This paper explores different measures that can address police corruption and provides a recommendation on the best approach

Abstract

This paper explores different measures that can address police corruption and provides a recommendation on the best approach. At the begging, the study offers the general focus of the solutions by arguing that police service depends on morals creating the need to address corruption from the perspective of values. Furthermore, corruption results from lack of professionalism in police service. One of the solutions to the problem is, therefore, recruiting candidates based on internal morals which overcome temptations of changed behaviours and unethical practices such as corruption. Another solution is to adopt community policing where the public controls police behaviours and eliminates corruption opportunities.   Capacity building can also correct a lack of accountability in the police service to overcome corrupt practices. However, the study argues that the nature of police work is a hindrance to overcoming corruption because it makes police to be unethical by default. Despite the limitation, the recruitment of the police with internal moral values can overcome the barrier.

Keywords: Corruption, Moral Principles, Community Policing, Recruitment

What measures could be put in place to deal with the issue of police corruption?

Introduction

Police corruption is prevalent across the world, although the magnitude varies. The institution is highly dependent on morality for individual behaviours due to the inherent nature of high autonomy and ability to conceal harmful practices such as corruption (35). Unethical actions, for example, corruption lowers effectiveness in dealing with crimes leading to high levels like the case in Trinidad and Tobago (99). Developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have lower levels of police corruption compared to less developed for instance Trinidad and Tobago as shown In Appendix I. The differences in the level of police corruption reveals that there are interventions which are successful in controlling police moral behaviours and professionalism leading to lower levels of corruption. This paper explores measures that countries can put in place to overcome the problem of police corruption.

Capacity Building

One of the ways to deal with police corruption is through capacity building for all individuals serving in the institution with more focus on community policing. Corruption among the police occurs because they lack professionalism which encompasses proper code of ethics (137). Although corruption is a criminal offence, it is an indication of incompetence in the police work since service persons learn about proper ethical conduct during training. The Association of Caribbean Heads of Corrections and Prison Services has realized that such corrupt police lack essential moral elements and hence engaged in using professionalism approach to correction (137). In a country like Trinidad and Tobago, police training does not prioritize and include ethics and professionalism as a single unity. The training emphasizes more on actual skills like use of weapons as shown on appendix II, a deficit which could inform on the reasons for the high rate of corruption in the country. On the contrary, countries like Canada allocates training on professionalism more time, as shown in appendix III, a factor which contributes to reduced corruption compared to Trinidad and Tobago.  Although training in any career impacts professionalism with time, capacity building to address the actual ethical conduct within the filed improves the competence of the subject.

In the US, the issue of police professionalism is more explicit, which could suggest the lower level of corruption compared to other countries like Trinidad and Tobago. Currently, the police department is adopting a program known as new professionalisms aiming at increasing strictness in accountability (1). It is a continuation of capacity building among the police and hence the name new professionalism. Capacity building on accountability will increase commitment to doing what is right within the police profession (2). However, there are more benefits with the adoption of community policing in professional training to accommodate the changing needs of the societies. Societies are seeking for more cohesion and want the police to come close to them to share ideas. Canada is one of the countries which have adopted community-oriented training in policing with positive outcomes in lower corruption compared to other countries like Trinidad and Tobago, as shown in Appendix I (50).  Incorporating community focus in training professionalism will allow the police to become more cautious when mishandling people, especially in corruption due to the consciousness in humanity. It will provide those in service with practical skills to resist temptations of corruption by valuing human service more than other self-interest. The training can also orient servicemen and women towards full acceptance of accountability in the police service, which enable them to serve the public without limitations such as asking for bribes.

Improvement in Recruitment Criteria

Entry behaviour plays a significant role in shaping the character of an individual in an institution, and the police service is not an exception. Internal motivation, including morals and values, impacts behaviours more than external controls (41). A research study in Trinidad and Tobago showed that police with high values and morals had fewer integrity cases, including corruption and the use of excessive force (41). Self-regulations enable individuals to resists temptations such as corruption because of the orientation to humanity and community morals. The more police candidates have detailed values, the higher the chances of engaging in corruption.  Employing officers with such high morals will impact the current service persons to change their behaviours due to shame and challenge from the juniors. In the UK, integrity is a priority during police recruitment where candidates should not have previous convictions or cautions, a factor that could be leading to low corruption in the police force (1). Furthermore, policing takes a moral dimension more compared legislation, rules and leadership. Individuals have so much autonomy to access situations and determine what is right (35). It is easy for the police to conceal corruption, even with rules and proper reporting criteria. Proper recruitment with an emphasis on internal moral values will lead to the development of corruption-free police service.

