects of police culture, for instance, a masculine ethos. The article contributes to criminological scholarship on the era of ‘new visibility’ by demonstrating that showability is a form of inward visibility wherein officers generate a visual world that fits their professional vision. It also contributes to a sociological understanding of the ‘everydayness’ of police culture. I claim that showability is a key feature of policing practices, which is relevant in light of increasing pressures on the police to account for their work.

In this chapter I discuss the matter of the morality and rationality of professional reporting: police reporting on the corrupt behaviour of their fellow officers. Historically, the so-called ‘blue wall of silence’ has been a barrier to such reporting and, therefore, to combating corruption in police services. I argue that since most police officers are not themselves corrupt and believe that they morally ought to report or provide evidence in relation to their corrupt colleagues, they will do so if conditions are created under which it will be rational for them to do so. These conditions include the following ones: A reasonable number, and a high rate, of convictions/terminations of corrupt police officers as a result of a well-resourced, high quality, internal investigations department focused only on criminal and serious disciplinary matters, and operating in the context of: (i) the normalization of the role of internal investigator; and (ii) the felt duty on the part of most police to report/provide intelligence/evidence regarding criminal/corrupt colleagues in the knowledge that if they do: (a) the persons in question are likely to be convicted/terminated; and (b) they themselves will suffer no harm or adverse career consequences.

The following article contains never-before-published accounts from first-hand witnesses to the events surrounding the Summerdale Scandal, garnered by one of the authors in personal interviews with key stakeholders. These include interviews with former Evanston and Bartlett Police Chief William McHugh, former Illinois Police Superintendent James McGuire, former Cook County State’s Attorney Chief Investigator Paul Newey and renowned attorneys Gerald Getty, Julius Echels and Louis Galippo. Though all have now passed away, their words bring to life an event that forever changed policing in America. In 1960, a massive scandal rocked the Chicago Police Department. Rife with clandestine schemes, audacious exploits and a level of corruption that stunned the public, the Summerdale Scandal nearly brought down the entire Chicago police organization. Once the scandal unfurled, it would transform policing, not just in Chicago, but around the country. 2020 will mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Summerdale Scandal, and once again find ourselves recovering from police corruption. The scandal surrounding the events of the 2017 Chicago Police shooting of Laquan McDonald resulted in the firing of a police superintendent, affected the decision of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel in not running for re-election, and forced the Chicago Police Department into a Federal Oversight Consent Decree. Now, as we approach the 60th anniversary of the Summerdale Scandal, it bears revisiting this transformative event that dramatically overhauled policing four decades earlier.