Adoption of Community Policing

Community structure has inherent mechanisms of shaping member’s character towards the desired values where policemen and women can benefit. The gap between police and the public they serve is the genesis of propagating unethical behaviours such as corruption amongst the servicemen (2). Police can develop new cultures with unethical practices because they are not under community control. Community policing allows the police to live within and incorporate the public in their daily activities, especially investigation and planning crime prevention (217). The public increases trust and competence perception about the police, for example, the case of Barbados, leading to creating a challenge to adopt the values (99). Such police officers working with the community develops a fear of shame in case news of corruption, and other negative behaviours emerge.

Community policing, on the other hand, places most of the police work on the hand of the community members, taking away any opportunities for unethical practices. The public carries all the information about crimes, and hence, the police cannot protect criminals through bribes or giving away their firearms (2). Cooperation between the police and the public alongside neighbourhood watch structures makes police information holders about crimes and hence no power to manipulate victims or criminals. Through increased socialization with the police, trust, and regular engagement in ethical behaviours, communities can alter police behaviours to adopt those which relates to accountability.  The cops who did not value professionalism becomes more professional and ethical to serve the community without taking advantage of their obligations. Community policing, as a result, denies service members an opportunity to propagate corruption while impacting ethical behaviours which do not allow bribes.

Limitations

Despite the much justification on the viability of the different solutions to police corruption, there is the risk of failure due to police deep unethical culture.  The police have developed a culture of unethical practices that blocks the ability for any intervention to change their behaviours (1039). An example is the US where most of the police engaging in community policing fight with the public, indicating an unsuccessful response.  The US police operating in minor communities tend to develop conflicts with the public instead of developing proper relationships (2). Such dispute cannot allow the development of trust and impact of the right behaviours on the police that can reduce corruption.  Police training and the general public perception makes them unfriendly and harsh once recruited, an issue which serves as a barrier to any intervention to lower corruption. Another limitation towards the success of the various interventions is the constant nature of police work to deal with opposing forces. Police nature of work to overcome crimes makes them develop a non-friendly character that affects moral behaviours (1040). As a result, it is not possible to change their practices since their nature of work is constant.

Conclusion

Corruption within the police service is more moral oriented than the institution structure, leadership and command. As a result, the appropriate solutions to integrity issues, especially corruption, should focus on impacting the right behaviour and taking away opportunities for unethical practices. The paper identifies one of the solutions to corruption as capacity building to enhance professional police conduct.  Another solution is to recruit police with internal motivation to ethical behaviours and values since such people have high chances of resisting compromise of good morals. However, community policing can, on the other hand, take away opportunities for police to ask bribes due to public monitoring and increased availability about crimes. Despite the chance to solve corruption through the solutions, there are challenges in that police nature of work which is constant forces them to behave unethically. The police institution, on the other hand, has a deep unethical culture that is hard to change with any intervention.

Recommendation

Following the limitations to police corruption solutions, I would recommend the adoption of recruitment that is strict on internal moral standards. Internal orientation to the right behaviours does not depend on situations or company of people. Although the police have a culture of unethical practices, people with moral principles can hardly integrate into such a culture. The principles are non-contextual meaning that the police nature of work will likely not affect such individuals. Recruitment of police with the internal orientation to resisting bribes, as a result, overcomes a significant part of the limitations making the solution more viable in reducing corruption.

Works Cited

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Government of the United Kingdom  30 October 2003 National Recruitment Standards-Eligibility Criteria for Police Recruitment and Consistent Recruitment Practices https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-recruitment-standards-eligibility-criteria-for-police-recruitment-and-consistent-recruitment-practices

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IndexMundi Police Corruption Perceptions Index  https://www.indexmundi.com/surveys/results/1

is and indicator of lack of professionalism

Appendix I: Police Corruption Index

Appendix II: Main Topics for Police Training and their Percentage Emphasis in

Appendix III: Curricula for Training Police in Canada